Enphase Storage System is set to revolutionise Australias energy market by enabling households to use their solar power when the sun isnt shining.
Sydney-based solar installer, Solaray Energy, has unveiled the worlds first Enphase Storage System to be installed as part of the Enphase beta testing programme, indicating that the company is in the final stages of testing before market rollout. The system was installed at the home of Peter Thorne, an electrical engineer by trade and a director of Solaray Energy, the leading independent solar installer in Sydney.
This is an exciting day for the solar industry as Enphase Energy, one of the leading energy technology providers globally begins rolling out a product that many expect will revolutionise the way households manage their power consumption.
Like so many Australians, Peter struggles to use all of his solar power in the home as it is generated during the day. Peters 5kW solar system, which also happens to be Enphase-powered, generates most of its power when the family is at work, and so excess solar power is currently being fed out to the grid.
This has all changed thanks to the Enphase Storage System. Excess solar power is now automatically directed to charge Peters four Enphase AC Batteries, which can then be used later in the evening to power the home including appliances, lights, computers and the TV.
Whats even more exciting is that the Enphase AC Battery can be cycled twice a day, which means Peter will be able to buy power from the grid overnight when his energy retailer charges lower off-peak tariffs, which can then use in the morning when the price of power is much higher. This is a key feature that many households with time of use billing will benefit from, and it effectively doubles a batterys daily capacity.
Peter said, After installing the Enphase Storage System, to see my home now running almost entirely off solar power is a great feeling. I now see the power grid as nothing more than a backup, and thats where I think we need to get to as a nation over the coming years.
Peter sees battery storage as the future for solar power system owners. Because my partner and I are both at work during the day, battery storage allows us to catch any excess power we would otherwise be reluctantly giving away to our energy retailer at 5 cents a kWh. We would much rather see this power stored in batteries so that we can further reduce our power bills by using it when we come home from work, he said. For me battery storage is the future. Im proud to be growing the renewable energy industry and doing my bit to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in particular coal and coal-seam gas.
Solaray Energy director and battery storage advocate, Jonathan Fisk said, We are very excited to see our first Enphase Storage System being installed. We have seen a huge interest in the Enphase solution; we now have months worth of installation slots already sold out it is an incredible time for the industry.
We are expecting the Enphase Home Energy Solution to be a top seller in Australia throughout 2016 and well into the future. Enphase AC Batteries are inherently safer than DC batteries, they easy to install, and whats more, they are compatible with all of our existing solar installations.
There is a growing recognition that solar storage is about to boom in Australia due to high energy prices and the low feed in tariffs paid by energy companies for excess solar power. This makes storing solar power an obvious fit for households that want to get the full financial benefit from their solar system, minimising their power bills and their carbon footprint. With NSW and Victoria still heavily reliant on coal to power the energy grid, people like Peter who are environmentally minded are rushing to install batteries with pride in knowing that they are leading an energy revolution:
Peter said, I understand that it is early days for battery storage but for me it is about a lot more than just reducing my power bill. I have a family, and so naturally I am concerned about our future and how climate change is already affecting us here in Australia. You only have to look at whats happening to the Great Barrier Reef to get a sense that the time to act is right now.
The installation was incredibly easy, there were no modifications needed to my existing system as the Enphase batteries are compatible with my existing Enphase-powered solar system, and they look great in my garage. I believe millions of Australians will look at converting their homes to run off solar power given how easy it is to add batteries. We have so much sun in Australia, to me running my home on solar power is a no-brainer.
Compatible with all existing solar systems, the Enphase Storage System from Solaray Energy includes 2 x AC Batteries that each have a capacity of 1.2 kWh. The small and modular architecture of the Enphase AC Battery allows households to right-size system to avoid overspending on storage capacity. Furthermore, as energy use increases in the home and as battery prices continue to fall, adding additional batteries will be quick and easy.
The system comes with the Envoy-S Communications Gateway that connects your Enphase Home Energy Solution to the cloud. Through the Enphase Enlighten platform, system owners are able to monitor and manage the system. There is even home automation capability built in, with the Enphase system designed specifically as a platform to enable future integration with smart home apps and appliances starting to hit the market. This will open up new ways for homeowners to interact with energy, for example by buying and selling power directly with other households.
The Enphase Home Energy Solution is currently available for order from the Solaray Online Store and includes full installation and support. Solaray is running introductory specials for existing solar customers and interested households.
http://solaray.com.au/solaray-news/solaray-install-worlds-first-enphase-storage-beta-system/
