Electrical Connection Autumn 2016

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8 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON AU T UMN 20 1 6
EDITORIAL
Paul Skelton
THE ENERGY STORAGE
SPIN CYCLE IS HERE
I t is a long held belief that energy
storage will be the future of the
electrical contracting market. The
rising cost of electricity, the increased
awareness of energy efficient technologies
– in particular solar – and the desire
for energy independence at a national
level are all driving us towards a greater
proliferation of home batteries.
Electrical Connection, for one, has been
harping on the subject for some time now.
And we’re not alone.
But much like LEDs before it, the battery
market is starting to be inundated with
dubious and unsubstantiated claims
from suppliers trying to cash in on the
burgeoning market.
Specifically, some suppliers claim their
products can be charged by the grid or a
generator while they can only be charged
by solar panels. Others don’t work at all in
periods of grid power loss.
One of the reasons these claims enter
(and are allowed to confuse) the market
is that there are no clearly defined
installation or performance standards
for the new solutions. On the plus side,
Standards Australia is working on some
but in the meantime spurious claims will
continue.
In this instance, electrical contractors
need to act as an educational resource for
the community, explaining the ins and outs
of the technology. This means you need to
learn as much as possible about it too.
TESLA ISHERE
Recently, a number of companies
announced ‘exclusive’ partnerships with
Tesla to supply the company’s Powerwall
to the Australian market.
For about $10,000, consumers now have
access to what is being touted as the next
best thing since sliced bread.
But, is it? Or is Tesla the Apple of
the electrical industry? Is Powerwall
its iPod moment?
The Powerwall isn’t a new concept
– others have been working on similar
ideas for a while now, but it has caught
the public’s attention (just like the iPod).
It’s very pretty (like the iPod) and more
expensive than some of its competitors
(also like the iPod).
The biggest challenge facing
Powerwall’s popularity among contractors
is that it isn’t coming through the
wholesaler market. Instead, retailers are
now having a crack at going direct. This
could mean that someone somewhere
overseas in a call centre will try to specify
a system for a property they have never
seen and have no understanding of the
home owners’ consumption pattern.
This will lead to a lot of dismayed
customers who blame the industry as a
whole and give up on the technology.
Now is the ideal time for contractors
and wholesalers to come together to
figure out how they can be the arbiters of
energy storage in Australia.
Until next time,
MANAGINGDIRECTOR
Jeff Patchell
GENERALMANAGER
Jeremy Sweet
EDITOR
Paul Skelton
03 9542 9016
EDITOR –
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