4.3m homes and small businesses have solar panels installed, says the Clean Energy Council. Households are turning sunlight into electricity, reducing emissions and trimming power bills. But once those panels are up and running, many homeowners start asking the same question: what’s the next step?
Increasingly, the answer is battery storage.
A home battery allows households to store the solar energy they generate during the day and use it later: in the evening when the sun goes down, or during peak pricing periods when grid electricity is most expensive. The idea is simple: store the power you produce and rely less on the grid.
There’s a financial incentive. In many parts of Australia, households earn relatively little through feed-in tariffs for exporting their surplus solar energy to the grid during the day, while the electricity that households buy in the evening can cost significantly more.
Until recently, though, battery systems have come with a price tag that has put them out of reach for many homeowners. And some systems are installed as a single unit with a fixed capacity, which means homeowners must decide upfront how large a battery they might need in the future.
Modular battery systems can be adapted over time.
It’s easy to go modular
Instead of installing one large battery from the start, modular systems allow homeowners to begin with a smaller starter battery and add extra modules later. Capacity can be expanded as energy needs grow or budgets allow.
The flexibility of a modular system can be useful as a household’s energy use changes. A growing family, the addition of an electric vehicle, or the switch to electric appliances such as induction cooktops or heat-pump hot water systems can all increase electricity demand over time.
Companies such as Bluetti are offering home battery systems built around this scalable approach. Starter packs provide an entry point into home battery storage that can be expanded by adding battery modules as needed.
Bluetti systems are available through retailers such as Jaycar, making them easy for homeowners to explore when looking at a battery upgrade.
Timing matters
Government incentives are also helping to make battery storage more accessible.
The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program currently offers rebates of about 30% off the upfront cost of eligible battery systems connected to solar, with the discount calculated through small-scale technology certificates (STCs) based on the battery’s usable capacity.
However, from 1 May 2026 the rebate will become tiered by battery size, with the full STC factor applying only to the first 14 kWh of storage, dropping to 60% for the next 14 kWh and 15% beyond that point.
Starting with a smaller “starter” battery in a modular system can allow homeowners to access the full rebate on that initial capacity, while leaving the option to add extra modules later if their energy needs grow.
Real world savings
For many families, the biggest motivation to invest in a modular battery solution is simple: lower energy bills.
Installing a Bluetti home energy system made a significant difference for one Sydney family. Alex De Gracia, a father of two from Gregory Hills, says rising power bills prompted him to start researching alternatives.
“I knew I needed to take control,” he says.
After months of comparing premium brands and cheaper alternatives, the family installed a Bluetti EP2000 home power unit with five high-capacity batteries, which De Gracia says has “been a gamechanger”.
Before the upgrade, the family’s monthly energy bill ranged from $250 to $350. After installing the system, it now averages between $60 and $80 a month, De Gracia says.
“Before Bluetti we felt we needed to carefully consume electricity and work around the energy provider’s peak and off-peak schedules,” De Gracia says. “Now, we don’t have to worry about any of that.”
The next step in the solar race
With millions of Australian homes already generating their own electricity through rooftop solar, battery storage is quickly emerging as the next logical step.
Modular battery systems don’t force homeowners to commit to a large installation from day one. They can start with what they need and expand later as their energy use evolves. Combined with government incentives, that flexibility means the next step after solar may be easier – and more affordable – than ever.
Explore what comes after solar with Bluetti’s modular home battery systems.
