SolarHub Home Battery Buyer's Guide - 2025
What You Need to Know Before purchasing a battery for your home
More than ever, Australians are turning to solar batteries to gain control over their energy use, reduce reliance on the grid, and get more out of their solar investment.
With new rebates launching, feed-in tariffs falling, and technology evolving fast, 2025 is shaping up to be a breakout year for home battery adoption in NSW and the ACT.
Whether you’re new to the idea or just looking to deepen your understanding, this guide walks you through everything you need to know—clearly and simply.
Why Add a Battery to Your Home?
The main reason most people get a battery is to use more of their own solar power.
Without a battery, most homes export their excess solar to the grid for just a few cents per kilowatt-hour. But with a battery, you can store that extra solar energy during the day and use it at night, when you’d otherwise be paying much more for electricity.
That shift—called “time-shifting”—means a battery can significantly reduce your electricity bill, especially if you’re home in the evening or have larger energy needs after dark. It also provides energy independence. If the grid goes down, a battery with backup functionality can keep your lights, fridge, and internet running. In short, a battery helps you save money, stay powered in blackouts, and rely less on energy retailers.
What's New in 2025?
First, there’s a chance of a new federal rebate that would knock around 30% off the price of a home battery. This would build on the existing solar rebate framework and make batteries much more affordable for everyday homeowners.
Second, NSW has introduced its own state rebate of up to $2,400 for eligible homes with existing solar systems, plus a bonus for joining a Virtual Power Plant (more on that later). The ACT’s upfront battery grant has now closed, but residents can still access zero-interest loans to finance batteries through the Sustainable Household Scheme.
Meanwhile, feed-in tariffs—the amount you get paid to export solar to the grid—have dropped dramatically. While you might have received 10 to 12 cents per kWh a few years ago, most NSW and ACT residents are now seeing just 3 to 8 cents. This shift has made it much more attractive to keep your solar power at home and use it yourself, rather than export it for almost nothing.
How Solar Batteries Work
A solar battery stores electricity—usually from your solar panels—so you can use it later. During the day, your solar system powers your home first. If you’re producing more than you’re using, the excess energy goes into the battery. Later, when the sun goes down and your panels stop generating, your battery steps in and powers your home.
If your battery runs out, you draw power from the grid as usual. If you still have extra solar even after your battery is full, that energy is exported to the grid and you’re paid the standard feed-in rate.
Sizing a Battery for Your Home
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but here’s the key: most homes don’t need a huge battery to see real benefits.
For the average household using 20–30 kilowatt-hours per day, a 10 to 13 kWh battery is often ideal. That’s enough to cover most of your evening use and keep essentials running during an outage. If your home is larger, has higher consumption, or you plan to electrify everything (like cooking, heating, and even a car), you might want to look at batteries in the 15–25 kWh range.
It’s important to balance the size of your solar system with your battery. If you have a small solar system, adding an oversized battery might mean it doesn’t get fully charged most days, especially in winter. Likewise, if your usage is low, an enormous battery could go underutilised.
Another important consideration is how your energy consumption and solar production vary throughout the year. In colder climates—such as the ACT or Snowy Monaro region—winter energy usage is typically much higher due to heating demands, while solar production is at its lowest due to shorter days and reduced sunlight. In these areas, we generally recommend oversizing both the solar and battery components to ensure your system can handle the worst-case scenario: a cold, cloudy winter day with low solar generation. Having extra capacity provides greater resilience and allows for meaningful savings even during the least favourable months.
By contrast, in warmer climates where seasonal variation is less pronounced, energy usage tends to be more consistent throughout the year. In those cases, sizing your system based on your average daily consumption will usually provide reliable performance and a strong return on investment.
The best way to get it right is to have a professional assess your energy use patterns and solar generation, then recommend the right battery size for you—not just now, but also with your future plans in mind.
Small consumption
Between 10-20kWh a day
Medium Consumption
Between 20-30kWh a day
Large consumption
Between 30-60kWh a day
Backup Power: What You Can Expect
Not all batteries provide backup during a blackout, so it’s important to ask.
Some systems are designed only to help you save money and reduce grid usage. Others can take over when the grid goes down—but even among those, capabilities vary. Some will only power essential circuits (like your fridge, lights, and Wi-Fi), while others can back up your whole home, including larger appliances.
For full backup, you’ll need a battery system capable of delivering higher continuous power (not just energy storage). The installation must also include a special transfer device that separates your home from the grid during an outage. Homes with three-phase power may require extra setup, but it’s absolutely achievable now—even for full three-phase backup.
If backup is important to you, make sure to discuss this upfront with your installer. And know that in most modern systems, the switch from grid to battery is automatic and, depending on your particular battery selection, almost instant.
What’s the Difference Between a $5,000 and a $15,000 Battery?
It comes down to capacity, brand, power output, backup functionality, software, and service.
Lower-cost batteries are usually smaller, have less sophisticated software, and may not include backup capability. They can be a great fit for budget-conscious buyers but often lack the performance, support, or future-proofing offered by premium systems.
At the other end of the spectrum, batteries like the Tesla Powerwall or advanced modular systems from brands like Sigenergy or BYD offer greater storage capacity, more advanced monitoring, smoother integration with your solar system, and stronger performance in backup scenarios. These batteries also tend to come with warranties that are more likely to be honoured, thanks to the financial strength and established track record of the manufacturers. Their expected lifespans are typically longer as well.
Just as importantly, premium systems usually come with superior after-sales support—something that really matters when you’re making a 10+ year investment.
Finally, when a battery’s price seems too good to be true, every corner tends to be cut—including the installation quality. The product is one thing; the installation is another. Retailers selling batteries at very low prices, often with slim margins, need to move high volumes to stay profitable. That usually means installations are rushed, with minimal regard for aesthetics, proper protection devices, and long-term safety standards.
If you’re investing in energy independence, it’s critical to understand what you’re paying for—and how long your battery is likely to perform. Sometimes, the appeal of a bargain hides hidden risks, including subpar components or unsafe workmanship that could compromise your home—often your life’s biggest investment.
Virtual Power Plants (VPPs): Worth It?
A Virtual Power Plant is a way to connect your battery to a wider network of other batteries.
When electricity demand spikes, your battery can send some of its stored energy to the grid. You get paid for this service, and the grid becomes more stable.
It’s a smart way to squeeze more value out of your battery—especially if you don’t use all your stored energy each night. Many VPPs allow you to keep a reserve in your battery so that even if the grid goes down, you still have backup power.
VPPs are completely optional, and the best programs are flexible, pay you fairly, and don’t interfere with your daily savings. In fact, NSW offers an extra rebate for joining one. If your battery is compatible, it’s worth exploring.
What If I Already Have Solar?
Adding a battery to an existing solar system is very common.
The process is called “retrofitting,” and most quality installers can do it with minimal changes to your current system.
One tip: it’s a good time to have your solar system audited. If the panels aren’t performing well, or if they’re undersized, your installer might recommend adding a few more panels to better support your new battery. But if your system is still working well, there’s no need to replace it.
What About the Future?
Batteries are becoming smarter, safer, and more integrated with other systems in your home—like electric vehicles and smart appliances.
Many of the latest models can be expanded later with more capacity, or even paired directly with EV chargers.
Some systems are modular, allowing you to start small and add storage as your needs grow. However, given how incentives are structured and the importance of keeping costs under control, it’s often better to install the right capacity from the outset rather than expanding later.
There are two main reasons for this. First, if the federal battery rebate is introduced, all indications are that it will be a one-off opportunity—you won’t be able to “double dip” if you expand your system later. And since the rebate is based on the total storage capacity you install, maximising your battery size upfront means a bigger rebate.
Second, while modular batteries are designed for expandability, retrofitting them usually comes at a higher cost. Adding more capacity often means repeating much of the original work: lodging new connection requests, sending an electrician back to site, demounting the battery, integrating the new module, testing, and reconnecting. All of this takes time—and time means additional cost, both on-site and administratively.
If you’re thinking of electrifying more parts of your home—like switching from gas to electric cooking or heating, or purchasing an EV—it’s worth choosing a battery that’s capable of growing with you.
