With a battery system, you enable yourself a hybrid solar system, and at AusPac Solar, we rave about the benefits of such systems—because they work. Here’s a great example of how effective a hybrid system can truly be.
Susan and Bob live in Brisbane and have had their hybrid solar system for two years. But before we delve into their story, let’s understand how a hybrid system works.
A hybrid system for the home or business is essentially a mini power plant stored on your property. In 98% of cases, it makes your home energy-independent, a benefit our clients find wonderful.
Unlike regular systems, a hybrid system shines during cloudy or rainy weather. With energy stored for (literally) a rainy day, you avoid draining power from the grid. This reliance on your own stored energy saves you money. Your battery will always power your home first before any energy is imported from the grid.
Once the stored energy is depleted, a third source of energy is required, either from a generator or the grid. So, you always have a backup, and having a backup is crucial.
With a battery, you’re adding another layer to your energy savings. Now, let’s get back to Susan and Bob.
They purchased a 9.5kW PV and a 6kWh battery system (Hybrid) from us in 2022. Since then, they’ve always been in credit on their electricity bills and aren’t paying a cent for grid power.
“It feels good,” says Bob. They’re now considering buying an EV charger that will charge from their system.
“Most of the power we use, around 95%, is green energy,” says Susan. “We still draw very small amounts of power from the grid, for instance, if the batteries take a fraction of a second to release the power back into the house or can’t handle our peak load times.”
“It usually happens when we’re using multiple heavy-load appliances such as heating or cooling, oven, stovetop, dishwasher, and washing machines at the same time in the evening.”
While Susan and Bob were motivated by the environmental benefits of solar, it wasn’t their deciding factor. The primary motivation was to eliminate their electricity bills and future-proof their home against rising electricity costs.
“With electricity prices rising, we don’t see them slowing down. So, forecasting our future bills, we decided to invest now to beat the price hike,” Bob said.
“Given the way prices are going, we’re pretty happy we made the call to get a hybrid system when we did. We could have opted for a 4kWh smaller battery, but choosing the larger 6kWh battery size means we’re still in a surplus, selling back to the grid, even with prices increasing.”
“Our payback would have been sooner, but we’re glad we decided to go bigger. We knew our peak times were in the evening, and a battery would be necessary for those times.”
“With the amount of power we draw, a 6kWh battery is more than enough to cover our evening peak usage. We also schedule some of our washing during the day to ensure power is extracted from the panels, which helps us minimise our usage at night.”
“When it’s raining in Brisbane during the summer months, the battery also helps us during cloudy weather, and if there are power outages, our essential items stay on.”
Speak to AusPac Solar today to learn more about how a battery can assist you.
Call us on 1300 197 237 or email: sales@auspacsolar.com.au. Or click "Get a quote" above.
