Australian households rocked by surging power prices are increasingly turning to batteries as well as solar to ease their dependence on the grid, with the number of new systems soaring last year.
Figures from industry advocate SunWiz suggest there were more than 47,000 residential batteries installed across the country last year as energy markets went into meltdown and prices for millions of customers rose.
It was a 55 per cent leap on the previous year.
SunWiz noted that one battery was installed for every seven solar systems added to the network during 2022, compared with one for every 12 new solar installations the year before.
About 180,000 Australian households now had a battery system, SunWiz said.
It noted that was "still a long way off the 3 million homes with solar panels".
The record uptake of household batteries, combined with strong ongoing demand for rooftop solar, helped push Australia's renewable energy generation share to historic highs last year.
Along with the output from large-scale projects such as wind and solar farms, green sources made up about 40 per cent of the power produced in the national electricity market.
Households 'taking back power'
SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston said a range of factors were adding up to spur what had been relatively sluggish interest in household energy storage.
He said many people were trying to protect themselves from the volatility sparked by crises such as the pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and sharply rising energy prices.
Mr Johnston said many were also worried about rising greenhouse gas emissions and wanted to reduce their own output.
He said householders were getting batteries "in an effort to increase their energy independence, resilience and self-reliance".
"With skyrocketing electricity prices, this data shows Australian households and businesses are taking back power from the energy system by turning to cheaper, renewable sources of energy," Mr Johnston said.
"We're seeing an unprecedented number of batteries being added across the country.
He said solar battery installation would enable free energy generated by the sun to be stored for later use.
"Homes and businesses set up with solar and storage are guaranteed lower power bills which will be a relief to many as we go into winter," he said.
According to SunWiz, all states except South Australia had record increases of battery installations in the 12 months to December 31, led by the most populous states of Victoria and New South Wales.
Demand 'quadruples'
South Australia, however, still had the greatest number of battery systems per head of population.
SunWiz predicted the number of battery systems – and the rate of uptake – would continue to rise in the coming years as battery prices held steady or even fell while electricity prices increased.
And it said the uptake would be fuelled by a raft of state government incentives, which ranged from interest-free loans in the ACT to discounts worth thousands of dollars in NSW, Victoria and the Northern Territory.
Despite the forecast, SunWiz acknowledged the time it took households to recoup the costs of installing solar panels and batteries had blown out since 2020 to more than 11 years.
By contrast, businesses installing both technologies faced shorter payback periods, which had fallen from more than seven years in 2021 to just 5.7 years at the end of 2022.
While Mr Johnston said the costs of batteries were still a deterrent for many people, others argued the case already stacked up.
Cairns resident Simon Thompson said he was driven to installing a battery system after moving to tropical North Queensland and receiving his first power bill.
Batteries 'a relief from the grid'
Mr Thompson said he was shocked by the invoice of $800 for the quarter, and, mindful of the need for power in Cairns' hot and humid conditions, resolved to reduce his exposure to the grid.
"It's a big up-front expense," Mr Thompson said.
"But it's allowed us to have negative bills.
"So, every time I get a bill, I'm actually looking forward to it.
"Currently, our bill is negative $4 to $16 a month. And what's great is my bills go down when the power prices go up."
The 52-year-old said he expected more households would get a storage system, particularly in areas such as north Queensland which were prone to shaky power supplies.
"Having a battery gives you peace of mind," he said.
"And we also feel independent from the grid.
"We sort of feel a little bit rebellious I guess … when everyone else is struggling through a hot night and we've got the air-con running … it's been quite cool."
