Home battery support in Australia is strong. Home batteries scored 72 out of 100 in the Clean Energy Solutions Index 2025, a national survey of more than 3,000 Australians. That made batteries the second most supported of 11 clean energy solutions, behind rooftop solar. Yet only 9% of Australians said they had one, while 51% had considered it.
The Clean Energy Solutions Index measures Australians’ deep support for 11 clean energy solutions, from rooftop solar to offshore wind. A score of 70 or above signals deep support. Batteries cleared that bar. What follows is what sat behind the number, and why the gap between support and uptake was the real story.
How do Australians feel about home batteries?
Australians felt strongly positive about home batteries. The solution scored 72 out of 100, placing it in the Index’s strong band alongside rooftop solar (81) and well above the national score of 60 across all 11 solutions.
The score is a weighted composite of four measures, and each held up:
- 75% believed home batteries are good for Australia
- 74% personally supported installing a solar battery at home
- 70% believed people in their local community supported them
- 69% were willing to talk positively about them to family and friends
The consistency across the four measures mattered. For several other solutions, perceived community support trailed personal support noticeably. For batteries, the four readings sat within six points of each other, which suggested support was broad as well as deep.
Why do Australians support home batteries?
Money first, independence second. Among supporters, 74% cited saving money on power bills as a reason, and 59% pointed to self-sufficiency, the ability to store their own power and rely less on the grid.
That pairing reflected a pattern seen across the Index: support strengthened where a solution offered both an economic and a practical or environmental benefit. Batteries offered both, and Australians responded accordingly. It also echoed the finding on household economics shaping clean energy support: Australians backed the solutions that made financial sense to them.
Why don't more Australians have home batteries?
Cost led the barriers, but it did not stand alone. Among those not yet on board, the top reasons were:
The spread was telling. Cost was the headline barrier, as it was for most solutions in the Index. But the risk and disposal figures indicated that price relief alone may not close the gap. Half of hesitant Australians wanted reassurance about safety and about what happens to a battery at end of life. Those are information and confidence problems as much as price problems, and they pointed to where industry and government communication could do the most work.
- Upfront cost: 60%
- Perceived risks: 52%
- Concerns about battery disposal: 51%
The spread was telling. Cost was the headline barrier, as it was for most solutions in the Index. But the risk and disposal figures indicated that price relief alone may not close the gap. Half of hesitant Australians wanted reassurance about safety and about what happens to a battery at end of life. Those are information and confidence problems as much as price problems, and they pointed to where industry and government communication could do the most work.
How many Australians have a home battery?
In March 2025, just 9% of Australians said they already had a home battery. Another 51% said they had considered getting one. That 42-point gap between consideration and uptake was the single most striking battery finding in CESI 2025: six in ten Australians had either acted or seriously thought about it, but most were still waiting.
Fieldwork closed before the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program began offering an approximately 30% discount on eligible installations from 1 July 2025. The 2025 Index therefore cannot measure the program’s effect. What it showed was the condition that preceded it: a large pool of Australians already considering a battery, held back mainly by upfront cost. As we argued when the program launched, the rebate didn’t create demand for home batteries, it unlocked it.
Conclusion
The battery story in CESI 2025 was a story of readiness. Support was deep, the reasons were practical, and half the country had already considered acting. The barriers that remained were the kind that policy, price and clear information can shift.
CESI 2026 will show whether they did. With the rebate now in market, the next wave of the Index will reveal whether the 9% moves, whether the 51% converts, and whether risk and disposal concerns ease as batteries become a more familiar sight in Australian homes. Explore the full battery data, including state and demographic breakdowns, on the CESI dashboard.
Only 9% of Australians said they already had a home battery, but 51% said they had considered one. With deep support at 72 out of 100 and upfront cost the leading barrier at 60%, the demand was already there. The question CESI 2026 will answer is how much of it converts.
Conclusion
Source note:
Findings are based on the Clean Energy Solutions Index 2025, developed by 89 Degrees East in collaboration with Boundless Earth.
Methodology: findings draw on a national online survey of 3,162 Australian citizens conducted 3 to 18 March 2025, weighted to be representative of the adult population by age, gender and state.
External source: Australian Government, Cheaper Home Batteries Program, energy.gov.au.
See also our citation guidance for reusing Index figures.
