Installation of an Energy Storage system should conform to the manufacturer's instructions and appropriate installation Standards such:
- AS/NZS 4509.1
- AS/NZS 5139
- AS/NZS 3000
The standards are quote strict on how and where a battery can be installed in and around your home, and failure to comply will likely result in a failed inspection and therefore no rebate for the system installed.
What do I need to know?
It's worth considering, before making a purchase, because it could result in a failed site visit from our installers or could mean that the cost of the installation is far more than 'standard'.
The key considerations are:
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Switchboard space - In order to have a battery installed, you'll need at least two spaces on your switchboard. If you're intending to add other elements like grid backup then this will require more space on the switchboard.
Note: If you already have a solar inverter installed, and you're intending to DC-couple the hybrid inverter, then this can be considered one of the two spaces - read more here.
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Wall space - this is a little trickier. You'll need the wall space for both the battery system and the inverter, plus some clearance around it ('exclusion zone'). We've put the below diagrams together to help you better understand the sort of spacing you'll need. The key things to consider are proximity to windows, doors and vents. The battery can not be installed within 0.6m of windows, doors or vents and there must also be clearance of 0.9m above the battery.
Solar Power Conversion Equipment (PCE) including inverters that supply a charge to the battery are excluded from the restriction, but no other electrical equipment can be within this exclusion zone, including, but not limited to:
- Heat pumps
- Air-conditioning equipment and associated control gear
- Hot water cylinders (gas and electric)
- Motors and control gear
- Stoves and hotplates
- Gas cooktops
- Stationary appliances (as defined by AS/NZS3000) -
Wall materials - the battery has to be mounted onto a non-combustible wall (including but not limited to brick, concrete, cement-sheeting or terracotta tiles). If you're not sure, just send us a webchat / email / book a callback to check. It is still possible to go ahead with the installation onto other surfaces, we will just need to add a 6mm cement sheet behind the batteries (to cover the exclusion zones shown above) - there's also a charge of $300 for the cement sheeting.
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Other safety measures - if the battery is to be installed in a car port or garage, regardless of whether or not you park your car there, it will need to be either installed in a location where it won't be hit by a vehicle or bollards will need to be installed in front of it (We'll provide 2x bollards free of charge).
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Gas meter - the batteries can not be installed within 1m of your gas meter, and needs to be 1.5m from the elbow-vent of the meter.
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General exclusions - places it can’t be installed are roofs, wall cavities, ceilings. Any location where a switchboard is prohibited, any location where the installation of a generation system is prohibited and anything prohibited by the manufacturer.
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Existing location of solar inverter - if you already have solar installed, if we're doing an AC-coupled installation then we'll leave it where it is. If we're doing a DC coupled installation, then we'll just do a straight swap of your solar inverter for the new hybrid inverter. If you're not sure what AC-coupled or DC-coupled are - you can read this article here. You can also find out more about the hybrid inverter in this article: What is a hybrid inverter? However, If it's not safe or compliant to install the battery and inverter in the same location, then we'll need to move it to somewhere that is.