Batteries for blackout protection, are they actually worth it?

Well, the short answer is yes, so long as you have the budget. We have had a massive surge, as we expected, after the southeast's latest superstorms, and many people are now wanting to have batteries for the times when the grid goes down. We totally understand, and to be honest, among the team, we're looking at doing the same thing now. We weren't until this event occurred...

Now we must stress no one in the team has a battery system, though two of us have generators, which, sort of, do the same thing. The difference is, though, that batteries with an AC source, so therefore a hybrid system, are a much safer and more reliable source of energy than a generator.

You may have heard Energex and other safety bodies telling you not to plug your generators into your switchboard. Well, that's a prime example. With batteries, you can safely run your house and live like nothing has happened (which is so, so necessary for areas like Mount Tambourine, Samford Valley etc). With generators, you should really only plug in the appliances required at the time. And, if it happens in summer, well, Aricon will be your saviour with the battery system!

Yes, there is a catch. It's much cheaper to buy a generator, which brings us to our main point of this article: What is your budget? Unfortunately, the majority of people we meet don't want to spend the money on a battery system. You will be up for at least double the cost of the solar system you purchased to able to have around 10kws of storage. Unfortunately, there is no short cut to this and even though prices may change slightly depending on brands, who you buy through etc, there's no way around the outlay.

So, in summary, batteries are a great idea of you have the money. And my goodness they will help during the hard times when the grid goes down. But, if you don't want to spend the money, well a cheap generator is probably a better option for you.

We hope this helps. It's a confusing and new technology to work with so many people are struggling with this very issue that we meet right now.

Stay sunny everyone!