Should You Add a Home Battery in Tasmania? for Tasmanian Households

For many Tasmanian households, a home battery is becoming a smart addition, but it’s not yet a clear-cut “yes” for everyone. The main benefit is storing your cheap solar power to use in the evening, instead of buying expensive power from the grid. While payback times for batteries are getting shorter, Tasmania’s relatively low electricity prices mean they can still take longer to pay for themselves here than on the mainland, often in the range of 7-12 years.

The decision really comes down to your goals. If you want to maximise your solar savings, have backup power during outages, and future-proof your home for an electric vehicle, a battery is a great investment. If your main goal is the fastest possible payback and you use most of your power during the day, solar panels by themselves might be the more economical first step.

How do solar and batteries actually save me money?

The savings come from one key idea: self-consumption. You generate free power from your roof, and the more of it you can use yourself, the less you have to buy from your retailer.

In Tasmania, this is especially important. When you buy power from the grid (your ‘import’), you might pay around 28-30 cents per kilowatt-hour (c/kWh). But when your solar panels generate extra power that you don’t use and send it back to the grid (your ‘export’), you only get a feed-in tariff of around 9.276 c/kWh.

Without a battery: You use solar power as it’s generated during the day. Any excess is exported for a small credit. In the evening, you have to buy all your power back at the higher price.
With a battery: Excess solar power generated during the day charges your battery instead of being exported. In the evening, you use that stored, free energy instead of buying it from the grid. This massively increases your self-consumption and your savings.

Essentially, every kilowatt-hour you store and use later saves you the full retail price of power, which is worth about three times more than the feed-in tariff you’d get for exporting it.

What rebates are available for batteries in Tasmania?

Tasmanian households can access a significant federal government rebate, but there are currently no extra state-based incentives.

Federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program: This is the main financial support available. From 1 July 2025, this program can reduce the upfront cost of an eligible battery by around 30%. The rebate is tiered based on the battery’s size and is claimed by your installer as an upfront discount. To be eligible, the battery must be paired with a solar power system.
Federal STC Rebate (for solar panels): While not a battery rebate, the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) provides a point-of-sale discount on the solar panels themselves. Tasmania is in STC Zone 4, which means the discount is slightly less than in sunnier parts of Australia but still provides a substantial saving on the total system cost.

It’s important to note that you don’t have to apply for these rebates yourself; your accredited installer will handle the paperwork and apply the discount directly to your quote.

What size solar system and battery do I need?

For a typical Tasmanian home looking to the future, a larger solar system is now the smart choice. The old standard of 6.6kW is being replaced by systems of around 13kW of panels paired with a 10kW inverter.

This might sound big, but it’s designed to power a fully electrified home—one with an electric vehicle (EV), a heat pump for hot water, and maybe even induction cooking. It provides enough energy to cover these bigger loads and still have plenty left over to charge a home battery.

Here’s why this size makes sense for Tasmania:

Future-Proofing: It prepares your home for the shift away from gas and petrol.
TasNetworks Approval: Our grid operator, TasNetworks, allows a 10kW inverter on a standard single-phase connection, which most Tasmanian homes have. This means you can install a powerful system without needing a costly three-phase upgrade.
Inverter Oversizing: Rules allow you to install up to 133% of your inverter’s capacity in panels, meaning a 10kW inverter can support about 13.3kW of panels. This helps generate more power on cloudy days and at the start and end of the day.

For batteries, a capacity of 10-14 kWh is a popular starting point. This is generally enough to cover a typical family’s evening and overnight electricity usage.

Do I need a battery for backup power during blackouts?

Yes, if you want your solar system to work during a grid outage, you need a battery.

A standard grid-connected solar system without a battery is designed to shut down automatically when the grid goes down. This is a safety feature to protect network engineers working on the lines.

A home battery with backup functionality can isolate your home from the grid during an outage, creating your own mini-grid. Your solar panels will continue to generate power to run your essential circuits (like lights, fridge, and internet) and recharge the battery during the day. For many Tasmanians, particularly in regional areas, this peace of mind is one of the most valuable features of a home battery.

Is there anything special about the Tasmanian market?

Tasmania’s energy market is unique, which affects the financial case for batteries.

Firstly, our power is relatively affordable compared to the mainland states, and our regulated feed-in tariff is fair. This is great for consumers, but it means the gap between the buying and selling price of electricity is smaller, which can extend the payback period for a battery.

Secondly, there are no major Virtual Power Plant (VPP) programs offered by energy retailers in Tasmania. A VPP is a network of connected home batteries that can be used to support the wider grid in exchange for payments to the owner. While the technology exists for advanced users to benefit from wholesale market price fluctuations—for example, by programming a battery to charge when spot prices go negative—this isn’t a feature most households on standard tariffs will use.

For the majority of Tasmanians, the value of a battery comes purely from maximising self-consumption and providing backup power, rather than from VPP revenue streams available elsewhere.

This guide has been written by the team at Solar Generation Tasmania. We’re passionate about helping Tasmanians understand their energy options and make informed choices for their homes.

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Published by Solar Generation Tasmania. General information current as at publication — rebates, tariffs and prices change, so confirm current figures before deciding.