Australia’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program offers a rebate to help reduce your upfront cost when installing a home battery.

Important update: From 1 May 2026, the rebate moves to a tiered structure. That means smaller batteries keep most of the rebate per kWh, while larger batteries (especially 29 kWh+) receive smaller rebate amounts per extra kWh. This mostly affects large systems you might be considering for whole-home backup. We can help you understand what this means for your home and find the sweet spot for size and savings.

In most cases, yes — and it’s a good thing. Under current SAA battery installation standards, most homes need a switchboard upgrade before a battery can be installed safely and compliantly. The main exceptions are homes that are less than 12 months old or have recently had a brand-new switchboard installed.

At Unified Solar, we assess your switchboard during the quoting stage and allow for any required upgrade upfront. This means no unexpected costs, no last-minute changes, and no delays on installation day.

A switchboard upgrade brings your home’s electrical system up to today’s safety standards, improves protection for your family and property, and ensures your new battery system operates exactly as it should — now and into the future.

Read more about Switchboard Upgrades here.

Here’s the simple version: Your solar panels make electricity during the day. Your home uses what it needs first. Extra solar charges your battery. The battery then powers your home later — especially in the evening when grid prices are higher. That means you use more of your own energy and buy less from the grid.

TOU pricing means electricity costs more at certain times of the day (like evenings).

With a battery, you can:
- charge during cheaper periods (solar or low-priced grid times)
- then use stored energy when prices are high.

This can save you money — especially if your household uses a lot of power in the evenings.

Amber is an electricity retailer that gives customers access to wholesale electricity prices, rather than a fixed daily rate. Prices change every 30 minutes, depending on supply and demand. Amber can be especially beneficial for homes with a battery that’s larger than their day-to-day needs. This allows you to store excess solar energy and sell it back to the grid when prices are high, rather than exporting it for a low fixed feed-in tariff.
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When paired with the right battery and smart controls, this approach can help:
- maximise the value of excess stored energy
- take advantage of high-price periods
- improve overall return on a larger battery system
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Amber isn’t the right fit for everyone, but for households with larger batteries, flexible usage, and an interest in energy optimisation, it can be a powerful way to get more value from your system. We’ll help you decide if it makes sense for your home.

This is about running your whole home on clean electricity — no gas:
- Heat pump hot water
- Induction cooktop
- Efficient reverse-cycle heating/cooling
- EV charging
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Paired with solar and a good battery, full electrification can give you more independence from rising grid prices and lower your emissions.

Read more here.

AC-coupled batteries connect to your home on the AC (household power) side of the system. This makes them a simpler and faster installation, particularly when adding a battery to an existing solar system. The trade-off is that during a grid outage, most AC-coupled systems cannot charge from your solar panels. While the battery may still provide backup power, once it’s depleted it will typically need the grid to return before it can recharge. AC coupling can be a suitable option where backup charging from solar during outages isn’t a priority.

DC-coupled batteries connect directly on the solar (DC) side of the system, usually via a hybrid inverter. This approach is more complex and time-consuming when retrofitting a battery to an existing solar system, as it often involves additional design, rewiring, and inverter integration. However, the key benefit is performance.

With a correctly designed DC-coupled system, your solar panels can continue charging the battery during a power outage, allowing your home to stay powered for longer and recover battery capacity during daylight hours. At Unified Solar, we deliberately take this more involved approach wherever it makes sense. Rather than choosing the quickest or easiest install method, we go the extra mile to DC-couple battery systems so customers receive a more resilient, future-proof, and premium outcome — especially where backup power and long-term performance matter.

If your battery system has a backup circuit, it can power your home during a blackout — even if the grid goes down.
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There are two types:
‍Partial backup: Keeps essential circuits running (e.g. lights, fridge, Wi-Fi).
‍Full home backup: Powers most or all circuits, usually with a bigger battery and smarter setup.

We’ll design what you need — not just what’s simple.

That depends on:
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✔ Your evening/night electricity use
✔ Whether you want backup power
✔ Your solar size and export limits
✔ Your goals (savings vs energy independence)

Smaller batteries are great for reducing bills. Larger batteries excel if you want backup or full home electrification. Let us figure out the best size for you.

Yes! Most existing solar systems can add a battery.

We’ll check:
- Your current inverter type
- Whether AC or DC coupling is best
- Your switchboard compliance
- How your usage patterns work

You might just add a battery — or we might recommend an inverter upgrade if it gives you much better performance and savings.

A Virtual Power Plant (VPP) connects many home batteries together to support the electricity grid.

VPPs can offer:
- Sign-up incentives
- Bill credits
- Extra revenue at times of high demand

Just remember, some VPPs ask you to share control of when your battery charges/discharges — which may affect your savings if you’re not careful.

Choosing the right location for your battery is just as important as choosing the battery itself. A well-planned battery location plays a big role in safety, performance, compliance and long-term reliability.

‍Common Battery Locations
‍Most home batteries are installed:
- in the garage
‍- on an external wall
‍- in a dedicated utility or plant area

The best location will depend on your home layout, existing electrical equipment, solar system design and whether backup power is required.

Yes, a carefully selected battery location is important, because it:
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- Protects the battery from excessive heat, weather and physical damage
- Helps maximise battery lifespan and performance
- Allows safe access for servicing and emergency isolation
- Ensures compliance with current Australian and SAA installation standards
- Reduces visual impact and unnecessary cabling

Our Approach at Unified Solar

‍At Unified Solar, battery placement is designed — not guessed. We take great care in selecting the right location during the quoting stage, considering safety, airflow, sun exposure, access and appearance. Where required, we install protective bollards to prevent vehicle impact and awnings or weather protection to shield the battery from harsh sun and rain. This thoughtful, upfront planning ensures your battery is installed in the safest possible position, remains protected over its lifetime, and operates exactly as intended — with no last-minute changes or compromises on installation day.