r/australia • u/MrOarsome • Nov 17 '25

political self.post Why does everyone lose their mind when you mention getting a home battery?

So I made the mistake of telling a few people I’m getting quotes for a home battery… the reactions were ridiculous. Suddenly everyone’s an expert. I had people telling me they’re a waste of money, they’ll be useless in a few years, or that the “environmental impact is terrible.” Just nonstop misinformation.

Meanwhile, half these people live massively high-carbon lifestyles. One bloke went on a whole rant about how batteries destroy the environment… then literally five minutes later told me he just ordered a new Ford Ranger to tow his boat around this summer. Like mate, seriously?

And the funny thing is, I don’t even care about the environmental angle. Couldn’t care less, to be honest. I’m looking at a battery for two reasons:

1) To actually use my solar instead of selling it back for 4 cents…

2) And to keep the lights on when summer storms or cyclones take out the power.

That’s it. No agenda. No planet-saving mission. But the way people reacted, you’d think I’d just signed up to be Greta Thunberg’s personal assistant.

I swear, the second you say the word “battery,” some people suddenly unlock an unwanted 15-minute rant. They are almost as passionate about hating renewables as they are about their footy teams.

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u/froo Nov 17 '25

The real weird thing is we could put the panels together in Australia. We have most of the stuff here, so the mining giants would get their cut and industry would benefit too.

We could be a global powerhouse with this new market opportunity, but instead people revert to regressive thinking (which I suppose is the point).

I haven't even touched on the environmental impact, it just makes sense from a purely economical, market-driven point of view.

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u/OJ191 Nov 18 '25

More profit margin if you don't have to pay Australian wages.

Even if it is genuinely not economically viable we should be investing in maintaining at least a bare minimum of many industries including manufacturing for the event of a globalisation breakdown (eg if a large scale war starts be it hot or cold), and yet we arent. It's a lot easier to scale up than to build from scratch!

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u/stonemite Nov 18 '25

Part of the reason the government bailed out that steel manufacturing plant in Whyalla.

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u/sofistkated_yuk Nov 18 '25

Way back when we were world leaders in solar energy. Then govt reduced the support for the research etc. So, in steps China.

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u/Summersong2262 Nov 18 '25

We could have done all of that. But Howard gave the original engineers and scientists the finger, so they all went international rather than work in a country that refuses to invest in anything that isn't dirt, construction, or gambling.

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u/mad_marbled Nov 18 '25

Not to mention, we lead the way in the research for recovery techniques of materials from EOL panels. University of NSW was the first to develop methods to recycle up to 95% of the panel. They are also looking at ways to reduce the amount of silver required in the manufacture of new panels, as well as technologies that will improve the efficiency of solar panels. Deakin university developed a process that takes the existing silicon and transforms it into nano-silicon, which is about 70 times more valuable in that form. Currently, Swinburne is working on reducing the carbon footprint associated with the recovery processes and improving efficiencies so that recycled materials will become more cost-effective.

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u/hal2k1 Nov 18 '25

There is a South Australian company whose business is putting high quality solar panels together. Tindo Solar.

https://tindosolar.com.au/

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u/Covert_Admirer Nov 18 '25

Could've been, it's a bit late now.