Thousands of Australian households could unwittingly be running energy solar systems with deadly LG solar batteries.
The batteries, which may be branded LG, SolaX, Opal, Redback, Red Earth, Eguana, and VARTA, “can overheat and catch fire, causing property damage and injuries,” according to the ACCC, who will be directly contacting almost 5,000 households in the coming weeks regarding the recall.
The batteries were manufactured between 29 March 2017 and 13 September 2018, and were supplied nationally to consumers from 15 May 2017, via various residential solar energy storage system retailers, installers and distributors, including AGL Energy, Energy Australia, One Stop Warehouse, Rheem, SolaX, and dozens more.
So far, about 2,900 batteries have been replaced or removed from consumers’ properties. A further 1,400 batteries have been switched off or have had the maximum charge capacity reduced to 75 per cent to reduce the risk overheating while waiting for a replacement or refund.
However, LG and SolaX are still trying to trace around 3,000 additional recalled batteries.
“This recall has been updated twice to include new models, affected systems and dates of manufacture, so even if your battery was not recalled previously, you must check your battery’s serial number again,” said ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard.
“We remain very concerned about the fire risks these faulty batteries pose, so please act quickly.
“Unfortunately, since October 2019 there have been nine reported incidents involving these types of batteries in Australia resulting in property damage and one injury. We do not want to see any more incidents or injuries.”
