Putting solar on your house — Australia

I wrote this on Medium way back in 2016. Added here for completeness. 5 years on and my advice remains the same! Get solar as soon as possible. The main thing that’s changed since then is that I no longer think there is a correct amount of solar. It’s so cheap now that the right amount of solar is how much you can fit on your roof and electricity connection.

We recently got solar installed on our house and it was incredibly painless and fantastically cost-effective. Telling others about this process showed me that many don’t realise how mature the solar market is in Australia and just how easy it is. This is a quick post explaining what happened and how you can do the same.

1. Find a reputable installer. Talk to friends, read websites, talk to the installers, ask people in the industry. Even ask me. Most of the good shops have been around a while and have a great deal of material in the market. You’re essentially interviewing them for a job. Your job.
2. Ask them for a quote. The correct response for this is “Sure we’ll be right out for an obligation free and no-cost quote.” Anything less and hang up the phone. If they don’t answer your questions honestly and generously or try and charge you for a quote, they are not the installer you’re looking for. If you want finance [more below] ask if they can offer that as part of the package. Again, no cost until the system is on the roof making electricity.
3. Work with the installer to determine how much solar you need. Look at your power bills and see how much energy you use each day. It will be between 15 and 40kWh/day. 1kW of panels makes about 4kWh/day. So if you want 20kWh/day, get 5kW of solar.
4. Have a look at the design and quote with the installer. Again, ask questions and if they are cagey or don’t answer honestly and generously, find another installer. Also, ask your friends in the industry to have a look.
5. Figure out how you’re going to pay. Cash is fast and has no real fees, but you might not have $10k lying around. Finance for solar is fantastically easy these days.

For our installation we sent them some bills, which showed we were able to pay $500/quarter; we were then approved for an amount based on our proven ability to pay electricity bills. Solar will reduce your electricity bill, and instead you will pay the finance company. For our system, and this experience will be very common in Australia, the repayments were less than the amount our bill reduced. So we save $300/quarter, but pay the finance company $270/quarter. So every quarter we’re ahead $30, AND paying down a solar system. In 6 years we own it, and it continues to make electricity for at least 10 more years, maybe 15 or 20. It’s incredibly good value.

Now just sign the paperwork and install the system. That’s it. Your installer should be responsible for all approvals, the quality of the work and making sure the system operates as promised.