![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-03-at-8.25.38-am-copy.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nImage: SunWiz<\/p>\n
For more than a month now, federal Labor\u2019s Cheaper Home Batteries has switched over to new settings \u2013 a combination of minor adjustments written into the rules at the start and some quite major design rethinks announced\u00a0in December<\/a> to make the scheme last longer and go further.<\/p>\n As it stood, the break-neck rate of uptake of discounted home batteries \u2013 more than 420,000 have been installed under the scheme so far \u2013 and the average size of batteries being installed, which had hit levels nearing 50 kilowatt-hours (kWh) by March, was unsustainable.<\/p>\n Under current settings, households can get the full, but slightly lower-rate discount on the first 14 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of usable capacity of a battery system. Bigger batteries can get 60% of the discount on capacity between 14-28 kWh and just 15% on capacity between 28-50 kWh.<\/p>\n Already, these changes have had an impact, says SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston \u2013 appearing as \u201cthe expected unwind of the pre-cliff pull-forward rather than a genuine downturn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Johnston says May\u2019s energy storage system volume has fallen back to March levels, reflecting what is likely to be a \u201csignificant carryover\u201d of April installations registered late, as well as a sharp correction after the pre-rebate rush unwound.\u00a0<\/p>\n Image: SunWiz<\/p>\n \u201cWith the new subsidy parameters now in effect, installers are pivoting their attention to the sub-20kWh segments, where growth is starting to emerge,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n And while growth has slowed somewhat, Johnston stresses that new home battery install volumes are still tracking above historical averages and possible registration lag may understate May\u2019s true figures.<\/p>\n The average battery size dropped down only slightly to just under 38 kWh, while Johnston says 40 and 50 kWh systems remain the dominant size band, even as all size categories have eased back from April\u2019s \u201cexceptional spike.\u201d<\/p>\n The same patterns can be seen in the rooftop solar market, which in April rode the battery boom to an all-time high: with 442 megawatts (MW) of new small-scale PV capacity registered nationwide \u2013 a 31 per cent month-on-month jump and and the strongest month in STC history, according to SunWiz.<\/p>\n Image Source: SunWiz<\/p>\n In May, the market has eased back to 341 MW (-22% month on month), but still roughly 46% above installation levels of a year ago. As was the case with home battery capacity, Victoria was the only state to keep growing.<\/p>\n Image: SunWiz<\/p>\n The January-May tally for rooftop solar volume, meanwhile, is the highest ever and is running ~36% ahead of the same point in 2025, says Johnston.<\/p>\n \u201cThe looming rebate cut pulled large-format battery demand \u2013 and the bigger solar arrays needed to run it \u2013 forward into April, producing the record spike,\u201d says Johnston.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMay reflects the comedown from that surge, not a structural slowdown: every size band and state remains well above year-ago levels, and the Cheaper Home Battery Program continues to act as a multiplier on PV.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cElectrification of appliances and EVs is the likely next leg of the cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n If you would like to join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, please\u00a0click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n