The power game
Battery storage is set to
revolutionise the way we run ourhomes, writes Harvey Grennan.
T
he emergence of lithium-ion batteries is a
game-changer for householders wanting
to save on power costs. Until recently, it
has not been possible to economically store power
produced during the day for night-time and rainy
days. The scaling down and abolition by state
governments of ‘feed-in tariffs’ – money paid to
householders who feed their excess solar power
back into the electricity grid – had made solar
panels less economically attractive. Battery
storage has put them back in the picture.
So, can the average householder exist off-grid?
Caroline and Arthur Jefford of Bowral in the NSW
Southern Highlands have just spent $22,000 on
solar PV panels and batteries. They will save
$2000 a year on power bills, which means they
will pay for the system in11 years and enjoy
mostly free power thereafter. If they had added
a few more panels and a small diesel generator
they could have gone off-grid and become entirely
immune from blackouts and price gouging by
power companies.
Australians are already the most enthusiastic
adopters of solar power in the world. Now, with
arrival of economical and effective battery storage,
it’s easier than ever before to generate electricity
independent of power companies. Power providers
have seen the writing on the wall and are
beginning to offer battery storage themselves.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley has forecast
that 2.4 million homes could be using battery
storage within 10 years. The Climate Council goes
further, predicting half of all Australian households
will adopt solar systems with battery storage.
A recent government study predicts that by 2020
the cost of home batteries will fall dramatically- by 40 to 60 per cent – as has already happened
with the cost of solar panels. These predictions
make the solar/battery storage scenario a
compelling one indeed and there are several
players entering the market. >
Entries in the My Ideal House design competition
presented byAustralian House & Gardenand
Mirvac closed on March 6. Those who make the
shortlist will be notified on or before March 11,
with final judging taking place in early April.
The expert panel includesH&Geditor in chief,
Lisa Green; national practice director, Mirvac
Design, Peter Cotton; KPMG demographer,
Bernard Salt; architect, UNSW academic and
sustainability expert, Steve King; principal of
Tribe Studio Architects, Hannah Tribe; and
architecture design historian and lecturer at
UNSW Australia, Judith O’Callaghan. Learn
more about our judges and the competition at
http://www.myidealhouse.com.au.COMPETITION UPDATEText by Sarah Pickette (opposite). Photograph from Alamy (trees), Tony Scott/bauersyndication.com.au (bike).
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