Home battery guide · Greater Melbourne

Every claim on these pagescomes off a register you can download.

A home battery only earns the federal discount if the exact model is on the Clean Energy Council approved battery list. That list is public. So instead of repeating what manufacturers say about themselves, these pages read the register — 3526 registered configurations across 308 product lines from 134 brands — and add the part it cannot tell you: what a battery of that size does to the switchboard it gets wired into.

Quick answer

Home battery buying in Victoria comes down to four checks: is the exact model on the Clean Energy Council approved battery list, is its listing still current on the day the system is installed, is the usable capacity in the band you actually need, and can your switchboard and your distributor's connection accommodate it. As at 2026-08-20 the register carried 3526 configurations across 308 product lines from 134 brands, of which 158 configurations had already lapsed. Federal certificates apply to the first 50 kWh of usable capacity, with a factor that steps down by capacity band since 1 May 2026, and Victoria no longer runs a state battery rebate of its own. Thunderman Electrical and Air Conditioning Services handles the licensed electrical side of battery installation across Greater Melbourne — switchboard, isolation, backup circuits, grid connection — under REC 28523. Its Solar Accreditation Australia accreditation (S6375256) is the solar PV class rather than the battery endorsement, so battery certificates are not claimed on Thunderman installations. No prices are published; every job is quoted free and in writing. Call 0434 254 474.

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The two questions that decide the money.

EligibilityThe seven conditions a battery has to meetApproved list, capacity limits, the solar requirement, the virtual-power-plant condition, accreditation — and why the install date is the one that counts.Lapsed listings158 configurations have already expiredStock outlives approvals. 35 product lines have no current listing left at all, and 82 more configurations lapse within six months.

By size

The certificate bands are the government's, not ours.

Since 1 May 2026 the certificate factor steps down as usable capacity rises, so the size question and the support question are now the same question. Each band also behaves differently in the house — one unit on an unchanged supply is a different job from a stacked cabinet that needs its own footing and clearances.

Up to 14 kWh · factor 100%246 approved rangesBatteries up to 14 kWh of usable capacity attract the federal certificate factor in full, and they are the band where a single unit, a single inverter and an unmodified supply usually do the job.14 to 28 kWh · factor 60%151 approved rangesBetween 14 and 28 kWh of usable capacity the certificate factor drops to well under full weighting, almost every system is modular, and the constraints move from the product to the building it goes in.28 to 50 kWh · factor 15%88 approved rangesAbove 28 kWh of usable capacity the certificate factor falls away sharply, and the questions that decide the project stop being about the product — they are about the connection, the supply and the space.

By brand

Eight ranges worth understanding before you compare quotes.

The register lists 134 brands and most are a single product line. These eight are here because each has something specific the register can prove — a flagship whose listing lapsed, a range that stops before the top band, a catalogue turning over quickly, one capacity sold many times over. A brand appearing here is not a claim that Thunderman supplies it.

Tesla4 approved ranges BYD7 approved ranges Sungrow3 approved ranges Alpha ESS12 approved ranges Sigenergy2 approved ranges Enphase2 approved ranges Fox ESS11 approved ranges Growatt6 approved ranges

The half a retailer's quote goes quiet on

A battery is an electrical installation, not an appliance.

Choosing the battery is the part with the brochures. The part that decides whether the job goes well is the switchboard it lands on: whether there is room for the isolation and protection it needs, which circuits are worth keeping alive when the grid drops and how they are separated, whether the distributor will approve the inverter capacity at your address, and whether the location satisfies AS/NZS 5139. On a lot of Melbourne boards at least one of those needs work, and finding that out after the deposit is the common story.

Yiannis is a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC 28523) and holds Solar Accreditation Australia accreditation (S6375256) in the grid-connected solar PV class. That is not the battery endorsement the federal certificate program asks for, so the certificates on a battery are not ours to claim — worth knowing up front rather than after a deposit. He will quote the electrical side of a battery installation, or read the electrical scope in a quote you already have. See also solar and battery installation and the switchboard upgrade page.

All register figures from the Clean Energy Council approved battery list, published by the Clean Energy Regulator, as published on 2026-08-20. Download it atthe Clean Energy Regulator.

Home batteries — common questions

What is the approved battery list, and why does it matter?

It is the Clean Energy Council's register of battery products that meet the industry safety requirements, published in full by the Clean Energy Regulator. It matters for one blunt reason: a battery that is not on it cannot earn the small-scale technology certificates behind the federal discount, and electricity networks generally require listed products too. As at 2026-08-20 it carried 3526 registered configurations across 308 product lines from 134 brands. Anyone can download it, which is why every figure on these pages can be checked rather than taken on trust.

Why do these pages not show prices?

Because an honest price for a battery installation does not exist until someone has looked at your switchboard, your solar, your usage and what your distributor will approve at your address. The equipment is the predictable part; the electrical work around it is not, and a headline figure that ignores it is the reason quotes get revised after the deposit. Thunderman quotes free and in writing, with the electrical scope itemised. The federal certificates are a separate matter again — what they come to depends on the certificate market on the day, so that belongs in a quote too.

Does Thunderman sell these batteries?

These pages are a guide to what the government register actually contains, not a stock list. Thunderman's work is the licensed electrical side of a battery installation across Greater Melbourne — the switchboard, the isolation and protection, the backup-circuit arrangement and the grid connection — under REC 28523. Which battery brands Yiannis can supply depends on wholesaler arrangements, so ask rather than assuming from a page here. He is also happy to read the electrical scope in a quote you have already been given.

How current is this information?

The register is republished regularly and these pages are rebuilt from it, so the figures move with the source rather than being typed in once and left. The version behind this page was published on 2026-08-20. Expiry dates in particular are changing more than usual at the moment, because the technical specification underneath the approved list is being replaced — which is exactly why one of these pages is about nothing but lapsed listings.

The right battery on the wrong board is still the wrong job.

Yiannis quotes the electrical side properly — board capacity, backup circuits, isolation, grid connection — before anyone takes a deposit. Free quote, REC 28523, 4.9★ from 53 Google reviews.

Get a free quote Call 0434 254 474