Storms take out power across Newcastle and the Hunter most years. Backup is one of the main reasons people buy a battery — and one of the most misrepresented features in the industry.
Backup ready is not backup
A battery described as backup capable may still need a dedicated backup circuit, a changeover device and extra wiring to actually keep anything running. If that work isn't in the quote, you won't have backup. Always ask which specific circuits will stay live.
Essential circuits backup
The common approach. A selected group of circuits — fridge, lights, power points in key rooms, internet — is wired to stay live. It's cheaper, it puts less strain on the battery, and the stored energy lasts much longer because you're not running air-conditioning off it.
Whole-home backup
The whole switchboard stays live and the house carries on as normal. It needs a system with enough output to start and run everything — including motor loads like air-conditioning and pool pumps — and enough capacity to sustain that. The EcoFlow OCEAN 2 is the option we fit for this.
How to choose
- Short, infrequent outages and you mainly want the fridge and lights: essential circuits.
- Work from home, medical equipment, or a long rural feeder that drops out often: lean toward whole-home.
- Air-conditioning you'd want running through a summer outage: whole-home, with output sized for the start-up surge.
We scope backup circuits during the site visit and put them in writing. You'll know exactly what stays on before you agree to anything.
Want this applied to your house?
Our estimator gives you an indicative system size and savings figure in a couple of minutes — then we confirm it against your actual bills.
Get your estimate