A South East Queensland household says the right electricity plan is helping their solar-and-battery setup do more than offset usage — it is building bill credit.
Here's what to know
In a post on r/SigenergyAustralia, the poster wrote that the first full invoice after switching from Energy Australia to Covau was already moving into credit. According to the post, the home includes four people, 13.3 kilowatts of solar, a 10-kW inverter, a 24-kWh battery, ducted air conditioning, and a plug-in hybrid.
They also said the home was sending about 30 kilowatt-hours back to the grid each day and that the daily supply charge is "reasonable."
They added, "The free supply between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. is great when you need to top up the battery on a low production day, and yields reward if you game it and sell back at 15c a kwh between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m."
Homeowners who want to compare battery options and installation pricing can explore EnergySage's free tools. EnergySage has teamed up with electrification brand Qmerit to help homeowners get the best price on home battery storage solutions.
More background
Once a home has battery storage, the retail plan details can make a noticeable difference. Rather than relying only on rooftop generation, the household said the free 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. period could help refill the battery on lower-production days, while the 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. window offered the stronger export rate.
A plug-in hybrid is part of the setup, too. Replying to a question about the vehicle, the original poster said it was a "Rav4 XSE" with a "22.7kwh" battery and "V2L up to 1500 watts only."
Commenters pointed out some trade-offs. One warned about a limitation in the plan details, writing, "Be careful with CovAU, you can't cash in your solar credits and can only be used for electricity bill! I was looking at their plan, and I almost pulled the trigger, good thing I read the T&C." That same commenter said the credits could not be applied to a gas bill, even with the same retailer.
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Others compared the offer with Globird. One commenter said Covau appeared to pay "5c anytime outside of 6-9pm when it's 15c," while a different commenter suggested cloudy days might weaken the advantage: "Need to crunch the numbers."
What can be done?
For battery owners, picking a retailer may deserve as much attention as choosing the equipment. The fine print on credits, cash-out rules, and off-peak export rates can change how much a switch is worth.
Two plans can look similar on the surface but work very differently depending on whether the day is sunny, cloudy, or heavy on air-conditioning use.
For shoppers who don't need a fully installed system, Pila offers strong battery backup options, and its plug-and-play batteries cost a fraction of a whole-home backup system.
For this South East Queensland home, the savings came from a combination of smaller benefits: solar output, battery storage, a car battery with limited V2L, and a plan built around when electricity is cheapest and when exports are worth more.
After a full billing cycle, the original poster summed up the switch simply: "Very happy so far and no regrets leaving Energy Australia."
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