While most Australians are stuck with inflated fixed-rate power prices, some are saving money by playing the spot market. So how are they doing it, and why isn't it for everyone?

Mr Purcell admits he initially bought his battery as a form of insurance against the volatility inherent in the spot market.

However, his thinking quickly changed when he saw the opportunities on offer, describing one instance in which he was able to fill up his 10-kilowatt-hour battery with electricity costing 1 cent per unit.

"That's the opportunity and the risk on the very low prices," he said.

"It cost me 10 cents to fill the battery during the middle of the day.

"And then at night-time the price went up over $10 a kilowatt hour, so I was able to export that same 10 kilowatts out of that battery for $100."

  • vividspecter@lemm.ee
    ·
    8 months ago

    I guess it depends on your usage, but I don't really use much more than that for an entire 24 hours so I could see that working for myself (but I'm not a home owner).

    But yeah, you indirectly make a point that just buying the battery is pretty expensive and might not come out in your favour (even with wholesale plans). Hopefully they continue to come down in price, and EV vehicle to home and vehicle to grid finally happens.

    • CameronDev@programming.dev
      ·
      8 months ago

      Vehicle to home should be a huge game changer. I dont need a new car right now, which is why i bought a 10kwh battery, but a car can be 5-7x that capacity. Next car will definitely have v2h, i wont even consider anything that doesnt support it.