A new poll has confirmed the increasing popularity of home battery storage in Australia, as households look to reduce their dependence on expensive grid-supplied electricity, and cut soaring power bills.
The Reachtel poll, commissioned by the Climate Council, found that 74 per cent of people surveyed from across Australia expect household batteries to be commonplace in homes within the next decade.
When asked about the key motivation for adding battery storage to rooftop solar, more than half of the respondents said to “reduce power bills”.
Interestingly, 38 per cent of people surveyed said they already owned rooftop solar – and more than two-thirds of that number (68%) said they were considering adding a battery.
This mirrors the findings of industry analysts SunWiz, whose latest data shows a surge in battery storage uptake, with more than 7000 systems installed across the nation in the first six months of the year – surpassing the 6500 sales recorded for all of 2016 – and track to pass 20,000 by the year’s end.
Climate Council chief Amanda McKenzie believes batteries will be as ubiquitous as dishwashers in Australian homes, as prices fall and home owners get wise to the savings they can generate.
“Australians love rooftop solar, and most now expect home battery storage to be as commonplace as dishwashers in our homes in a decade,” said McKenzie on Thursday.
“Rising energy prices and a lack of a Federal energy plan are driving many people to take back control of energy. We’re getting smart to the fact that our energy system is changing.”
For years we have had our wages harvested by energy and fuel companies.They know we have to accept their ridiculous explanations for why the prices are high. Now its our turn. Get bettrries sit back and watch em squirm. Electric car next.