The Cheaper Home Batteries program has been nothing short of a success since it was introduced in July 2025, recently notching 254,800 installations.
This amounts to 6.4 gigawatt hours (GWh) of stored capacity, more than doubling the 6GWh fleet Australia had before the advent of the scheme.
“Ten years to build the first six gigawatt hours, eight months to build the second six gigawatt hours,” Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said.
Around half of those who have installed Cheaper Home Batteries have paired this with a new or upgraded solar system.
“Cheaper Home Batteries are helping Australians get more value from their solar, cut power bills, and use more of the energy they generate themselves,” Bowen said.
“Every battery installed helps, not just for the household or small business using it, but for the grid more broadly. It means less pressure at peak times, more reliability, and a cleaner, more affordable energy system.”
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) suggested that while installing rooftop solar can save households up to $1500 per year on power bills, “this almost doubles when you add a battery”.
“Australian consumers and small businesses are delivering the transition at breathtaking speed, turning suburban roofs into one of the biggest power stations in the country,” CEC general manager – distributed energy Con Hristodoulidis said.
“Just as Australians have long understood the value of solar in lowering household energy bills, we are now seeing a surge in battery adoption, which allows households to store their own clean energy and maximise savings.”
The greatest cost savings from self-consumption can be achieved by using an electricity pricing plan and drawing from stored energy resources during peak demand periods such as in the morning and night.
The CEC is advocating for government subsidies such as Cheaper Home Batteries and the WA Residential Home Battery Scheme to be expanded to support renters and social housing tenants.
“Nearly a third of all Australian households are renters,” Hristodoulidis said. “To make sure everyone benefits, governments can further expand schemes to incentivise landlords and support social housing tenants, so all Australians can lower their bills.”
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