The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) is urging consumers to check if their home energy solar systems are affected by dangerous LG solar energy storage batteries, which can overheat and catch fire.
The batteries, which are under recall, are primarily used in LG, SolaX and Opal home energy solar systems. The batteries can potentially lead to serious injuries, death and property damage.
Despite the recall, about 6,400 of the batteries have not yet been replaced. The ACCC is concerned that these consumers may not be aware of the recall and the fire risk.
Since October 2019 there have been nine reported incidents involving these types of batteries in Australia, resulting in property damage and one injury, and five incidents and one injury reported in the US.
ACCC Deputy Chair, Delia Rickard, said, “We encourage consumers to urgently check if they have an LG, Solax or Opal solar energy storage battery which is included in the recall by LG.”
Responsible state and territory electricity regulators, which regulate electrical safety of products, have been working with the ACCC to raise awareness of the LG solar energy battery recall.
“Consumers who identify that they have an LG energy storage battery under recall are urged to immediately contact LG to discuss next steps, including a free replacement when available,” Ms Rickard said.
“The affected batteries have also been supplied in solar energy storage systems with brand names other than LG, so it is extremely important to check if you have a battery affected by the recall by checking the serial number on the LG website.”
Consumers should visit http://www.lgessbattery.com/au and follow the instructions on how to check their serial number so they can determine if their battery has been recalled.
LG will replace all affected batteries free of charge when replacements are available.
Electrical regulators recommend switching off the battery. If consumers wish to switch off the battery, they should refer to the instruction manual of their energy storage system or contact the installer or manufacturer for advice.
Affected batteries were supplied by residential solar energy storage system retailers, installers and distributors, including:
- AGL Energy
- Baywa
- CSR
- Energy Australia
- Krannich Solar
- MMEM
- One Stop Warehouse
- Rheem
- Solar Juice
- SolaX
- Sonepar (as Solar Plus Solutions)
- Supply Partners
The batteries were installed in homes primarily as part of a solar energy system to capture and store renewable energy.
LG has indicated it has taken a number of measures to reduce these risks for consumers (including measures to reduce the maximum state of charge to 75 per cent until the battery is replaced).
