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221742-09-Kick-Off meeting-16 January-rev1.pptx
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Household Solar Power and Battery Survey
Interim report March 2017
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Introduction
The results presented in this interim report were gathered from a recent survey of
Ausgrid residential customers and covered questions about household solar power and
battery systems.
The purpose of this research is to better understand the likely uptake of household solar
and battery systems for consideration in the development of demand management
options and deferral of network investment. As part of the survey we aimed to better
understand customers’ levels of knowledge, usage and motivation drivers for installing
solar power and battery systems.
The project was funded from the Demand Management and Innovation Allowance
(DMIA) and results from the research will help to inform the development of future
innovation projects that have the potential to reduce long term network costs.
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Customers in the Ausgrid network
Ausgrid distributes electricity to over 1.7 million customers in the Eastern Sydney, Central Coast and
Hunter regions of NSW. The focus for this research was on customers in our network area who live in
separate houses as they are more likely to own a solar or battery system or to have one installed in the
future.
Customer type breakdown Ausgrid’s Network Area
Customer type Total
customers*
Solar
customers*
Residential: separate
houses ~840,000 ~105,000
Residential: apartments,
townhouses, other ~680,000 ~<100
Non-residential: –
businesses, government ~180,000 ~2,500
Total ~1,700,000 ~108,000
*Customer numbers estimated as at March 2017
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Survey Development
The survey and questions were designed to take into consideration participation from existing
solar and/or battery owners as well as non-solar customers.
The following topic areas were included in the survey:
• the demographic characteristics of solar, non-solar and battery owners;
• motivations for purchasing solar and home storage batteries;
• experience during the application, connection and installation;
• opinions about their system performance and benefits; and
• attitudes towards participation and incentives in demand management trials
Feedback on the survey and questions was sought from a range of stakeholders during the
development phase and this was incorporated into the survey design. The final survey was
loaded into Survey Monkey and went through several rounds of user acceptance testing
before being launched in November 2016.
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Customer Communication and Response
Survey Communications:
A random sample of residential customers residing in separate houses was selected
including approximately 10,000 solar and 5,000 to 6,000 non-solar customers. These
customers were sent a letter invitation, inviting them to participate in the online survey in
early November 2016.
Participants were also offered the opportunity to enter into a prize draw competition where
ten entrants were randomly selected to each win a $500 Coles Myer voucher. The online
survey and competition ran during 1-28 November 2016 and the competition winners
were notified by 7 December 16.
Survey Response:
Overall a pleasing response rate of 10% was achieved with 1,461 completed online
responses. A further 86 customers completed a hard copy survey.
The online respondents comprised of 1,075 solar customers and 386 non-solar
customers. Of the solar customers, 86 owned a battery in their home. The interim results
in this report are from the online respondents.
If you have any questions regarding the survey or would like to provide feedback into
further research please email us at: [email protected]
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Contents
1. Ownership of Solar and Batteries
2. Solar respondent profile
3. Non-Solar respondent profile
4. Key demographic differences between Solar/Non-Solar/Battery respondents
5. Solar ownership
6. Motivations for purchasing solar
7. Solar installation experience
8. Solar system performance and benefits gained
9. Future intentions to purchase a battery
10. Battery respondent profile
11. Battery ownership
12. Motivations for purchasing batteries
13. Battery installation experience
14. Battery system performance and benefits
15. Demand management for batteries
16. Next steps, your feedback and further information
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Intending to
buy Battery
Solar
Ownership of Solar and Batteries
Total online completed respondents = 1,461
(100%)
Solar customers
= 1,075 (74%) Non-Solar customers
= 386 (26%)
Solar owners
+ Intending to purchase Battery
= 509 (35%)
Base = 1,461, total completed online responses, excluding those who do not know if they have purchased a solar system for their home
Battery
Non-Solar owners
not intending to
purchase solar
or battery system
= 236 (16%)
Intending to
buy Solar
Non-Solar owners intending to
purchase solar system, not
intending to purchase a battery
system = 44 (3%)
Non-Solar owners intending to
buy solar system and a battery
system = 106 (7.3%)
Solar + Battery owners
= 86 (6%)
Solar
respondents
Non-Solar
respondents
28% of non-solar respondents intend to
purchase a battery sometime in the future
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Solar Respondent Profile
Ausgrid solar respondents are more likely to be:
• Significantly skewed to being male (79%)
• Between 54-72 years old
• Living as a couple without children
• Twice as many solar respondents own their home
outright (62%) than non-solar respondents
Owned outright,
62%
Owned with a mortgage,
37%
Being rented, 1%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Do
yo
u o
wn
yo
ur
ho
me
or
ren
tit
?
Tenure
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
Household Type
0
10
20
30
40
50
18 22 26 30 34 38 42 46 50 54 58 62 66 70 74 78 82 86 90 94 98
Age
Age Distribution of Solar Owners
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9
2%
8% 9%
17% 64%
How long lived at address
Ausgrid solar respondents are more likely to:
• have lived in their current home for more than 10 years
• have an annual household income between $78-$155k (25%)
• be more likely to be living in 4 bedroom house
• have an average quarterly electricity bill $201-$400
1%
2%
14%
15%
25%
10%
3%
31%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Nil income
$1-$20,799 per year
$20,800-$41,599 per year
$41,600-$77,999 per year
$78,000-$155,999 per year
$156,000-$311,999 per year
$312,000 or more per year
Prefer not to sayTotal Household Income Distribution
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
25% 37%
21% 9%
3% 2%
3%
Qu
arte
rly
Co
st
Quarterly Electricity Costs
Solar Respondent Profile
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Non-Solar Respondent Profile
Ausgrid non- solar respondents are more likely to:
• be more evenly spread between males and females (59%/41%)
• have a wider spread of ages between 36-70
• be paying off their home mortgage (45%)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
18
21
24
27
30
33
36
39
42
45
48
51
54
57
60
63
66
69
72
75
78
81
84
87
90
93
96
99
Age
Age distribution of non-solar customers
Single Person
, 10%
Couple
without children, 31%
Couple with
children, 42%
One parent
family, 5%
Other family
household , 7%
Group
household, 3%
Other, 2%
Household Type
Base = 386, total completed online responses, answered ‘no’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
Owned outright 37%
Owned with a mortgage 45%
Being rented, 16%
Being occupied rent free, 1%
Other, 1%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%Do
yo
u o
wn
yo
ur
ow
n h
om
e o
r re
nt
it?
Tenure
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12%
24%
11% 12%
41%
How long lived at address
1 year of less
Greater than 1 to 3years
Greater than 3 to 5years
Greater than 5 to 10years
Greater than 10 years
1%
3%
10%
12%
29%
10%
3%
31%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Nil
$1-$20,799 per year
$20,800-$41,599 per year
$41,600-$77,999 per year
$78,000-$155,999 per year
$156,000-$311,999 per year
$312,000 or more per year
Prefer not to say
Income Distribution
Ausgrid non-solar respondents are more likely to:
• be living as a couple with children
• have children under the age of 24 in the household
• have larger electricity bills with 30% paying between
$401-$600 per quarter
• Have lived in their house between 1-3 years
10%
32%
30%
15%
5%
4%
5%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
$200 or less
$201 to $400
$401 to $600
$601 to $800
$801 to $1,000
More than $1000
Don’t know
Quart
erl
y C
ost
Quarterly Electricity Costs
Base = 386, total completed online responses, answered ‘no’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
Non-Solar Respondent Profile
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Comparisons between Non-Solar, Solar and Battery Owners
No significant difference between income band distributions amongst Non-Solar, Solar
and Battery respondents
10% 14% 9%
12% 15%
16%
29% 25%
23%
10% 10% 12%
3% 3% 3%
31% 31% 35%
5%
15%
25%
35%
45%
55%
65%
75%
85%
95%
Non-Solar Solar Battery
Comparison of Income Bands
Nil income $1-$20,799 per year $20,800-$41,599 per year $41,600-$77,999 per year
$78,000-$155,999 per year $156,000-$311,999 per year $312,000 or more per year Prefer not to say
Base = 1,461, total completed online responses
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Comparisons between Non-Solar, Solar and Battery Owners
Non-Solar respondents are more likely to live in a 3 bedroom home compared to solar
and battery respondents, who are more likely to have 4 bedrooms/larger homes
8% 5% 12%
43%
33% 23%
39%
46% 48%
7% 13% 14%
2% 3% 3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Non-Solar Solar Battery
Comparison of Number of Bedrooms
1 bedroom 2 bedrooms 3 bedrooms 4 bedrooms 5 bedrooms 6+ bedrooms
Base = 1,461, total completed online responses
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Solar Ownership – Installation Date
Just over 40% of solar respondents surveyed had their solar system installed
between 2010 and 2012.
1 0 1 4 1 4 1 1 2 6 14
22
59
195
143
111
97
128
110 113
0
40
80
120
160
200
Num
ber
of sola
r syste
ms p
urc
hased
Year of purchase
Number of Solar Systems Purchased
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
NSW Solar Bonus Scheme started
on 1 Jan 2010
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Solar Ownership – Installation Company
Base = 782, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household and answered who they purchased
solar system from.
Of those who were able to name the company they purchased their solar system
from, below are the top 20 companies named:
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Solar Australia
AGL
Mark Group
Origin
Newcastle Solar
True Value Solar
Energy Matters
Solar Switch
GoSolar
Modern Solar
Natural Solar
Nicholls Group
Solarhart
Solarpro
Euro Solar
Solaray
Superior Solar
Harvey Norman
HCB Solar
Sanctuary Energy
What was the name of the company you purchased your solar system from?
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A quarter of respondents surveyed paid between $4,000 and $6,000 (after
rebates/certificates) for their solar system while another 22% spent only $2,000-$4000.
Solar Ownership – System Cost
4%
22%
25%
16%
11%
16%
6%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
$2,000 or less $2,001 to $4,000 $4,001 to $6,000 $6,001 to $8,000 $8,001 to $10,000 More than $10,000 Don't know
Amount paid for solar system
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
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Solar Ownership – Purchase Information
The most common source of information used for installing solar power
was from solar companies, followed by solar industry/environmental
bodies and government organisations.
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
30%
62%
24%
36% 33%
18% 14% 15% 13% 6% 10%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Which of the following information sources did you use to help decide to install a solar power system?
Recommended by friend, family or other
Solar company information
Energy retailer advertising, website or bill information
Solar industry / environmental organisations (eg. Clean Energy Council, Australian PV Institute, Alternative Technology Association)
Government information or websites (state or federal government)
Consumer organisations/ product reviews (eg. Choice)
Online discussion forums (eg. Whirlpool)
Newspaper or magazine advertising
Television or radio advertising
Home or industry exhibition shows
Other
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Respondent Feed-In Tariff Distribution
• 40% of respondents surveyed received the 60 cent NSW solar bonus scheme feed-in tariff up until 31 December 2016.
• Those who received incentives from their electricity retailer mainly received between 6 cents and 8 cents/kWh from their retailer.
• The proportion of gross to net meters amongst the solar respondents who knew what type of meter they had, were relatively the same (38%/39%).
Gross metered
38%
Net metered 39%
Don't know 23%
Type of metering system for solar system
60 cents/kWh Solar Bonus Scheme 39%
20 cents/kWh Solar Bonus
Scheme 9%
Don't know 12%
Electricity retailer rate
40%
Feed In-Tariff Rate for Solar Exported to the Grid (to 31 Dec 16)
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
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Motivation for Purchasing a Solar Power System
Of those who purchased a solar system to save money on their electricity bills, two
thirds felt this was ‘extremely important’.
66%
30%
32%
27%
13%
10%
25%
27%
27%
32%
23%
21%
7%
23%
23%
21%
28%
28%
2%
15%
12%
15%
30%
26%
6%
6%
4%
7%
15%
To save money on my electricity bill
To benefit from government rebates and feed-in tariffs (eg. NSW SolarBonus Scheme)
To reduce my household carbon emissions
To be less reliant on electricity utilities
To add market value to my home
To keep up with the latest technology
How important were the following reasons to you for purchasing a solar system?
Extremely important – Very important – Fairly important – Not that important – Not important at all –
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
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Purchase Motivation by Household Type
Respondents who live alone are more likely than any other household type to be strongly motivated to help reduce their GHG emissions by purchasing a solar system for their home.
37%
33% 30%
23%
28% 27% 27% 28%
26%
31%
34%
0%
23%
19%
27%
19% 21%
36%
8%
13% 12%
23%
12%
18%
5% 7% 5% 4% 4%
18%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Single personhousehold
Couple withoutchildren
Couple withchildren
One parent family Other familyhousehold (eg.
extended familyhousehold)
Group or sharehousehold (eg.
sharing house withnon-familymembers)
To reduce my household's carbon emissions
Extremely important Very important Fairly important Not that important Not important at all
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
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Solar System Ownership by Income Band
Households that are not actively earning an annual income are more likely to have paid between
<$2,000 and $4,000 for their solar system than any other income group. Those who paid more than
$10,000 for their solar system earn more than $6,000 per week.
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
18%
4%
2%
4%
5%
6%
7%
36%
24%
37%
20%
20%
20%
11%
9%
24%
28%
25%
26%
22%
19%
9%
12%
14%
19%
15%
19%
15%
9%
20%
8%
13%
10%
9%
11%
18%
8%
8%
14%
18%
20%
33%
8%
5%
3%
5%
4%
4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Nil income
$1-$399 per week ($1-$20,799 per year)
$400-$799 per week ($20,800-$41,599 per year)
$800-$1,499 per week ($41,600-$77,999 per year)
$1,500-$2,999 per week ($78,000-$155,999 per year)
$3,000-$5,999 per week ($156,000-$311,999 per year)
$6,000 or more per week ($312,000 or more per year)
How much paid for solar system by Annual Household Income
$2,000 or less $2,001 to $4,000 $4,001 to $6,000 $6,001 to $8,000 $8,001 to $10,000 More than $10,000 Don't know
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82% 80%
69% 68% 67%
54% 52%
67%
9% 12%
24% 23% 24%
33% 33%
25%
4% 6%
8% 6%
11% 15%
7%
4% 1% 1% 2% 2% 0%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Nil income
$400-$799 per week
$1,500-$2,999 per week
$6,000 or more per week
To save money on my electricity bills
Extremely important Very important Fairly important Not that important
36% 44%
28% 28%
21% 25%
22% 30%
27% 32%
37% 31%
33% 29%
22% 32%
36% 4%
17% 21%
26% 14%
26% 22%
12% 12% 17%
15% 22%
26% 14%
8% 6%
3% 4%
10% 4% 2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Nil income
$400-$799 per week
$1,500-$2,999 per week
$6,000 or more per week
To be less reliant on electricity utilities
Extremely important Very important Fairly important
Motivation for Purchase by Income Band
Respondents whose households are generally earning less than $3,000 per
week were more likely to be motivated to save money on their electricity bill
and from government solar rebates.
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
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Installation Experience
• Just over half of respondents surveyed (56%) were ‘very satisfied’ with their installation.
• Of the 17% (188) who encountered difficulties with their installer, the most common complaint
was with damage to roof tiles and water leakage due to the installation.
• Problems with panels was the second most common problem. These problems were mainly
either the wrong number of panels were installed, installation was in the wrong place due to TV
aerials being in the way or shadowing on roof.
• The third most common problem was to do with inverters, being either faulty and requiring
replacement or servicing.
56%
21%
7% 7% 9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Very Satisfied Moderatelysatisfied
No opinion eitherway
Moderatelydissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with your solar installation?
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
83%
17%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
No
Yes
Did you encounter any difficulties with the installation of your solar power system?
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Solar System Performance and Benefits
Of those respondents who were either moderately dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, the most common problem with their system’s performance was due to either their inverter being faulty or damaged, or by shading occurring over their panels.
Very satisfied 51%
Moderately satisfied
32%
No opinion either way
5%
Moderately dissatisfied
7% Very
dissatisfied 5%
How satisfied are you with your solar power system's performance?
Base = 1,075, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system in their current household
17% 12%
2%
22%
6%
12%
41%
10%
0%5%
10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%
Shadingover thepanels
Dust anddirt on
the panels
Faulty ordamaged
panels
Faulty ordamagedinverter
Inverterturns offdue tohigh
voltages
Other(pleasespecify)
No, therewere no
issues
Don'tknow
Factors causing issues to solar system's performance
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13% 14%
13% 12%
13%
19%
15%
$200 peryear or
less
$201 to$400 per
year
$401 to$600 per
year
$601 to$800 per
year
$801 to$1000
per year
Morethan
$1000per year
Don'tknow
By how much has the solar system reduced your electricity bill each year?
Overall, 70% of all surveyed were either moderately or very satisfied with the level of savings they received from installing their solar systems, with 19% claiming to have saved $1,000 or more per year from their energy bills.
Solar System Performance and Benefits
34% 36%
6%
14% 10%
Very satisfied Moderatelysatisfied
No opinioneither way
Moderatelydissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
How satisfied are you with your electricity bill savings as a result of installing your solar power system?
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Solar System Performance and Benefits
Amongst those who were moderately or very satisfied with their electricity savings,
24% of this group claimed more than $1,000 in annual savings.
Half of this group felt that their household has changed the way appliances or
electricity is used in their home as a result of installing a solar system. The most
common changes were:
• Using electrical appliances more when panels are generating
power / during the daytime
• Delay the start of dishwasher and washing machine until after
10pm (for those on timed power)
• Turning off appliances at the power point/ not leaving on standby
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Future intention to purchase a home storage battery
Intention to purchase a battery amongst solar respondents is strong with just over half
(52%) of solar system respondents surveyed claimed that they would either
probably/definitely buy one in the future or were in the process of purchasing a battery
system.
Currently in the process of
purchasing and installing a battery
system 2%
Definitely will 13%
Probably will 37%
Probably won't 21%
Definitely won't 4%
Don't know 23%
Do you think you will purchase a home battery storage system in the next few years?
Base = 977, total completed online responses, answered ‘no’ to having purchased a battery system in their current household
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Battery respondents are more likely to be:
• Couples aged 55 or older, and also singles aged 75 or older
• Skewed towards being male (74%)
• Similar household tenure as solar owners, 67% own their home outright and also
more likely to have been living in home for more than 10 years.
Customer Segment Profiles – Battery Owners
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
Household Type
5%
9% 6%
15%
65%
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1%
9%
16%
23%
12%
3%
35%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
$1-$20,799 per year
$20,800-$41,599 per year
$41,600-$77,999 per year
$78,000-$155,999 per year
$156,000-$311,999 per year
$312,000 or more per year
Prefer not to say
Total Household Income Distribution
Battery Respondent Segment Profile
• Similar income distribution as per solar owners and non-solar owners
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
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Battery Ownership – Installation date
Solar customers who also own a battery are more likely to have more than one solar system in their home. The majority of customers had their battery installed in the last 12 months.
83% 57%
17%
43%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Solar Owners (1,075) Battery Owners (86)
How many solar power systems do you have?
More than one
Only one
1 0 1 4
69
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016C
ou
nt
What year did you install your battery system?
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
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5%
81%
2% 6% 6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Electricity retailer Solar/batteryinstaller or
company
Electrician Don't know Other
From which type of company did you purchase your battery storage system?
Battery Ownership – Installation Company
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a battery system in their current household
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
AGL
Australia Wide Solar
AW Solar
Beyond Solar
Eastern Suburbs Solar
ECB Solar
Meridien Solar
Newcastle Batteries
Red Energy
S&K
Allgreen Environmental Solutions
Energy Matters
Evergen
Natural Solar
Natural Solar
Solarpro
Sun Edison
Energy Australia
HCB Solar
MV Solar
Bradford Solar
Go Solar
Solar Australia
Which company did you purchase your battery from?
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Battery Ownership – Battery Brand
The most common battery brand amongst battery owners
surveyed is Enphase followed by Tesla and then BYD.
0 5 10 15 20
Enphase
Tesla
BYD
LG
AlphaESS
Sungrow
BMD
SMA
Narada
Panasonic
Who is the manufacturer of your battery?
Count
Base = 76, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a battery system in their current household and knew whom they purchased battery from
24%
76%
Who is the manufacturer of your battery?
Don't know
Please enter the name of the battery manufacturer or brand
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Battery Ownership – Battery Cost
40% of customers surveyed paid between $8,000 and $12,000 for their battery. Just
over half the number of battery customers were either very or moderately satisfied with
their bills savings, however another 40% appeared indifferent.
7%
31%
40%
8%
1% 2%
10%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
$4,000 orless
$4,001 to$8,000
$8,001 to$12,000
$12,001to
$16,000
$16,001to
$20,000
Morethan
$20,000
Don'tknow
How much did you pay for your battery system?
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
33%
19%
40%
5% 5%
Very satisfied Moderatelysatisfied
No opinioneither way
Moderatelydissatisfied
Verydissatisfied
How satisfied are you with electricity bill savings as a result of installing your battery system?
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Battery Ownership – Warranty Length
• However, when asked exactly how much they think they have saved, the majority
of customers did not know.
• Almost half of the battery customers surveyed said their warranty length fell
between 5 and 10 years.
5%
5%
14%
5%
9%
18%
45%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
$200 or less
$201 to $400
$401 to $600
$601 to $800
$801 to $1000
More than $1000
Don’t know
By how much has the battery system reduced your electricity
bill each year?
How much has the battery system reduced your electricity bill chart , base = 44, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power
system and battery system in their current household and who were either very or moderately satisfied with their electricity bill savings as a result of installing a battery
storage system. Warranty length chart, base = 86
2% 2%
10%
48%
19% 19%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
1 year orless
Greaterthan 1 to 3
years(inclusive)
Greaterthan 3 to 5
years(inclusive)
Greaterthan 5 to10 years
(inclusive)
Greaterthan 10years
Don't know
What is the warranty length for your battery system?
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The most common source of information used for installing a battery was from solar companies, followed by solar industry/environmental bodies.
Battery Ownership – Purchase Information
13%
72%
19%
47%
21% 21% 14%
8% 10% 7% 15%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Which of the following information sources did you use to help decide to install a battery storage system?
Recommendation by friend, family or other
Solar/ battery company information
Energy retailer advertising, website or bill information
Solar/ battery industry or environmental organisations (eg. Clean Energy Council, Australian PV Institute, Alternative Technology Association)
Government information or websites (state or federal government)
Consumer organisations/ product reviews (eg. Choice)
Online discussion forums (eg. Whirlpool)
Newspaper or magazine advertising
Television or radio advertising
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
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Purchase Motivation for Battery Owners
Similar to their responses to solar power, owners of batteries are naturally most
motivated by wanting to store excess solar energy from their solar systems. They also
appear to be more likely to be more motivated by helping to reduce their carbon
emissions compared to just solar power owners.
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a battery system in their current household
67%
74%
47%
16%
43%
16%
17%
21%
20%
29%
17%
20%
20%
22%
8%
3%
10%
14%
21%
28%
26%
1%
9%
34%
9%
24%
17%
5%
19%
7%
12%
17%
To save money on my electricity bill
To store excess solar electricity from my solar system
To reduce my household carbon emissions
To be able to disconnect from the grid permanently
To operate independently from the grid during power interruptions
To add market value to my home
To keep up with the latest technology
How important were each of these reasons in your decision to install a battery system?
Extremely Important Very important Fairly important Not that important Not important at all
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Motivation to purchase a battery by home ownership type
Respondents who are paying off their mortgages are 50% more likely than those who
own their home outright to be motivated to save money on their electricity bills. Both
groups consider that the ability to store excess solar from their solar system as
extremely important.
57%
84%
30%
6%
9%
6% 3%
4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Owned outright
Owned with a mortgage
To save money on my electricity bill
Extremely important Very important Fairly important
Not that important Not important at all
70%
84%
21% 16%
6% 4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Owned outright Owned with a mortgage
To store excess solar electricity from my solar system
Extremely important Very important Fairly important
Not that important Not important at all
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
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42% of all customers surveyed expressed future intention of purchasing a battery
system for their home.
Total online completed respondents
= 1,461 (100%)
Solar owners
Intending to purchase Battery
= 509 (35%)
Non-Solar owners
Intending to purchase Battery
= 106 (7%)
Intention to purchase battery
Base = 1,461, total completed online responses
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Battery Installation Experience
Half of all battery respondents were very satisfied with their battery installation, and of
the 21% who encountered difficulties, had various issues ranging from house wiring
problems, faulty inverter, portal communication problems and loud operation of battery
fan.
49%
24% 22%
2% 2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Very satisfied Moderatelysatisfied
No opinioneither way
Moderatelydissatisfied
Verydissatisfied
How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with your battery installation?
72%
7%
21%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
No
Don't know
Yes
Did you encounter any difficulties with the installation of your battery system?
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
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Battery Performance and Benefits
A significantly larger proportion of battery owners (71%) check their battery systems
compared to solar owners (25%) once a week. The most popular way of monitoring
their system was checking their online portal followed by checking their in-home
display/monitoring system.
29% 34%
63%
19%
13% 10%
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Check thestatus lights or
readings onthe inverter
Check an in-home display
or separatemonitoring
system
Check anonline portal
provided withthe system
Check theelectricity bill
for generationor exportamounts
Check theelectricity
meter readings
We don'tmonitor our
systemsperformance
Other
How do you monitor your battery system's performance?
About once a week 71% About once a
month 10%
Longer than once a year
2%
We have never checked our
systems performance
17%
How often do you check your battery system's performance?
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
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Battery Performance and Benefits
Approximately the same proportion of battery respondents were very satisfied with
their battery’s performance (50%), reflected by the large proportion of those who did
not have any performance issues with their batteries (74%).
2% 2% 1% 9%
74%
14%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
The batterywas damaged
or faulty
The inverterwas damaged
or faulty
The inverterturned off dueto high volts
Don’t know No, therewere noissues
Other
Have you had any of the following issues that may have affected your battery system's operation or
performance?
Very satisfied 50%
Moderately satisfied
24%
No opinion either way
22%
Moderately dissatisfied
2%
Very dissatisfied
2%
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your battery system's performance
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
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3% 7% 7% 5% 6%
12%
60%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
$200 orless
$201 to$400
$401 to$600
$601 to$800
$801 to$1000
Morethan
$1000
Don’t know
By how much has the battery system reduced your electricity bill each year?
Battery Performance and Benefits
Most battery respondents do not have an opinion (40%) about how much they have
saved so far on their electricity bill as a result of their battery installation, as they do
not know how much they have saved (60%). This may reflects the short period of time
which the majority have owned their system and the lack of historical information
about the $ benefits it is generating for them.
33%
19%
40%
5% 5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Very satisfied Moderatelysatisfied
No opinioneither way
Moderatelydissatisfied
Verydissatisfied
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your electricity bill savings as a result of installing your battery
storage system?
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
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Battery Performance and Benefits
45% of battery respondents said that their behaviour around their use of appliances in
their home has changed as a result of installing a battery system by:
No 42%
Don't know 13%
Yes 45%
Has having a battery system installed changed the way appliances or electricity is used in your home?
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
• Planning and moderating their use of
appliances more carefully to take
advantage of the best time of battery
storage use.
• Using more appliances during the daytime
and allowing batteries to charge overnight
• Use high draining power appliances (eg.
only when battery power is available)
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Demand Management for Batteries
59% of battery customers answered that they would not consider participating in a
demand management trial for batteries with a financial incentive. The main reason
was their perceived reluctance to give control over to someone else.
No 59%
Yes 41%
Would you consider allowing an electricity utility to operate your battery system for a financial incentive or
payment to you?
Base = 86, total completed online responses, answered ‘yes’ to having purchased a solar power system and battery system in their current household
54%
43%
24%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
I don't want to give overoperation of my batterysystem to anyone else
I don’t believe the incentives/ payments
would be enough
Other
If No, why would you not consider allowing an electricity utility to operate your battery?
Of the 24% who would not consider allowing an electricity
operator to operate their battery, the main reason was
because they felt they did not have enough information at
the time to make an accurate decision.
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Next steps, feedback and further information
Next steps
A more detailed analysis of the survey results is planned to be undertaken soon and a final
report will be released later in 2017.
Your feedback
If you have any questions regarding this survey or would like to provide feedback or
suggestions regarding further research and analysis, please email us at:
Further information
You can find more information about solar systems and batteries on the Ausgrid website at:
http://www.ausgrid.com.au/Common/Customer-Services/Homes/Solar-power-and-
batteries.aspx