From Blackouts to Battery Backup: Peter’s Story

Peter Dymond has had solar for years. He never had a solar battery. The maths never worked.

He lives at Lakesland, near Picton, right at the end of the power line. Storms roll through and his street is often one of the first to lose power and one of the last to get it back.

For years he ran the numbers on a home battery and kept getting the same answer. Too expensive. Payback well over ten years. Then a recent solar battery rebate changed the sums, and his payback dropped to around eight years. Peter finally said yes.

This article covers:

• Why Peter started looking at a home battery after years of saying no
• How the solar battery rebate changed his payback period
• Why he chose Lenergy over a bigger name provider
• What his SigenStor battery system actually looks like

Why Did Peter Start Looking at a Home Battery?

“I’ve had solar for many, many years,” Peter says. He upgraded his existing system about two years ago, and a battery was always the next question. The answer kept being no.

“They were just too expensive for a long time,” he says. “The recent government rebate made it a lot more affordable, and the payback sort of worked.”

Cost wasn’t the only reason. “Where we are is the end of a power line, and it’s a little bit unreliable,” he says. “I was really looking for that extra bit of security on the power supply.”

What Was the Real Problem a Battery Needed to Solve?

Peter names two goals, and neither one alone would have been enough.

“We regularly get blackouts in a storm here,” he says. That’s the reliability side. The other is money. “In years gone by, I looked at it and couldn’t get it to be worthwhile. It wouldn’t pay back under ten years,” he says.

He needed backup power that also made financial sense. The rebate is what finally delivered both.

How Did the Solar Battery Rebate Change Peter’s Payback Period?

This is the detail that moved Peter from years of hesitation to a signed job.

“With the recent rebates, when they cut the numbers, the payback period was looking at around eight years,” he says. “I certainly seem to be on track for that with the experience I’ve had so far.”

It’s worth understanding how the current battery rebate works before you run your own numbers, since the details shift as programs change. Read more about that here.

Why Did Peter Choose Lenergy?

“I actually got a referral from a cousin of mine who’d recently installed one,” Peter says. From there he looked around at local providers.

“Previously with the solar I had a bigger name provider, but I was unhappy with their service,” he says. “So I thought I’d go with a local provider.”

What Was It Like Working With Lenergy?

“I was really impressed with the team,” Peter says. Matthew handled the initial engagement.

“He was very informative,” Peter says. “He was verifying everything my cousin had told me, and he gave me some really good information in what I thought was an unbiased way.”

What Battery System Did Peter Install?

Peter’s system is a single Sigenergy SigenStor, a 48.36kWh LiFePO4 battery with 46.8kWh usable, paired with a Sigen Hybrid inverter running 12kW on a single phase connection. It sits alongside his existing solar array rather than replacing it.

If you’re weighing up how to size a battery for your own home, inverter capacity matters as much as battery size.

Would you recommend Lenergy to others? “I definitely would. I don’t often give referrals or endorsements,” Peter says. “But after the job was installed here, I was impressed with the team.”

Considering whether a battery makes sense for your place? Read our guide on mistakes to avoid when buying a solar battery.

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