Victoria’s home battery storage incentive came into effect from 1 July this year; South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory have also introduced incentive programs that […]
Category: Solar System Products
Solar Choice blog articles and reviews about components for solar power systems, including solar inverters, solar cells, solar modules, and solar batteries.
Is home solar battery storage worth it? (updated 2019)
This article has since been updated for 2019. Click here to see the updated version. Since 2015 Australians have been talking about home battery storage being on the cusp of […]
ABB to exit solar inverter business
ABB have announced yesterday (9th July) that they have signed an agreement to sell their Solar Inverter business to FIMER S.p.A. for an undisclosed amount. ABB’s solar inverter business has […]
Hybrid & ‘battery-ready’ solar systems: What’s the go?
As more and more Australian households investigate (and install) solar battery storage, the more we get questions about battery-ready or hybrid solar & battery storage systems. What is a hybrid/battery-ready […]
How do lithium batteries work? [Animated Infogaphic]
Lithium has become the chemistry type of choice for grid-connect home solar battery storage in Australia (although lead acid still rules the off-grid space – for now). There are actually […]
Inverter maker SolarEdge adds “smart panels” to rooftop offering
Israel-based inverter maker SolarEdge has branched into the other key ingredient to rooftop solar systems – the panels – with the launch of its own PV offering on the Australian […]
A Virtual Power Plant case study: Vermont USA
As Solar Choice is currently undertaking the early stage preparations and structuring for a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) that can be made available for household, commercial and government premises across […]
Backup power with home solar battery storage: What are your options?
Home battery storage is becoming increasingly popular in Australia, and one of the most in-demand features is backup power, which provides electricity to a home even when the grid is […]
9 things you should know if you’re considering home battery-storage
For several years now, home solar battery storage has been a hot topic in Australia, and 2019 looks set to be the best year yet for batteries. If you’re actively […]
Redflow lands potentially massive battery supply deal with Soul Energy
Energy storage company Redflow has inked a deal with New Zealand-based infrastructure outfit Soul Energy, that could yield order for hundreds of its zin bromine flow batteries. The ASX Redflow […]
Time of use vs flat rate electricity tariffs with solar & batteries
If you’re connected to the grid and own your home, you pay for electricity. In most places, in Australia, there are basically two types of tariffs: Flat rate tariffs (aka ‘peak […]
The real obstacle to integrating storage into the grid
When it comes to integrating new energy storage technologies with the grid, what’s standing in the way? According to Robert Morgan, CEO of Energy Storage at GE Renewable Energy, the […]
Australian-designed ‘Solpod’ creating a buzz in the Commercial solar market
An Australian solar start-up company is looking to shake up the commercial solar market in Australia with its pre-fabricated rooftop solar systems. Melbourne based Solpod has developed a way to […]
Australia tipped to add 70,000 home batteries in 2019, lead global demand
Australia has been tipped to become the biggest home battery market in the world in 2019, with solar households forecast to install tens of thousands of energy storage systems. In […]
What happens to old Solar Panels?
Solar Panels have a warrantied lifetime of 25 years. That means for the vast majority of Solar Systems installed since the solar boom began in 2009 in Australia and sitting […]
A list of Australian battery support schemes (existing & proposed) as of Nov 2018
If you care about battery storage and distributed energy in Australia, you’re probably aware that a number of battery incentive programs are now available through various state & territory governments […]
Sonnen begins battery storage production at old Holden car factory in Adelaide
The first Australian made batteries for German manufacturer sonnen Group are set to roll off the assembly line, with the opening of the new factory in the old Holden car […]
Tesla unveils its Gateway upgrade for Powerwall 2 battery
Tesla has chosen Australia – with its world-leading battery storage market – for the global unveiling of its upgraded home energy management system – the latest version of the Backup […]
Different Types of Solar Panels – Which is best?
At Solar Choice we very commonly get asked about the different types of solar panels and what we recommend. This article attempts to explain the science behind the common panel […]
Australia to reach a “Solar Peak”, bring on battery storage!
As Australian rooftop solar continues to break records there’s claims of Australia being the first country to reach a “Solar Peak“, according to EnergyAustralia director Mark Collette. Australia has already installed 1.09GW […]
Innovative Clean Energy Solutions Are Being Utilised in the Trucking Sector
The emergence of high quality thin film solar is enabling new uses of solar beyond traditional rooftop solar and solar farms. […]
SwitchDin paves the way for virtual power plants & microgrids
SwitchDin is a Newcastle-based energy technology startup aiming to crack open the enormous potential of distributed energy resources (like small-scale solar and battery storage) in Australia’s energy future. The company […]
Battery Storage Price Index – August 2018
Last month we posted an article informing our readers that due to stabilisation of battery and solar pricing in recent times, we will now be publishing quarterly indexes as opposed […]
Wintertime solar power: What to expect (Solartopia #14)
The winter solstice (21 June) has come and gone. With the shortest day of the year now behind us, it’s all up from here, but we’ve still got a while […]
Solar panel reliability testing: 2018 results from DNV GL
DNV GL have published the 2018 results of their solar panel reliability testing for this year, with the 2018 PV Module Reliability Scorecard published in late May this year. The […]
Reposit First energy monitoring system reviewed
Since February of this year I’ve had Reposit Power’s Reposit First monitoring system installed at my Newcastle home. The goal has always been to write a review of how the […]
Customer dissatisfaction with electricity retailers driving uptake of solar, batteries
Australian consumers are even less satisfied with energy retailers than they are with banks and insurers, and are increasingly choosing to take matters into their own hands – a consumer […]
QLD introduces interest-free loans for solar & storage
From the beginning of June 2018, eligible Queensland homes may receive interest-free loans for solar panels through the state government. The loans are one component of the Queensland government’s Affordable Energy […]
An improvement to our Solar & Battery Storage Calculator
Our Solar & Battery Storage Payback Estimator is one of the most widely-accessed resources on the Solar Choice website, with thousands of visitors per month. We take pride in the […]
Considering battery storage? Do these 5 things first
In April last year, we got 7.8kW of solar with a SolarEdge inverter, including consumption monitoring. In November, we got a 9.3kWh LG Chem battery. From this experience, we have […]
The role of flow batteries in the future renewable energy grid [VIDEO]
One of the most impressive presentations from the 2018 Australian Energy Storage Conference was the keynote speech on the second day by Redflow ‘technology evangelist’ (and former chief) Simon Hackett. […]
