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Before you go ahead with your solar investment decisions, there are a few factors that you must think about. When installing a solar panel system on your residential or commercial property some major factors can affect the cost to install a solar panel.
- Government Rebates.
- Government Incentives.
- Whether the system is off-grid or not.
- Contractors you hire to install the solar system.
- The competition in the industry and cheap solar installation services.
- The type, number, and size of the panels and solar inverters.
- The type of equipment used for the setup and the price of other components that come with the system.
- The height, accessibility and the type of roof.
- The location where the solar will be installed.
- Any other after-sales service agreements
These variables can help you with allocating your costs for installing and setting up a solar system on your property.
Many of Australia’s property owners in major cities are now switching to a greener and cleaner approach when it comes to using energy.
How much do Solar Panels cost?
On average solar panels cost $3,000 to $13,000 in Australia, this average price of the solar panel is after the government rebate that has been applied. However, for each city and the size of the solar panels installed, the prices vary. Here is a table below that shows the average solar panel costs including both the upfront incentive for small scale systems with the STC discount. Solar Panel Costing
3kW | 4kW | 5kW | 6kW | 7kW | 10kW | |
Adelaide, SA | $3,430 | $4,070 | $4,580 | $5,070 | $5,920 | $9,110 |
Brisbane, QLD | $3,780 | $4,390 | $4,880 | $5,200 | $6820 | $8,490 |
Canberra, ACT | $3,580 | $4,240 | $4,910 | $5,620 | $6,500 | $8,730 |
Darwin, NT | $5,810 | $7,130 | $7,950 | $8,970 | $10,090 | $13,670 |
Horbat, TAS | $4,650 | $5,290 | $5,980 | $6,900 | $7,360 | $10,690 |
Melbourne, VIC | $3,920 | $4,280 | $4,660 | $5,030 | $5,880 | $8,380 |
Sydney, NSW | $3,820 | $4,210 | $4,620 | $5,290 | $5,970 | $7,860 |
Perth, WA | $2,880 | $3,220 | $3,770 | $4,540 | $5,610 | $8,500 |
All | $3,980 | $4,600 | $5,170 | $5,830 | $6,770 | $9,430 |
Looking at the table above, let us talk about the 3 major factors that highly affect the costs of installing the solar power system on your property.
The location of the property
The reason why the cost of solar panels is different for each state in Australia is due to the rebate each state pays. One of the major factors that determine the cost of installing solar panels is the location of the property. This is why you should take advantage of the solar rebate to reduce the costs of installation. You can check for your eligibility and get an assessment from certified solar companies.
Generally speaking, the cost of installing the solar panel system on your property is built into the price advertised by the solar companies. This way you can avoid scammer solar installers who will charge you extra to install the system.
it is not legally acceptable for you to install the solar panels and claim the rebate, you must hire a professional certified installer to get the installations done.
Will you be connected or be off-grid?
Whether you are on the grid or not is another factor that determines the cost of installing solar panels. Being connected to the grid while installing solar panels is one of the most common for commercial and residential properties all across Australia. This simply means that your property is connected to the main electricity grid as a backup when the solar panels are not generating enough energy, especially at night.
However, staying on the grid is a more cost-effective option when you are looking into the cost of installing solar panels. With a grid-connected system, you can have both solar panels and an inverter that can be connected to the main electricity grid. This way your property can rely on solar energy during the day and fall back on electricity whenever it is needed.
On the other hand, an off-grid solar system will solely work on the energy generated through the solar panels. The system will rely on storage batteries to store unused energy for the days the sun is low or during night hours. The off-grid system is generally expensive to install and requires planning. This type of solar system is typically used in rural areas in Australia.
If you take a look below you can find the information on the costs of installing solar PV in Australia by state.
Solar Rebate in Australia
Speaking of the factors that can affect the costs of installing a solar panel system on your property, as a property owner deciding whether to install a solar system, you must know all about solar rebates. As mentioned earlier, each state in Australia offers government rebates and incentives that can affect the costs of installing a solar panel system.
Australia introduced the Federal Rebates to encourage property owners to install solar systems to become more energy-efficient and generate renewable energy by 2020.
Australia’s 3 main existing rebates encourage people to make a switch from consuming general electricity to solar power.
The three main rebates are:
- Federal Rebates
This rebate acts as an incentive to encourage more people to install a solar system by reimbursing anyone who installs the system on their property, targeting both small scale renewable schemes and large scale renewable energy. The more powerful the system the higher the rebates. This program will last until the year 2030.
- State Government Rebates
The individual state governments will provide rebates to support both residential and commercial properties that are making the switch to solar systems.
Solar installation support is available for Queensland and Victoria, and the support for costs of the installation of solar batteries is available in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT.
- Feed-in Traffics
The idea of the feed-in traffic system is to refund property owners for any energy that is sent back into the grid. Rather than wasting the excess solar energy collected by the system, the energy will be fed back into an account on the grid and your energy provider will pay you an amount per kWh of the excess solar power.
Make the call
Compared to many parts of the world, Australia is considered among the cheapest places to install solar power systems. You can make the call and switch to renewable energy sources and benefit from them.
