Solar Batteries in Lismore
Storing Your Own Power Instead of Selling It Back
Feed-in tariffs have fallen far enough that exporting surplus solar earns a fraction of what buying that same power back costs after dark. At Elec One, we install solar batteries in Lismore for homes and businesses wanting to use more of what their panels already generate. Sizing is the part people get wrong most often, so we work it out from your evening load rather than a headline kWh figure. We build at the larger end as well, including a 30kW solar array paired with 225kWh of storage that took a property fully off grid after three months of testing. If you're adding storage to an existing array, our solar panel installation team will check the system is up to it first. Call 0468 778 248.
How We Approach Battery Installations
Battery work is as much about matching the system to your evening habits as it is about the hardware.
We look at when a household actually draws power, not just how much. A family that cooks and runs the dryer at 7pm needs a different setup to one that's out until late.
Existing arrays get checked before anything is added. We AC couple batteries alongside healthy inverters where that suits, including retrofits with blackout protection onto existing shed-mounted systems.
Blackout protection is wired to nominated essential circuits rather than the whole property. We'll go through which circuits are worth backing up, since covering everything shortens the run time dramatically.
Larger commercial and off-grid systems are part of our regular work, including installations pairing 110kW of generation with 50kWh of storage. Battery banks on those sites are sized around days of autonomy rather than a single evening.
Frequently asked questions
In most cases yes, either by AC coupling a battery alongside the existing inverter or by replacing that inverter with a hybrid unit. Which route makes sense depends on the age of the current system and how much headroom the switchboard has.
Lithium batteries are generally rated by cycles rather than years, and most residential units are warranted for a set number of full charge and discharge cycles. Keeping the battery out of extreme heat and sizing it so it cycles properly both help it reach that rating.
Only if it's wired with backup protection, since a standard grid-connected battery shuts down with the grid for safety reasons. Backup circuits are usually limited to essentials like the fridge, lighting and a few power points rather than the entire house.