SWAN View resident Greg Ross says his experience with a home battery system has been surprising while cautioning others to weigh up the full costs before making the switch.

Mr Ross said he and his wife had initially ruled out installing a battery due to the upfront expense, despite already having a solar system in place.

“We’d thought about getting a battery, but thought… it’ll be 10 years before we can make money up on it,” he said.

However, when the government incentives and interest-free financing became available, the couple began to reconsider.

“Suddenly, to get the battery for half price… and interest-free started to make a lot of sense,” he said.

The system was installed in December and has since reduced the household’s electricity costs significantly, with Mr Ross estimating their summer power bills have dropped from between $550 and $700 to about $200.

“So, we’ve wiped $500 off the bill,” he said.

He said a key benefit had been learning to better manage energy use through the system’s monitoring app.

“It really is an education tool… you think, my God, do we need to turn that on now?” he said.

The household has shifted energy-heavy activities such as running the dishwasher and washing machine to daylight hours, when solar generation is highest.

However, Mr Ross stressed the savings should not be overstated, particularly for households financing their system.

“You must add in the repayment cost of your battery,” he said.

“If your bill reads $2.57, you’ve got to add $180 to that… then you know really where you are.”

He also said the system was not designed to eliminate grid reliance entirely.

“Our intention was never to be completely off-grid,” he said.

Performance can also vary with seasonal conditions, with less solar generation in winter and higher reliance on the grid during peak air-conditioning use.

Despite this, Mr Ross said the battery proved its value during a seven-hour power outage, where the household continued to operate with minimal disruption.

“It literally… had no effect on us, none,” he said.

While he described the investment as a no-brainer in his case, Mr Ross encouraged others to carefully assess their own usage and expectations before committing.