Solar Battery Price Index – Feb 2022

Solar Choice has beforehand been publishing common solar PV system costs on a month-to-month foundation since August 2012 in our Solar Panel Price Index, which centered on family solar costs and which finally grew to become the Solar Choice Price Index. In May of 2014, we added our Commercial Solar Price Index for bigger system sizes, and in 2017 we launched this Home Battery Storage Price Index.

Average out-of-pocket battery set up costs – Feb 2022

The desk beneath shows common, indicative battery set up costs from a variety of installers round Australia, most of whom are lively within the Solar Choice community. Prices embrace set up and GST.

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Not positive what battery measurement is true on your home? Check out our Quick Guide to Sizing Residential Solar & Battery Systems

Further data, assumptions & explanations (click on to develop) ▼

• Pricing figures are based mostly on a variety of battery measurement choices in 4 measurement ‘buckets’ (1-5kWh, 6-10kWh, 11-15kWh, 15-20kWh); the 3kWh, 8kWh, 13kWh and 18kWh battery capability sizes used within the desk beneath are the ‘middle size’ battery financial institution from every of those buckets, and the costs had been generated by multiplying every quantity by the common $/kWh system sizes for every bucket (detailed within the second desk on this article). We did this as a result of it was the best approach to give readers an concept of what they’d be trying to pay for a battery system.
• All the battery merchandise use some lithium variant and have a ten yr guarantee. The battery manufacturers included this month are Alpha-ESS (numerous sizes) LG Chem (RESU line, numerous sizes), Tesla Powerwall 2 (13.2kWh),merchandise from sonnen’s eco vary, Sungrow’s PowCube, numerous merchandise within the Alpha-ESS vary, and Pylontech (numerous sizes). Inverter manufacturers included are Redback, Sungrow, SolaX & Goodwe.
• We differentiate between ‘battery only’ installations and ‘battery + inverter/charger systems’. Battery solely costs apply to households that both a) have already got a solar system with a battery-ready inverter put in and wish to retrofit batteries to it (assuming after all, that the batteries in query are suitable with that inverter), or b) plan on having a hybrid/battery-ready inverter put in with a brand new solar system. Please word that not all batteries merchandise have a ‘battery only’ equal – Tesla’s Powerwall 2 and Enphase’s AC Battery, for instance, each have inbuilt inverters (whose value is included alongside the battery), whereas LG Chem’s RESU line & Pylontech’s merchandise are battery banks with out inverters (though they do require an inverter to function, it’s doable to ‘double up’ with a hybrid inverter on your solar).
  • Which one do you want?
    • You’ve already bought solar: If you have already got a solar system with a hybrid inverter, the ‘battery only’ value could apply to you for those who discover suitable batteries. If you have already got solar however and not using a hybrid inverter, the ‘battery + inverter/charger’ pricing might be best for you.
    • You don’t have solar but: If you don’t but have solar, and also you undoubtedly know you need batteries, the ‘battery only’ column will solely apply to you if you find yourself buying a system with a hybrid/battery-ready inverter. The battery+inverter/charger column will apply to you for those who’re contemplating a battery product that has its personal inverter (e.g. Powerwall or Enphase AC Battery) to go together with your solar system.

Average battery set up costs – Feb 2022

In this desk we attempt to take a holistic strategy to representing battery worth. When evaluating battery programs, folks within the trade sometimes converse when it comes to ‘dollars per kilowatt-hour’ ($/kWh) of storage capability. This is a straightforward shortcut for discussing battery worth (which is why we’ve included it), however doesn’t inform the total story as completely different batteries can tolerate completely different ranges of use. For instance, some batteries could solely be charged/discharged (‘cycled’) as soon as day by day, whereas others can by cycled as much as 2.7x per day (see: sonnen) with out voiding the guarantee.

To this finish, we’ve additionally included figures on ‘energy throughput‘. The energy throughput metric gives you an idea of how much you’ll pay for every kWh of energy that you simply go by way of the battery over its lifespan.

We’ve checked out two situations:

1. If you cycle the battery as many instances as its cycle life will permit per day (whole cycle life), or
2. If you cycle it solely as soon as per day (which is the extra life like state of affairs since most properties will cost their batteries solely with the solar and never with the grid – c.f. tariff arbitrage).

As famous within the footnotes of the picture above, these figures are extremely indicative and are supposed to function a way of comparability between battery merchandise – they don’t bear in mind battery degradation or effectivity.

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The ‘Are we there yet?’ Meter(s)

Despite their rising recognition, the overwhelming majority of the virtually 2 million households with solar panels in Australia do not need batteries. As battery expertise prices fall, battery storage will grow to be extra financially engaging and the variety of battery installations will improve.

The ‘Are we there yet?’ Meter (the charts beneath) gauge the general attractiveness of home battery storage in Australia – for each households contemplating a model new solar-plus-storage system in addition to these taking a look at a doable battery retrofit.

We have a look at the nationwide ‘low end’ battery costs for moderately-sized (5kWh & 10kWh) battery programs (not a selected product, however extra an amalgamation of varied merchandise that we’ve seen) and see how the estimated payback intervals stack up towards a theoretical ‘ideal’ payback interval of seven years; we see this 7 yr mark as being an affordable signifier of the battery market being the place it must be to make sense for many households (the ‘there’ in ‘are we there yet?’).

IMPORTANT: More about battery costs & payback intervals (click on to develop) ▼

We’ve additionally set a goal $700/kWh determine for batteries (particularly lithium with a ten yr guarantee) as a marker for normal battery affordability. One of the largest hurdles to battery storage uptake in Australia is the up-front prices related to batteries. At this value level, a 10kWh battery system would value roughly $7,000 and a 5kWh battery system would value about $3,500 – tenable (if not negligible) quantities to pay for one thing that can go a good distance in the direction of minimising electrical energy payments and upping a home’s energy independence.

Note that that is the payback interval for the work that the battery does ‘shifting’ solar energy to night use, and excludes direct solar advantages – calculated utilizing our Solar & Battery Storage Sizing & Payback Estimator Tool. Payback intervals for ‘whole’ solar+storage programs – these seen as a single unit – will already are available at beneath 10 years in lots of locations. Also word that it doesn’t bear in mind the truth that there’s a chance value related to placing your solar into batteries as an alternative of incomes a feed-in tariff for it – which truly makes batteries much less interesting.

Other assumptions: The mannequin state of affairs assumes a home with a 5kW solar system and a median day by day energy consumption stage of 25kWh on the ‘evening peak’ consumption sample. This hypothetical home is situated in Sydney (which will get a middling quantity of daylight), and is on a time of use (TOU) billing plan, the place electrical energy is costlier within the night. (TOU plans are typically the extra engaging choice for households with batteries.)

So is battery storage there but?

1. Battery plus inverter – (Relevant for properties enterprise a full battery retrofit or a brand new solar & storage system with two inverters)

At $800-$900/kWh for programs on the ‘low’ finish of the worth spectrum, and with payback intervals approaching 10 years in the precise mixtures of circumstances, we’re shut sufficient for plenty of Australians to justify investing in a battery retrofit, however not but within the territory of ‘mass appeal’.

Note that this month we up to date the electrical energy value particulars we use in our modelling, which has modified the outcomes past simply the battery value actions.

Also keep in mind that this chart is supposed to replicate the nationwide scenario as an amalgamated complete – your particular person scenario (together with the state you reside in, the quantity you pay for electrical energy & the deal you get on a battery system) could also be conducive to a shorter payback interval, so we encourage you to look into it for your self.

(You can get battery system pricing by requesting a Quote Comparison by way of our system. You can consider battery viability on your scenario utilizing our  Solar & Battery Storage Sizing & Payback Estimator Tool.)

‘Full’ battery-plus-inverter system set up costs vs common payback intervals throughout two battery measurement classes (5kWh and 10kWh). Note that the bottom value on a 5kWh battery measurement class providing is already beneath the $7,000 affordability threshold. Click to enlarge.

2. Batteries solely – (Relevant for properties buying a model new solar+storage system with hybrid/battery-ready inverter, or retrofitting batteries to a battery with a hybrid/battery-ready inverter)

Prices for ‘battery only’ installations didn’t change this month as considerably as they did for battery+inverter programs, however the scenario stays the identical as earlier months: For anybody out there for a model new solar system, it might be worthwhile to tack on a small or medium-sized battery financial institution when you’re at it, judging by this month’s knowledge. A 5kW solar system plus (roughly) 5kWh battery financial institution might value as little as $10,000, relying on the place you reside and which merchandise you go together with. A system of this measurement at this value would allow most households to dramatically scale back their electrical energy payments, would ship an affordable return and would permit for a good diploma of energy independence (presumably together with some emergency blackout safety).

‘Battery only’ pricing vs payback intervals throughout two battery measurement classes (5kWh and 10kWh).

About this knowledge

Solar Choice’s Battery Storage Price Index is the companion to our Solar PV Price Index, which covers solar system set up costs round Australia. The intention of the Battery Storage Price Index is to help consumers in getting a grip on this comparatively new market and assess whether or not batteries are value their whereas.

Tables and charts included on this article had been compiled utilizing knowledge from Solar Choice’s installer community database (in addition to a few outdoors sources), which comprises regularly-updated pricing and product particulars from over 100 solar & battery set up firms throughout Australia. Prices don’t ordinarily incorporate meter set up charges or further prices for tough installations.

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Since 2008 our information and complex software program has allowed over 180,000 Australian households and companies to make a well-informed alternative on their solar & battery installer.

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