Cheaper Home Batteries Rebate
As of July 1st 2025, the Australian Government is introducing the $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program, reducing the cost of a typical installed battery by 30 per cent . Analysis by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water shows a household with existing rooftop solar could save up to $1,100 off their power bill every year, and a household installing a new solar and a battery system could save up to $2,300 a year – up to 90 per cent of a typical family electricity bill. [Source].
The uptake of home batteries is surging
Apart from the Cheaper Home Batteries Rebate, the uptake of batteries had already been experiencing a huge surge in Australia during 2024 - 2025. This is driven due to households wishing to maximise returns from their solar panel investment, mitigate against a trend towards lower feed-in tariffs nationally and a desire to have higher levels of energy independence. This is especially salient given the recent weather events in Tasmania and resultant multi-day power outages, and general trend towards more extreme weather events.
Which home battery is right for your home?
HEG Consultants will help you determine which battery is appropriate for your household. Each battery has different capabilities & modules, and each household falls into its own category based on electrical & usage characteristics, such as:
- Do you currently have a rooftop solar system, and does it have a hybrid "battery & solar" inverter, or a solar-only inverter?
- Do you need extra panels installed to adequately charge the battery & support your household (and do you have enough roof space)?
- Do you have single, dual or three phase power? Are the electrical circuits suitable for using with back-up power?
- Are you in an area that has frequent blackouts or brown outs (flickering)? Are black-outs typically for multiple days?
- Does your household have medical or IT equipment that requires constant power? e.g. CPAP machines or servers.
- Are you mostly interested in reducing power bills (storing cheap solar or off-peak power and using it during peak power tariff periods)?
- What are your future plans for electric vehicles and other household electrical appliances e.g. spa's, pools, fridges & freezers, etc
HEG Consultants operate across Tasmania, and will work with you to evaluate your switchboard, house characteristics and power usage, then provide a clear and concise professional quotation for services.
Battery types & brands
- Tesla Powerwall 3 - the best know battery brand in Australia, the PW3 is provides off-grid functionality, a super-intuitive app & includes its own hybrid solar + battery inverter. If you want style & sophistication, this is the brand for you, especially if you are expanding an existing solar system or getting solar & a battery at the same time.
- Fox ESS - an up and coming battery system that is widely distributed & supported, the Fox ESS (Energy Storage System) provides off-grid functionality, modularity and an UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) in a compact wall-based unit, and at one of the best price points on the market.
- Sigenergy - an amazingly full-featured battery system that is one of the only mainstream batteries that incorporates bi-directional V2X functionality (allowing an electric vehicle to act like a home battery on wheels), fully integrated solar & battery inverters, plus optional modules for electric vehicle charging.
- Sungrow - an inverter & battery brand that is a stalwart of the industry. Sungrow is designed for flexibilty of installation, coming in 3-phase and single phase combinations, and interoperating with a number of other systems over a long period of time. Reliable and mature.
Fox ESS Home Battery Solution
The Fox ESS home energy storage battery system can provide backup emergency power, power load shifting to allow you to use solar-generated power at night-time and Off-Grid Mode so that you can have power over consecutive days of grid power outages (allowing your solar to recharge the battery).
If you're located in the north of Tasmania, we have one of these batteries set up in our showroom at 285 Invermay Road, Invermay.
Do you have an existing Rooftop Solar system?
If you have an existing rooftop solar system, HEG can either add a home battery, or extend your existing solar system and/or add a home battery.
If you don't currently have a solar system, we can install a solar and battery combination using a hybrid inverter (which can manage the solar and battery all in one unit).
Emergency Power & Off-Grid Mode Functionality
When the electricity grid goes down, most home batteries will provide emergency back-up power automatically to selected circuits in your house, often without you knowing it!
However, Off Grid Mode is different, and isn't available with all battery configurations or brands! This mode is where your own solar system is able to recharge your battery during an extended period when the grid is down. So, for instance, if the power goes off in the evening and most of the power from the battery is drained overnight, your battery will charge itself from your rooftop solar the next day. This effectively means that you can have ongoing power for days or weeks.
All of the batteries currently supported by HEG have Off Grid Mode functionality available, unless customers wish to have a specific configuration called "AC Coupling". This is used when a customer has existing solar-only inverters that they wish to keep, and their main focus is on Load Shifting (storing cheap solar power to use at peak tariff times in order to lower power bills).
What size battery should you get?
As a general rule of thumb, the larger the household (or larger the anticipated energy consumption), the larger the capacity of battery storage as it will need to be able to cope with a high energy demand. You will also need an appropriate solar capacity that allows you to charge up the batteries.
A home battery can optimise your energy consumption, provide energy security for your home, and future-proof your home, e.g. power price rises, electric vehicle charging, etc.
We will assess your power bills, make a note of your heating, cooling, hot water and cooking appliances, then assist you to select the appropriately size system for your current and near-term requirements.
(Advanced users only)
