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How to add a home battery under the WA residential battery scheme. Your best option depends on one thing: the type of inverter you already have.
Before you start
Under WA's connection rules (from 1 May 2026), adding a battery to existing solar triggers a fresh connection application, and the whole site must meet current requirements.
Step 1
Your best battery installation option depends on your existing inverter type.
Not sure which you have? Check the model number on your inverter's electrical label (usually on the bottom). Search the model online or ask your installer.
Path A
Simplest and most cost-effectiveYour hybrid inverter controls electricity flow between solar, battery and home. It can talk directly to a VPP if it's on the Synergy SSL.
Make sure your hybrid inverter and battery are on the Synergy Supported Solutions List, so you're eligible for Battery Rewards.
With backup wiring, a hybrid inverter can charge and discharge the battery from solar during grid outages.
Path B
String invertersCost-effective options are still available. Here are the three side by side.
Microinverters: the table below is for string inverters. With microinverters you can add an AC-coupled battery with a compatible gateway, subject to the same gateway and expansion caveats as Option 1 (see the warning below the table). Compliance depends on your system, so ask installers what suits it.
| Compare | Option 1Keep inverter + AC-coupled battery + gateway | Option 2Add a second hybrid inverter + DC-coupled battery | Option 3Replace with a larger hybrid + DC batterySounder long-term path for many homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | Your inverter keeps running solar to your home. A separate battery inverter handles charging. A gateway links the parts and joins the VPP. | Keep your non-hybrid inverter and add a new hybrid inverter with a DC-coupled battery. A gateway coordinates both for the VPP. | Swap your inverter for a larger hybrid and add a DC-coupled battery. You get the benefits of a modern hybrid system. |
| Keep your inverter? | In your favour: Yes | In your favour: Yes | Watch out: No, replaced |
| Gateway device | Watch out: Needed, must support your inverter | Watch out: Needed, must support both inverters | In your favour: Not needed |
| Efficiency | Watch out: Slightly lower, ~90% | In your favour: DC-coupling benefits | In your favour: Best long-term efficiency |
| Backup power | Watch out: Limited options | Depends: Ask your installer | Depends: Ask your installer |
| Cost and work | Depends: Ask your installer | Depends: Ask your installer | Watch out: Higher upfront cost; may need new wiring |
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Still deciding?
Sometimes replacing is more cost-effective than retrofitting.
Tip: Different installers use different equipment brands. Always get multiple quotes and ask about options to integrate with your existing system.
Jargon buster
The central part of an AC-coupled system. It lets compatible inverters and batteries talk to each other and join a VPP such as Synergy Battery Rewards.
An AC-coupled system needs one to join Tier 2 (Battery Rewards). Hybrid inverters have this built in.
Same-brand pairingNo third-party gateway
Sungrow and Fronius can pair old and new inverters and share compliance. Still subject to whole-of-site compliance if you expand later.
Third-party gatewayAsk about testing
Various third-party solutions exist, but they can struggle to meet the requirements and pass testing.
Special case
Homes with three-phase supply or several inverters can still get rebates and no-interest loans. Options include:
Phase balancing: Systems must meet Western Power's basic embedded generation technical requirements. Single-phase inverters on a three-phase supply may have lower power output than expected.
Planning ahead
Use our tools to find compatible batteries and get quotes from installers in our network.
Get a quote from an installer from our network that covers your area. You choose whether to act on it. No obligation.
Source: based on the Energy Policy WA guidance "Installing a battery under the WA residential battery scheme" (September 2025).