How Much Do Solar Batteries Cost in Australia?
Australians are increasingly aware that home solar batteries can minimise energy bills and deliver greater independence from the electricity grid than a rooftop solar system alone. However, making sense of your options can prove baffling. To help you make sense of the costs and considerations involved, read on.
Australians are increasingly aware that home solar batteries can minimise energy bills and deliver greater independence from the electricity grid than a rooftop solar system alone. However, making sense of your options – and the relevant price points – can prove baffling. To help you make sense of the costs and considerations involved in buying a home solar battery to store the energy that your rooftop system generates, we’ve put together this guide to home solar battery prices in Australia.
How much do solar batteries cost?
The price of solar batteries in Australia can vary considerably, with costs largely influenced by battery capacity and build quality. When considering buying a home solar battery, quality is an important factor to ensure the battery that you invest in is reliable and will enable you to enjoy the many benefits a home solar battery system delivers. To ensure value-for-money and provide peace of mind with our home battery products, at sonnen we only use lithium-iron-phosphate battery cells that are renowned for the reliability, stability, durability and performance they deliver.
These cobalt-free and environmentally sustainable batteries are safe, have excellent longevity and as they can operate within a wide range of temperatures, they’re ideal for Australian conditions, especially households in areas with hot summers and cold winters. What’s more, we give a 10-year or 10,000 charge cycle warranty on all components in a sonnen home battery, so you’re assured a high-quality and reliable solar battery product that’s backed by the industry's leading warranty.
Capacity is another variable that you’ll need to consider, with solar battery cost increasing in line with battery capacity – the bigger the battery, the higher the cost. Generally, solar batteries cost around $1,000 - $1,500 per kWh capacity, including installation and GST. The up-front costs involved in buying a home battery means you need to consider your household’s electricity consumption to ensure the solar battery has enough capacity for it to meet, but not significantly exceed, your energy needs. sonnenBatterie Evo has up to 10kWh usable capacity, while the sonnenBatterie Hybrid is a modular home battery, with capacities from 2.5-5.0 kWh and expandable up to 15.0 kWh.
It’s also important to understand that many of the lower-priced batteries on the market aren’t actually for a complete system, but only the battery pack. This can be a little misleading, as it means you’ll still need to buy a battery inverter and the other components required.
Transparency is important across the entire customer journey when buying and using a home solar battery, something we’ve prioritised with sonnen products and services. When you purchase a sonnen product and share your energy by participating in the sonnenCommunity, you’re contributing to, and benefiting from, a transparent and clean energy supply with no lock in contracts.
How much does solar battery installation cost?
Installation costs can considerably contribute to the overall price of a home solar battery so it’s definitely advantageous to get quotes from multiple installers before deciding on one. When getting a quote for a solar battery installation, find out whether any additional products and work, like buying and installing an additional inverter, is needed to make the battery compatible with your system.
The total price of a sonnenBatterie Evo or sonnenBatterie hybrid depends on the installation costs which will be provided as a quote from your solar installer. For your peace of mind, sonnen works together with qualified solar installers across Australia who are accredited to install sonnen home battery systems. Ensuring your solar installer is both qualified and accredited to install your new system is crucial to avoid the risk of damaging the battery or voiding the warranty during installation.
Are home batteries worth the investment?
Provided that you purchase the right solar battery for the energy needs of your household and this investment in your energy independence makes economic sense then a home battery system is definitely worth the investment. ‘Economic sense’ in this regard means several things, including:
- The battery capacity correctly aligns with your household’s energy consumption
- The battery manufacturer is reliable and provides a strong warranty and local customer support.
sonnen has one of the market-leading warranties on home solar batteries, with either 10 years or 10,000 charge cycle warranty available on all components. Plus, with increasing energy prices, payback periods are decreasing for households, making investment into a solar battery storage system more feasible.
Government solar battery rebates
One way to effectively reduce the total price of a solar battery system at home is to take advantage of the government solar battery rebates that the federal and state governments are offering.
There aren’t solar battery rebate schemes in Queensland and Tasmania at the moment, and South Australia and New South Wales home battery schemes ended in mid-2022. However, homeowners in these states can access the federal government’s STC (Small-scale Technology Certificate) program which is available to households nationwide. Check out the Government's rebates and assistance to find out what battery rebate schemes are available in your local area.
Virtual power plants
Another option you can leverage to help reduce solar battery costs is to join a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program. In return for a subsidy – this could be a rebate towards the purchasing price of the solar battery, a direct payment, reduced energy bills or free battery installation – the VPP operator can use the stored energy in your home solar battery to supply the grid with energy during high-demand periods.
Whether you’re investing in a home solar battery system purely for the financial benefits or you’re more interested in achieving independence from the electricity grid, solar battery prices are likely to be one of the biggest considerations, if not the biggest. The total cost of the solar battery system not only includes the solar battery price, but also solar battery installation costs, rebate scheme availability and the virtual power plant network you join. Moreover, there are other considerations, such as changes to your home insurance cover to factor in the replacement cost of the solar panel system.
As there are many factors involved in determining your total solar battery storage price in Australia, investing in a home solar battery system requires research and planning to suit your circumstances, starting with evaluating your household’s electricity consumption.
Get in touch with the sonnen team if you’d like to know more about buying a home solar battery, or use our free online energy savings calculator to see your estimated savings over a 10-year period.
