Declan Osei
Battery & EV charging
Based in Brisbane, AU
Declan writes about home batteries, EV chargers and the emerging vehicle-to-grid category, drawing on his own multi-year EV ownership.
11 published articles · most recent September 6, 2026
Articles by Declan Osei
- Your battery can't do self-consumption and EV charging well at onceCharging your EV off solar sounds simple until your battery and car start competing for the same daytime sun. Here's how to actually resolve it.
- What actually happens when a home battery goes into thermal runawayA look at what thermal runaway actually is, why LFP batteries handle it differently, and what installation standards do to stop it spreading.
- Where to actually install a home battery: garage, wall or outside?Battery placement affects safety, warranty and performance more than most quotes let on. Here's how to think about garage, external wall and outdoor mounting.
- Sizing battery capacity for self-consumption vs backup: they're different jobsA battery sized to soak up daytime solar isn't the same battery sized to run your house through an outage. Here's how to work out which one you're actually buying.
- How to set your battery's charge and discharge windows properlyMost home batteries ship on default settings that quietly waste half their value. Here's how charge and discharge windows actually work, and how to set yours.
- Do You Need a Home Battery? A Decision FrameworkA battery isn't automatically the next step after solar. Here's how to work out whether one actually pencils out for your situation — and when it doesn't.
- LFP vs NMC Home Battery Chemistry: Why It Matters for Safety and LifespanLithium iron phosphate and nickel manganese cobalt batteries both store solar power. They differ on thermal stability, cycle life and energy density in ways that actually change which one belongs on your wall.
- EV Charger Amperage and Circuit Sizing: What Your Electrician Needs to Know Before QuotingThe charger is the easy part. Whether your switchboard can actually carry a new 32A or 40A circuit without an upgrade is the question that determines your real install cost.
- Vehicle-to-Home and Vehicle-to-Grid: How Close Is It Really to MainstreamA handful of EVs and chargers can genuinely power your house during an outage today. Full vehicle-to-grid, trading stored charge back to the wholesale market, is still mostly pilot programs, not a shelf product.
- How to Choose an Electrician for an EV Charger InstallA licence to do general electrical work isn't the same as experience assessing a switchboard for a 32A EV circuit. Here's what to check before you accept a quote.
- Home EV Charger Buying Guide: What the Specs Actually MeanLevel 1 vs Level 2, kW ratings, smart features — here's what to actually pay attention to when choosing a home EV charger, and what's marketing noise.
