ABC TV’s Catalyst visits Josh's House and WGV

Posted 4 February 2016 - 10:32am

In this week's episode of ABC TV's Catalyst, Dr Jonica Newby investigated the power revolution that is home batteries. She included a visit to two of the CRCLCL's living laboratories, Josh's House and White Gum Valley (WGV).

As part of the ongoing research activities at Josh’s House, CRCLCL PhD researcher Jemma Green from Curtin University has been testing a new 8kWh LiFePO4 battery unit to see just how effective solar energy storage can be in reducing grid dependence.

Ms Green said, "It's quite amazing what the battery's done. Basically, 53 per cent of the household's electricity needs are now coming from the battery. Forty-four per cent is still coming from their solar panel during the day, and only three per cent from the grid. So it's a really dramatic shift."

Ms Green, under the supervision of Professor Peter Newman, developed the solar storage on strata innovation as part of a CRCLCL research project at Landcorp's WGV.

"They've got 24-hour renewable power, low-carbon electricity and also it provides a revenue stream for investors because the tenants pay their electricity bill to the strata company instead of paying it to the utility," she said.

"I hope we'll see many of these pop up around Australia as a result of this research project."

For more information on the Josh’s House residential solar energy storage trial, visit the Josh's House website. For more information on the Gen Y battery trial, read the latest media release.

To view the Catalyst episode on Battery Powered Homes, visit the Catalyst wesbite.

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ABC TV’s Catalyst visits Josh's House and WGV