With interest in installing a rooftop solar PV array coupled with battery storage running at all-time highs, the ATA hopes to allow households to best size their system.
The new ATA Free Solar and Battery Advice Service uses five pieces of information to generate a solar+storage recommendation. They are:
- In which state the householder is located;
- What the household type is;
- What electricity tariff the household is currently on;
- Whether rooftop PV has already been installed.
The ATA then generates a report with different options for a solar+storage system, the savings on electricity that will result and the payback period.
At present, analysis from consultancy SunWiz shows that in most cases adding a storage system to a PV array in Australia will extend the payback of the system on the whole. However, the economics of this are quickly evolving and it has not seemed to damped the desire of households to increase their independence from electricity retailers, and security of supply, by adding a battery storage system.
SunWiz
Damien Moyse, Energy Projects Manager at ATA says that the online calculator has been developed to answer one of the “key questions” that it receives from households about purchasing solar or solar+storage system.
“The challenge for everybody when they are considering buying a solar or solar and battery system is what size do I get? You can’t just do those type of calculations in your head: It depends on your household type, where you are in Australia and the system size that you are putting in,” says Moyse in a Youtube video promoting the free service.
“You should really choose your tool if you care at all about the economic performance of your solar or solar and battery system. If you start by going to a solar installer, they don’t do this kind of analysis for you. They will essentially size your system based on how much energy you use on the year but that won’t necessarily be the best economic outcome for you.”
Moyse says that the ATA advice can be taken to installers when the household goes about getting solar+storage quotes.
“You take that to the solar installer and get them to quote based on that system size,” Moyse concludes.
ATA is a membership based not-for-profit, with currently 6,000 members.
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