All households with a solar storage system need to urgently check if the system has a recalled LG battery installed and should switch off affected batteries immediately, the ACCC has warned.
When these batteries malfunction there is a serious risk of injury or death due to the affected batteries overheating and causing a fire.
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LG is now instructing all consumers with affected LG batteries in their solar energy storage system—which may be branded LG, SolaX, Opal, Red Earth, Eguana or VARTA—to switch their energy storage system off immediately and to keep it switched off until they are remediated.
Consumers with affected LG batteries are urged to switch off and contact LG or SolaX to arrange remediation of the battery, which could include a free battery replacement or a software update, or a refund.
“It is critically important that anyone with a solar energy storage system checks their battery’s serial number, as this recall has been updated to include new models, affected systems and dates of manufacture,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said.
“Even if you don’t have an LG-branded solar storage system, you may still have an LG branded battery that has been recalled. For peace of mind—check your system again and turn off your battery straight away if it has been recalled.”
LG has agreed to provide financial compensation to consumers who have higher electricity bills as a result of not being able to use their battery.
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“Please put your safety first and follow this important advice to switch off. LG will compensate consumers who are out-of-pocket on their electricity bills as a result of switching off and not being able to use their battery,” Lowe said.
Further information is available at the Product Safety Australia website (see LG Energy Solution recalls: PRA 2020/18529 and PRA 2022/19550 and SolaX Power recall: PRA 2022/19420.
