Around 20,000 home battery systems have been installed in the month since the federal government’s rebate program began, according to new figures.
Analysis by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) indicates that, with subsidies, some households could recover the cost of a battery in as little as four years.
The study of 1,000 New South Wales homes found that the speed of uptake, while improving, raises questions about how benefits will be shared across different types of consumers.
The research showed that cheaper “budget” batteries often delivered better returns than premium models.
It also found that subsidies help to halve the time it takes for the average consumer’s battery to pay itself off.
Households with high evening electricity use or generally high overall consumption recorded the fastest savings.
AEMC Chair Anna Collyer said batteries have reached an important point in their market development.
“We’re seeing battery economics reach a genuine sweet spot similar to the early solar boom,” she said.
“The battery market has grown 80 percent in two years, but we’re still only seeing 4.1 percent penetration of solar households. Understanding how individual and system benefits align will be crucial as we potentially approach solar-like adoption levels.”
While the study focused on household savings, the AEMC noted that wider benefits could be achieved if batteries also contributed to broader energy system efficiency.
Virtual Power Plants—where households share stored energy with the grid—were identified as one approach delivering returns to owners while providing stability to the network.
The Rebate Scheme
Announced in July, the rebate offers households, businesses, and community organisations a discount of about 30 percent on the upfront cost of installing a small-scale battery system.
