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Adding a second battery
When Lightning Energy installed our Powerwall 2 back in December 2023 it was great. Paired with our 13 kW Enphase/Jinko solar system and 10 kW inverter, it's been handling our fully electrified home in Emerald pretty well — five reverse-cycle ACs, heat pump hot water, EV charging, and grid outages lasting up to nine days. But as we've added more loads, I've been thinking about expanding battery storage. There was a problem, though. The Powerwall 2 is no longer CEC-approved for new installations in Australia. Tesla stopped taking orders for it in late 2024/early 2025, and as of January 2026 it's no longer on the Clean Energy Council approved list. So you can't add a second one. And until very recently, the Powerwall 3 — Tesla's current model — was completely incompatible with the Powerwall 2. They couldn't talk to each other. That meant anyone with a Powerwall 2 who wanted more storage faced a painful choice: rip out the existing battery and start fresh with new hardware. For me, that…
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Heat pump testing — how fast does it heat?
In my December post about our heat pump installation, I mentioned that one of the reasons I chose Emerald was the integrated app. It shows the tank capacity, water temperature, outdoor temperature, and lets me turn it on and off or activate Boost Mode remotely. I've since used it to answer a question: how long does it actually take to heat the water, and does outdoor temperature make a difference? Over the past couple of months, I've been taking semi-random screenshots of the Emerald app at intervals through the day, tracking the water temperature as it heats from "Low" (around 25–30°C) up to the 60°C target. I did this on 11 different days, with outdoor temperatures ranging from about 14°C to 32°C. I then used AI (Claude, by Anthropic) to read all 87 screenshots, extract the data, and plot it on a chart. The chart shows each day's heating curve overlaid, with the lines colour-coded by outdoor temperature — red for hot days, blue for cool days. We might expect to see the warmer days…
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Goodbye gas — disconnecting the ducted heating
Goodbye gas! I finally organised disconnecting the ducted gas heating at our home. If only we could see the burnt gas pouring into the air, all the time, and not just when the condensation highlights it (as in the photos). Pumping carcinogens and greenhouse gases into the air that we breathe. It’s nuts. It was costing us up to $528 per month to run the heating in winter. Our replacement air conditioning will be closer to free, thanks to our solar and battery. We recently also replaced our gas hot water with a heat pump. Our one remaining gas appliance is our stove top. Once that’s gone, we will save $35 per month just for the connection fee. And no more gas! We’re replacing the gas heating with some split air conditioners. For those who might say “what about in a blackout”? Note the power point connection on the old gas heating. Our old gas hot water heat pump had one too. They both needed electricity to run. In fact, in addition the gas consumed, the heating used about 1kW of…
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First Tesla service call: a new wheel
First service call for our Tesla Model Y. Replacing our loaner wheel with a new wheel. As you can see in our posts from a few weeks ago, we hit a pothole, damaging our left rear wheel. At the time, we only knew that we had a slow leak. We logged the problem in the Tesla app. They arranged for roadside assistance to come to us, in about an hour, to install a loaner wheel, and take ours away to diagnose. Today, Tesla replaced the loan wheel with a new wheel, costing a whopping $1319. I asked them to clean the damaged wheel and put it in the back of the car. In the photos, you can see the buckle and crack. I am wondering if it is fixable. When I booked this service in the app, I also asked them to fix the water in the light bar, and some issues with the steering wheel buttons. They replaced both. I’ll discuss the steering wheel buttons in a separate post. All covered under warranty. I had a bit of trouble figuring out where to leave the car. Several after me also mistakenly parked in…
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Oli burger and FSD on the Hume Highway
Lunch stop at Oliver's, just outside Gundagai. I recommend the Oli burger 🍔. Tesla Model 3 with stripes parked near us. FSD along most of the Hume Highway. It does a great job, and avoids human fatigue. A few complaints, though, including it repeatedly thinking that the speed limit is 100, even when it’s actually 110 (pictured). Occasionally it dropped to 80 or 40, presumably after seeing some random sign off the highway. Pretty good driving efficiency with FSD, too, about 14kWh per 100km. See screenshots.
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What to ask for in a battery installation
I suggest getting your installer to agree in writing that your battery installation will include: 1. Remote control via an app and/or website to monitor your battery and house power. 2. During a grid outage, the battery should provide backup for everything you need. 3. During a grid outage, solar continues to provide power. 4. The ability to curtail export of power to the grid when pricing is negative. 5. Compatibility with Amber Electric, if you might want to use them as your energy retailer. Let’s look at each in detail: 1. Using an app or website, you can: 1. Monitor power in and out of your battery, house and grid connection, instantaneous, daily and historical. 2. At any time, set your battery to a minimum charge percentage. 2. In the event of a grid outage: 1. The battery will switch over automatically. The installer should test it and show you. 2. The battery will power all of your home, up to the battery’s maximum power (which should be at least 5kW). 3. If you have three…
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Solar, battery and electrification — series intro
A few neighbours and friends have asked us lately for advice about solar panels, house battery, EVs etc. Here’s our real life experience, starting a series of posts on different topics. We installed solar and battery when we moved into our house (Emerald, Victoria) about two years ago. We already had an EV (electric car). This week, we finally got around to replacing our gas hot water with an electric heat pump. Next month we’re replacing our gas ducted heating with a multi head split air conditioning system. Overall, our solar and battery provide more electricity than we use. We’re also connected to the electricity grid so we can import when we need more, or export when we have a surplus. We aim to produce all the power that we need. On the rare times that we import electricity from the grid, our retailer bills us. More often, we export our surplus electricity to the grid, for which they give us a credit. Overall, we have more credit than debits, so we don’t have to pay anything. All…
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Heat pump installation
We finally got around to installing a hot water heat pump, to replace our gas hot water system. We were paying about $40 per month for our instant gas hot water (plus $40 connection fee). Now we’re paying nothing, because the heat pump is just using our excess solar power. Without solar, I estimate it would be costing us $8 per month to power it from the electricity grid. There are a few incentive schemes around to replace gas (or other old inefficient systems) with a heat pump. An installer will factor these into their quote. The subsidies can be significant. In our case, the total price was $4480, but it was reduced to $1650 for us to pay, after subsidies were subtracted. A hot water heat pump uses the same principle as an air conditioner (which is also a heat pump). It “pumps” heat from one side to the other. In this case, it pumps heat from the outside air into the tank of water. The basic physics is that when you compress air in a confined space, it gets hot, and when you expand…
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A solar-powered coffee stop at Glenrowan BP
Coffee stop, just north of Glenrowan, at the BP service centre. The Tesla/Google navigation only knew the south bound service center here, so the directions tried to send us over the highway 🤪. Thanks to the nearby solar farm that provides the power to the grid that found its way to our car. We overheard someone paying $1100 for fuel, presumably a semi trailer. Wow. 😮 Home baked Anzac slice (thank you Krissy) was the perfect accompaniment for the coffee and thermos of tea. The small birds begged us for crumbs. On towards Wagga.
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Why NRMA Airlie Beach is a shining EV light
The NRMA Airlie Beach Holiday Park is a shining light. EV destination chargers at each of the new cabins. Fast chargers out front for the public. Efficient electric hot water heat pumps. On site cafe and coffee. E-bikes. Walk to nearby Coles and shopping center. This is the future. Well done, The NRMA! Missing our own EV right now, still parked back in Melbourne airport.
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Tetris-ing four people, a fridge and luggage into a Model 3
We know our Tesla Model 3 can fit a 50L camp fridge. And we know it will take a large travel suitcase, or four people and some luggage. But we didn’t know if it would take all that at the same time. It took a fair bit of Tetris-ing, and the boot strained at the seams, but we managed to get everything in. I think we might need a bigger car. First stop at Eumundi Markets. We parked in the shade and later opened the boot so the fridge had some outlet for the hot air. Second stop along the highway at Burpengary for some fast food lunch. Then we delivered Erin and Isaiah to their accommodation in Brisbane before their flight back to Airlie Beach tomorrow.
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Crepes for breakfast at Botero Cafe, Maclean
Crepes filled with chocolate mousse, banana and cherry sauce is a perfectly legitimate breakfast, according to Botero Cafe, in Maclean. Onward north towards Coollum Beach in Queensland.
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A quick stretch in Rotterdam
Second stop on our trip south, at Rotterdam. Just long enough to stretch our legs with a short walk around town, and grab a coffee.
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Borrowing Nico's Jaguar i-Pace
On our way from Krommenie to Maastricht. We picked up Nico’s Jaguar i-Pace. Very swish. 0 to 100km/h in about 3.5s. Luxury interior trim. Neat console. It has fast DC charging but only does 3.6kW AC charging (compared to our Tesla’s 11kW). It’s about twice the cost of our base Tesla Model 3 at home. Jaguar had it for a few days to replace the battery. This is the first real example I’ve seen of someone actually needing to replace their EV battery, despite all the hype about it from naysayers. Fortunately, it was all covered under warranty. Our first stop was in Breukelen at a service center. Well, we actually stopped at two of these, because of mixed up convoy instructions. Next to the Shell petrol station here is a FastNed charging bay, with solar panels on the roof. Most service centres seem to have these, which is terrific. It kills me to stop for fuel like this. Stopping specifically for fuel (charging) is something I try to avoid. I prefer to just charge when I’m parked for some…
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We bought a Mammotion robot mower
We bought a new EV! It’s all wheel drive, includes full self driving, with proximity sensors and just a front facing stereo camera. But it takes about four hours to fully charge and the acceleration is pretty slow 😉. It’s a Mammotion Tech Luba 2 robot lawn mower. We could have bought it online direct from Mammotion, but opted to buy it through a local service centre, Robotech Australia, just in case we need support or maintenance. Our lawn is about 1500 square metres. We bought the Luba 2 AWD 3000 model, which is rated to mow 3000 square meters, allows up to ten mowing areas, and handles extra step inclines. The base model does 1000 square metres, and allows less separate mowing areas. There are also 5000 and 10000 models. I followed the fairly simple hardware instructions to screw in the camera (which looks like Wall-E), screw the charging station into the ground, and assemble the transmitter (RTK) onto a pole. We have named the robot “Marvin” (the mower). To misquote Hitchhiker’s…
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A hello to Ned Kelly in Glenrowan
Stopped for lunch in Glenrowan and said hello to Ned Kelly. Great town for a visit on the way through. Followed by a brief stop in Yea before arriving home in Emerald.
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Visiting 'Tarquin' the burnt-orange Tesla
We popped in to see Kylie, Aaron, their family, pets and newly wrapped “Tarquin” the Tesla, in its burnt orange glory. We first met them (back when Tarquin was white) nearly a year ago when we were road tripping towards Cairns (and the Daintree). Since then, Kylie has been following along on our blog, making suggestions along the way. They kindly invited us for some afternoon tea today ☺️. The finished edges of Tarquin’s wrap are impressively neat. Our Tesla is basically the same, except ours is wrapped in bugs and thousands of kilometres of road dust. Francis was ready to adopt a few of the pets. We considered charging in the garage, but the pricing (made especially for us) was too high 😉. We stayed overnight in a motel in Mackay, which turned out to be right under the flight path, next to the airport. It was amusing, rather than annoying, until perhaps the 6am wake up call of what seemed to be a truck on our roof.
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A bug-spotted windscreen, with no clean-up
Final leg to the NSW Central Coast today. First stop for bladders, so we pulled into the next service center along the Hume Highway. A fresh spotting of bugs adorned the windscreen. But there’s no cleaning facilities at the chargers 😞. We pulled into the adjacent service station. I opted for the least busy section, which was for trucks, planning to get out quickly. I grabbed the handle of the cleaner from the bucket, and wiped the windscreen a few times. When I went to dry the drips from my hands, I realised that the handle was covered in grease! And now also my right hand. It took some time and effort to get that off, so as not to wipe it on the white interior of our car.
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Tyre rotation — and a recommended replacement
Slightly overdue for another tyre rotation (16,700km since previous check, but due at 10,000km intervals). So, I booked one in via the Tesla app, which quoted $71.28. Mobile service came to me. Amar, the Tesla technician, was very friendly, efficient and helpful. All his tools were in the trunk and frunk of his Tesla Model S service vehicle. He showed me that the tyres had unevenly worn, so the inside tread (on the right in the photo) was below spec on all tyres, requiring the replacement. He said he could cancel today’s call-out (so, no cost to me) and book in a tyre replacement at the Tesla service centre (big cost). I asked him to make it so. Follow up: See the post about the subsequent actual tyre replacement at the service center, here:
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Loan Model Y day out at St Kilda
After the morning downpour across Melbourne, the sun started to emerge for us as we walked along St Kilda beachfront. Yummo Greek lunch at Beachcomber Cafe St Kilda Beach. You might notice that our Tesla is a bit larger than normal. It’s a loan Model Y, while our Model 3 was at the service center in Mulgrave.
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Windscreen replaced at Tesla Mulgrave
We followed the instructions in the Tesla app to bring our Model 3 to the service centre at Mulgrave. Great system. We were getting the windscreen replaced, because the chip is larger than the 2.5cm limit of repairs and we had elected the extra windscreen cover with NRMA Insurance. Glad to see that a loan vehicle is standard issue, from Tesla. At the drop off desk, we requested a Model Y, so we could try it out for the day. We explored the bigger storage space and potential sleeping/camping space. When we first hopped in, it felt like a mini van compared to the Model 3. It felt very high. Easier to get in and out. More visibility out the front window, due to the height. Less visibility out of the rear window, partly due to the smaller area (which actually wasn’t so bad) but more due to the extra tinting on the rear window. The roof window visibility is great. We watched some kind of air show (perhaps the Roulettes?) flying over Melbourne while we waited in traffic. The Model Y is…
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A bollard manoeuvre, and meeting Patty
Manoeuvred my way around the bollards with a three point turn again, at the RACQ Chargefox charger. Chatted briefly with Scott (before me in a blue Tesla Model 3 with bikes on a rack) and Patty afterwards. Patty is today moving with his dogs up from The Sunshine Coast to Port Douglas. His wife is driving another Tesla. They are planning to “hippy-fy” their new place with EV chargers for guests.
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An Audi e-tron meet, with Linda and Louis
We waited for another Tesla Model 3, which was at 99% for ages when we got there, not checked in, in PlugShare. Then had a chat with Linda and Louis who arrived a while later, in their Audi e-tron. They had travelled from Wollongong, passing through Port Douglas. We agreed that we need more than one RACQ Chargefox fast charger in these locations. The layout of this charger is great: easy to park; can charge from either side; near shopping and toilets.
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Mossman Gorge in the Daintree
Visitors have to park at the center, then catch a shuttle bus to the gorge, then walk a nice 640m boardwalk to the popular river spot. The centre includes a cafe, toilets, gift shop and ticket counter. It’s pretty but seems to be a large overhead for a fairly standard river view, with room at the gorge for a limited number of visitors. There is a longer 2km walk, but we didn’t try it. They advise not to swim, but half the people do. We found out later that a couple of tourists were swept away by the river, prompting a search.
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Made it to Cape Tribulation
We made it to the northernmost point of our road trip: Cape Tribulation. Lush vegetation, lots of wildlife if you look closely. The ocean is eerie – it’s hard to tell where it ends and the sky begins. It’s so very humid in summer. Great little cafe/kiosk where we were staying. But we also cooked our meals in the camp kitchen. There’s no grid power here, north of the Daintree River, so the Safari Lodge and Campground (our accommodation) and other places all run on diesel generators. The generator supplies the electricity for the powered sites, cabins, lights, kiosk, washing machines, everything. A few places have solar panels. There are plans for a micro-grid to get rid of the diesel generators. I'm surprised that they don't have more solar here, but it is coming
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Crossing the Daintree River ferry
We crossed the Daintree River on the ferry. Notice on the other side of the river the toddler that seems to be driving a car from the sunroof.
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Charging in Cairns, plus an AQUA Lagoon coffee
Charged up for the trip to Daintree. Managed to beat Kylie and Aaron this time, who resorted to the slow 11kW charger next to us, until we finished. Enjoyed a delicious coffee and an ice block with fruit in it at AQUA Cairns Lagoon cafe. Tried to block a photo of me in portrait 🤪.
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Queueing at the Cardwell charger
We charged up at Cardwell (south of Cairns). We initially queued behind Aaron and Kylie in their Tesla Model 3 (Mackay to Cairns). While waiting, we drove up the road to buy lunch from a cafe, under “The Big Crab”. When we returned, we queued behind Vijay and his family in their MG (Port Douglas to Brisbane). We ate our lunch the pretty park next to the charger, whilst avoiding swimming and being eaten ourselves by crocodiles.
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We might be a little bit crazy
We moved out of our home, sold what we could, moved the rest into storage, and set off road tripping in our Tesla Model 3. It?s the cheapest, smallest Tesla, with RWD (rear wheel drive), LFP battery and about 430km range. It runs on electricity. No petrol, oil, smell, noise etc. We?ve only had it three months. We have a bed that fits the back of the Tesla from Tessories Australia, a Carsule tent from MOGICS, a huge 50L camp fridge, camp chairs and other gear from KILOS GEAR. When we can’t find accommodation, the Tesla will be our home for the night. We were living on the NSW Central Coast, in Saratoga. All of our kids have grown and moved out. We need to downsize and reset. But, for the moment, we are without a home, other than the Tesla. We had only booked accommodation for our first two nights, in Port Stephens. We’re just winging it from there. The rough plan is to then head west through Mudgee and Dubbo, then up through Tamworth and Armidale, then up through Queensland to Airlie…
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Setting off on our east-coast EV adventure
We packed the essentials into our electric car (Tesla Model 3) and set out to explore the east coast of Australia, out to Dubbo, up through Queensland to Cape Tribulation, down from Mackay to Bega and along the south Victorian coast, Great Ocean Road, The Grampians and much more. Last lunch before we go, courtesy of Shelly's Cafe. Somehow we managed to fit all of that (including 50L fridge, bed, chairs, tent, food, clothes, computers) into the smallest car that Tesla make.
Formerly: Tesla Tripping
Come along on our EV road trips around Australia and Europe, and follow as we progressively electrify our home in Emerald, Victoria.
Join us on the road. We set off in late 2022 and drove eastern Australia in our Tesla Model 3 — Sydney, Dubbo, Armidale, Brisbane, Cape Tribulation, then down through Queensland and back. We've since upgraded to a Model Y.
We've kept exploring — Uluru, the Snowy Mountains and Gippsland, and a longer run through Europe in 2024. There's plenty more on the map, so come along for the next leg.
At home in Emerald, in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges, we're progressively electrifying everything: rooftop solar, a home battery, a hot water heat pump, air conditioned heating and cooling, and EV charging straight from the sun. We're going fully electric, off the gas.
Got questions, or insights of your own? We'd love to hear them — please drop a comment on any post.