Consumers are battling higher energy bills worldwide due to rising inflation and greater price volatility of oil and gas, driven by significant restrictions on energy trade through the Strait of Hormuz in recent months. This has prompted a surge in interest in household solar systems, as consumers look to produce their own clean, affordable power. Consumer interest in battery installations is also growing as battery prices decrease and people become increasingly aware of the potential for 24-hour clean power.
Australia is one of the countries pioneering household battery installations as targeted policies drive uptake. Approximately one in three houses already have domestic solar power, as consumers across the country take advantage of the country’s favourable conditions for clean power production. Now, people are looking to battery storage to boost their power and ensure a stable supply, day and night.
Since July 2025, around 415,000 Australian households have invested in battery storage, equivalent to around one in every 25 homes. This reflects a broader trend in Australia, as the government rapidly deploys industrial-scale batteries nationwide. The increased uptake of batteries is helping to drive down electricity prices.
Tristan Edis, the director of the consultancy Green Energy Markets, who authored a report that analyses Australia’s household battery trend, explained, “It’s amazing… It shows again that if you go big with a technology, and you kick it off big from the start, you can make a really significant difference. If you’re a battery manufacturer focused on residential right now, you really must be focused on Australia.”
Many concerns about the shift away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives centre around the instability of energy sources such as wind and solar power. However, the installation of battery storage is helping to assuage these doubts by providing critical power backup and eliminating the need to turn to gas to fill the gap at certain times of the day.
As the price of solar panels has fallen, thanks to increased uptake and technological innovations, battery prices remained high until recently. However, battery storage is gradually becoming more affordable, with prices falling by around 90 per cent since 2010, according to the International Energy Agency, a trend that has helped attract more consumer interest. Batteries have improved in recent years as prices have decreased, with most now requiring fewer critical minerals for production, offering longer lifespans, and improving fire safety.
At a time when fossil fuel prices are increasingly volatile due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, consumers are more willing to invest in household renewable energy systems that provide clean, affordable power.
In addition, the increase in battery storage uptake in Australia has driven down gas use in recent months, with fewer people relying on gas-powered mains electricity during the night hours. This is helping to save consumers money by reducing peak-hour electricity prices and decreasing the country’s carbon emissions.
It is not just in Australia that consumer interest in battery storage is increasing; uptake has risen worldwide in recent years. In the United States, home battery capacity grew by over 50 per cent last year, and the domestic battery market is expected to grow by around 120 per cent by 2030.
In Europe, solar power installations are helping to save consumers millions, particularly as gas prices continue to climb. One analysis suggests that solar power saved Europe over $115 million a day throughout March by reducing gas imports, savings that could climb to almost $78 billion by the end of the year if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
In addition to commercial solar power, households across the region are increasingly investing in residential installations to reduce their reliance on expensive electricity from the mains supply. Europe is the global leader in residential energy storage, accounting for 7 of the top 10 global residential storage markets, according to a December report from Wood Mackenzie.
In the United Kingdom, over 27,000 solar installations were completed in March 2025, according to government data, marking the highest monthly total since 2012 and adding 2.3 GW of clean electricity. A June government proposal could help households with solar systems cut their energy bills further by installing community batteries, as the government launches a call for evidence to unlock barriers to the rollout of shared battery storage across the U.K.
Phil Steele, from British energy firm Octopus Energy, explained, “Batteries, when combined with smart tariffs, can significantly lower energy bills… Rather than paying the same flat rate around the clock, smart tariffs like Agile Octopus automatically charge the battery when electricity is at its cheapest and discharge it when prices are at their highest, so customers get the most out of every unit of energy stored.”
As consumers grow more concerned about fossil fuel price volatility, more people are looking to generate their own clean, affordable power, driving the uptake of solar and battery storage installations. Greater interest in residential battery systems could help rapidly shift energy demand in countries with strong records of household solar power uptake.
Oilprice.com
