Home Battery Market Declines for First Time Since Rebate Launch
Recent data indicates that Australia’s flourishing home battery market experienced a downturn in January 2026 for the first time since the introduction of the Cheaper Home Batteries rebate in July 2025. According to industry analyst SunWiz, small-scale battery registrations plummeted to 983 megawatt-hours, a significant drop from nearly 1.2 gigawatt-hours in December.
Warwick Johnston, managing director of SunWiz, attributes the 17 per cent reduction to installers taking a necessary break during the Summer holidays rather than a decrease in consumer demand.
Ongoing Demand for Home Batteries
A report from the Clean Energy Council last week has indicated that the federal battery rebate has greatly boosted demand, a trend that is expected to continue, especially with alterations to the rebate set to be implemented in May. However, SunWiz’s data reveals that almost every state experienced a decline of over 20 per cent in January, with Victoria being the lone exception, noting a slight 3 per cent increase in registered home battery systems.
Battery Installation Trends
Despite the overall decline in registrations, the total small-scale battery registrations for January remained robust at 983 megawatt-hours, comfortably above the 1 gigawatt-hour mark, according to Johnston. It’s worth noting that the average size of the battery systems being installed has remained stable, expanding to 35.64 kWh this January.
On the other hand, the rooftop solar sector took a predictable hit, recording 244 megawatts of new installations, which is a 32 per cent fall compared to December’s results. Johnston explained that while this steep reduction appears severe, it is consistent with the historical trends of January and mirrors the figures seen in the same month of 2025.
Commercial Solar Installations Also Affected
Commercial solar installation figures have particularly suffered, with the 50–70 kilowatt (kW) market segment seeing the most pronounced decrease at 57 per cent. Residential installations, meanwhile, faced a 24 per cent drop when compared month-on-month.
Despite these fluctuations in the market, the underlying demand for home batteries remains promising as Australia navigates its clean energy transition.
