Aussies paying off their mortgage with home battery savings

Michael Tat image. NSW Real Estate

An Aussie homeowner has revealed how he slashed his power bills from $500-$600 to zero – and now gets a passive income from the home changes he installed.

Michael Tat from Sydney’s south-west said he pocketing money every quarter from his electricity company after pairing a home battery with rooftop solar panels.

He is now using the extra money to pay off his mortgage quicker and looking to add a second battery for an EV to avoid paying for petrol.

It comes as Australia is reportedly seeing a home battery boom, with new data showing one in two households want to pair a household battery with new or existing rooftop solar to maximise their energy savings.

And families are often diverting the savings into their mortgages in the hope of paying off their debt faster.

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Michael and Elaine Tat

Mr Tat said he made the changes after the recent run of energy price hikes.

“What really drove me was the beginning of the increase in price for electricity,” Mr Tat said.

“I was one of the early adopters in terms of purchasing an EV and getting on the green sustainability track.”’

Mr Tat said having solar was a great starting point, however, the home battery allowed him to store power generated during the day when he would otherwise be at work and instead use this at night.

Mr Tat is now looking for a second battery, which he said will help not having to worry about potentially taking from the grid at all.

Sydney resident Michael Tat with his home’s NeoVolt battery

“It’s really trying to future-proof myself knowing that the federal government rebate is available now, looking at that initiative it actually is a very good offer in terms of being able to get a second battery at a low cost,” he said.

“Since I got the battery in October last year, I haven’t actually had to pay a cent in electricity bills until now, even in the winter period,” he said “My credit bill at the moment for my energy is actually in positive $487.”

The father of one paid $5,200 for the battery and $6,100 for solar, with a passive income from the excess he is sending back to the grid.

His current credit was received via this excess which accounts for about a $30 profit per month.

Michael and Elaine Tat

Australian energy solutions provider VoltX Energy is reporting a 2000 per cent growth in battery solar pairings over the past year with data showcasing half of all households making the changes to reduce and even eliminate their energy bills.

VoltX Energy CEO David Sedighi said this surge is “unprecedented” and reflects a major shift in how Australians are managing energy costs.

Mr Sedighi said solar panels generate electricity during the daylight with peak productions hours being between 10am to 2pm, however, excess electricity is typically exported back to the grid.

Home batteries store excess solar power so you can use this at night time when electricity is the most expensive, essentially cutting bills and giving consumers energy independence, he said.

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VoltX Energy Chief Operating Officer David Sedighi

”It’s a much smarter way of using and capitalising on your solar system,” Mr Sedighi said.

“Consumers might have a reduction in their bill from 90 to 100 per cent and we do see consumers going credit.”

Data from Climate Council shows 9.5 per cent of homes in NSW with solar now have a home battery, while in South Australia its 13.9 per cent and just 4 per cent in Queensland with another 160,000 installations slated across Australia in the next 12 months.

Mr Sedighi said the biggest barrier was the number of qualified installers available.

“Homes with solar panels are already more common than a backyard swimming pool and now household batteries are making them even more popular because they can eliminate reliance on the main grid entirely,” he said.

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Solar panels on a homes roof in Bligh Park, north western Sydney. Picture: James Croucher

“The average reduction we see is somewhere between $2,000-$2,500 a year.”

According to Mr Sedighi, the conversation has transformed from a year ago explaining the benefits of batteries to customers, to today, consumers lining up to be next for installation.

VoltX Energy has attributed this growth to a combination of factors such as the Federal Government’s solar battery rebate, growing awareness of the benefits of the home battery systems and rising electricity costs.

These batteries use lithium iron phosphate, which Mr Sedighi said is the latest tech in lithium battery technology, safer and can go through more charge and discharge life cycles and includes thermal stability.

“We provide a 10 year warranty, the battery lifespan has 8,000 cycles which is approximately 20 years of battery life,” he said.

“It’s essentially maintenance free, you set it up and forget.”

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