Increasing Battery Capacity FAQs

Why am I getting an extra 5% in my battery?

We are increasing the default day-to-day usable capacity of all Plico batteries from 80% to 85%. This is in response to member requests to discharge more out of the battery on a day-to-day basis. This change allows you to draw more from the battery each night, and less from the grid.

How will this change impact me?

This change will allow you to discharge more from your battery on a day-today basis, reducing the amount of energy you need to buy from the grid. We estimate this will save Plico members approximately $50/year in power bills.

Your battery’s Backup Reserve is therefore reduced. The Backup Reserve can only be accessed during a blackout, which means you will discharge this reserve sooner in the event of a prolonged blackout. Read on to find out more about your battery’s Backup Reserve.

Why is some of my battery’s capacity reserved as backup?

Plico batteries are programmed to retain some capacity in the Backup Reserve for blackout protection. When there is a grid outage, your panels and battery can work independently and provide power to your home, thanks to the inverter. However, if your battery is completely discharged (overnight for example) when a blackout occurs, the Backup Reserve (5%) will provide power to your back-up circuit for a short time. If you completely discharge your Backup Reserve and your panels are not producing, then you will lose all power to your back-up circuit.

Increasing your battery’s day-to-day usable capacity from 80% to 85% reduces your battery’s Backup Reserve from 10% to 5%. Plico batteries have a Depth of Discharge (DoD) hard limit of 90%, therefore cannot be discharged more than 90% of their capacity. This Safety Reserve of 10% is there to protect the battery and prolong its life.

Do I need to do anything?

No. We will remotely change the day-to-day useable capacity of all Plico batteries to 85%.

Can I keep my day-to-day useable capacity at 80%? Yes. If backup blackout protection is important to you because your location is prone to regular grid outages or because you have equipment you need to power 24/7 for example, then you can choose to keep your useable capacity at 80%, maintaining 10% capacity in your Backup Reserve. Please just reach out to us to let us know.

Can I discharge my battery more than 85%?

Yes. PylonTech batteries have a maximum Depth of Discharge (DoD) – the maximum capacity that can be drawn from the battery – of 90%. The remaining 10% is reserved to protect the battery. If you increase your battery’s day-to-day usable capacity to 90%, you will completely forego your Backup Reserve for blackouts.

That means if there is a blackout when your battery is fully discharged, you won’t have any power to your back-up circuit (or the rest of your house).

Who do I contact to make changes to my battery settings? You can email us at connect@plicoenergy.com.au if you would like your battery’s day-to-day useable capacity set up differently to the new default of 85%. If you are happy with the change then there is no need to contact us.

What if I have already requested a change to my battery? If you have previously requested a change your battery’s day-to-day useable capacity, we won’t make any further changes. We will keep the battery settings as you have requested.

What is a battery’s State of Charge (SoC)? State of Charge (SoC) is another term you may hear us use. It describes the level of charge of a battery relative to its capacity. In essence, we are changing the minimum SoC of all new and existing Plico batteries from 20% to 15%. The minimum SoC includes the Safety Reserve of your battery, or maximum DoD (10%), plus the Backup Reserve (5%).

Increasing battery capacity Frequently Asked Questions

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