Yes and no. Battery storage is a valuable addition if you want to significantly boost your energy independence and maximise your solar investment. The decision to invest is often driven by two key factors:
1. Economic Value (maximising self-consumption)
Batteries allow you to store excess solar energy generated during the day for use at night, when the sun is not shining enough to meet your power needs or during expensive peak demand times. Since solar feed-in tariffs (FiTs) have dropped in recent years to be generally very low now in Victoria, self-consuming your power is the fastest way to save money, and a battery enables you to store excess solar you’ve produced. Adding a battery to your system enables you to boost your energy savings by NOT buying power from the electricity grid, but rather powering your property with electricity you stored earlier when the sun was shining.
- Financial reality: While the total solar system return on investment is excellent, the payback period for the battery component alone is often longer than for solar panels (this explains part of the NO part re: is investing in battery storage worth it). For many, investing in a battery, or batteries, is primarily about personal energy security and reducing reliance on the electricity grid, as well as achieving savings. However it depends on how much power you use, and at what time of the day, to determine how beneficial adding a battery is to your home; the financial return on a battery is best gained if you use all, or most, of the stored power in your battery each and every day. Consider it like this: your stored battery power has been generated for free and so when your draw that power back out of your own battery it’s not costing you anything additional. However, if you buy power from the electricity grid, rather than from your own stored battery, then your electricity company is charging you a price for each kilowatt (kW) you’re buying from them. The same as for solar panels, the primary financial benefit is about the power you’re NOT having to buy from the electricity grid to power your home.
2. Resilience and Blackout Protection
This is a significant advantage. With a top-quality battery system in place such as the Tesla Powerwall, your home has the best chance of maintaining power when the electricity grid goes down (a blackout is an unexpected power outage, while a brownout is a planned power outage designed to help manage the electricity grid).
Adding a battery as part of your energy management system means you are most likely to have stored power available (n.b. this depends on how you use power and whether you have a back-up reserve of power stored in your battery at the time of a power outage) for your homes appliances and devices to operate.
- Crucial note on blackout protection: Not all battery installations provide whole-home backup in the event of a power outage. For most batteries to function during a blackout, a specific backup gateway or changeover switch must be installed. This usually allows you to power essential circuits (e.g. lights, fridge, Wi-Fi) until the electricity grid returns. TCK Solar specialises in designing systems to ensure you have the right amount of battery storage for your needs and that on the day of battery installation, our electricians connect up which circuits in your home you’ve requested to be backed up in the event of a power outage.
By integrating a high-quality battery, you can turn your solar system into a complete energy solution.
TCK Solar’s Premium Battery Options
At TCK Solar, we offer several high-quality, high-performance battery options to suit your specific energy needs and budget:
| Battery Model | Usable Capacity | Round-Trip Efficiency | Warranty (Years) | Key Features |
| Tesla Powerwall 3 | 13.5 kWh (Stackable) | 97.5% | 10 | All-in-one unit with integrated solar inverter for maximum efficiency and high power output. Provides seamless backup during outages. Can be stacked, and in our opinion is the best battery choice |
| Enphase IQ 5P | 5.0 kWh (Modular) | 90% (AC) | 15 | AC-coupled and modular (stackable in 5kWh blocks). Highly reliable due to internal microinverters. Ideal for small-to-large capacity needs. |
| SolarEdge Home Battery | 9.7 kWh (Stackable) | 94.5% (DC) | 10 | DC-coupled design for superior overall system efficiency. Designed to work seamlessly with compatible SolarEdge inverters (Home Hub) |
Note on Enphase: Backup functionality for Enphase batteries requires the installation of an IQ System Controller (Enphase switch/gateway) to power the home during an electricity outage. Systems installed without this component supply power to the home ONLY when the electricity grid is connected, and not during a power outage.
Government Incentives
The Federal Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program (delivered via a Small scale technology Certificate discount) is currently available and has enabled thousands of people across Greater Melbourne and within Victoria to install a battery, or several batteries. TCK Solar is able to assist you with claiming this rebate by providing you with all of the necessary guidance enabling you to fully understand how it works so you can easily secure this battery rebate.
If you’re considering battery storage, TCK Solar is an ideal partner to guide you in assessing your energy needs and helping you to select the best battery solution to complement your solar system.
