Australian Competition and Consumer Commission: Thousands of ‘deadly’ LG solar batteries recalled

Homeowners have been warned to check their solar panel systems immediately amid an urgent recall of batteries that have caught fire and caused injuries and property damage.

The dangerous LG batteries are installed in homes primarily as part of a solar energy system to capture and store renewable energy.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued the alert on Monday, saying while thousands of the potentially deadly solar LG batteries had already been recalled, LG was attempting to trace thousands more with an additional 10,000 batteries at risk of overheating.

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.

The consumer watchdog said it would be directly contacting almost 5000 households likely to have energy solar systems with dangerous solar batteries in the coming weeks.

So far, about 2900 batteries have been replaced or removed from consumers’ properties.

A further 1400 batteries have been switched off or have had the maximum charge capacity reduced to 75 per cent to reduce the risk of overheating while waiting for a replacement or refund.

However, LG and SolaX are trying to trace about 3000 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. We remain very concerned about the fire risks these faulty batteries pose, so please act quickly,” ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said.

“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.”