How solar panels work
What solar energy is, what panels are made of, how cells, strings and bypass diodes turn light into power, the parts of a home system, and what a Melbourne roof makes each season.
Solar know-how
Solar and battery guides for Melbourne homes
Our solar guides take a Melbourne home from first question to owning solar and a battery: how they work on a Melbourne roof, what size suits you, what it costs, which rebates apply and what happens after install day. There are 35 guides and calculators so far, grouped by topic below.
New to solar? Start with the four-step Solar 101 path, or Batteries 101 for a home battery. Rules, rebates and network limits come from the bodies that set them, such as the Clean Energy Regulator and Solar Victoria, and each guide shows the month its facts were last checked.
Updated
Start here: Solar 101 for Melbourne homes
Four stages, in the order most people meet them. Read the first guide in each stage, then go deeper where your home needs it.
Understand
How solar makes power on a Melbourne roof, what it does well and where it falls short.
Plan
What your bill says about your use, which system and battery fit it, and whether solar pays on your home.
Buy
What it costs, which rebates come off the price, and how to compare installers and quotes.
Own
What happens after install day, and how to keep the system earning for its whole life.
Start here: Batteries 101
The same four stages for a home battery, whether it goes in with new solar or joins the system you have.
Understand
What a home battery does, how long it lasts and how it connects to your solar.
Plan
What size covers your evenings, whether it pays on your tariff, and backup in a blackout.
Buy
The price, the federal rebate, the batteries compared and what a compliant install involves.
Own
Watching it in the app, and earning from a virtual power plant.
Plan your system in five steps
The order matters: each step narrows the next, so by the time you ask for quotes you know roughly what you need and what it should earn.
- Read your bill and meter. Your bill shows how many kWh you use. A smart meter records your use through the day (AusNet’s meters every 5 or 30 minutes), and the Essential Services Commission says you can get that data from your distributor and upload it to Victorian Energy Compare. Smart meters and your bill.
- Check your phase. Read the rating plate on your meter or look at the main switch (look, don’t touch). Every Victorian network pre-approves up to 10 kW of inverter on a single phase home and 30 kW on three phase. Single vs three phase.
- Size the system. In Melbourne each kW of north-facing panels makes about 1,420 kWh a year (PVGIS). Without a battery, the inverter must be at least 75% of the panels’ rating (SAA). What size system you need.
- Run the numbers. The solar calculator estimates what a system makes, saves and pays back at market prices; the battery size calculator shows what each battery size covers in summer and winter.
- Count the rebates, then get a quote. STCs come off the price of the panels and the Cheaper Home Batteries Program discount off a battery, and both shrink on a set schedule until 2030. Our fixed quote has every federal rebate your home qualifies for taken off before you see the price. Solar rebates.
Guides by topic
Every guide, grouped by what it helps you decide. Each shows when its facts were last checked. For short answers, see the solar FAQ.
Know-how
Pros and cons of solar
The advantages and disadvantages of solar for a Melbourne home, which ones a battery or good design fixes, energy payback, recycling, and solar facts and myths.
How many solar panels you need
Size solar from your power bill: kWh a day to kW and panels, roof space, single and three phase limits, building a new home, and a sizing calculator.
Solar panel direction and angle
Which way and how steeply panels should face in Melbourne, and what shade, cloud, time-of-use tariffs, your roof type, the coast and ground mounts change.
Single phase vs three phase power
How to tell which supply your home has in two minutes, and what it changes for solar, batteries and EV chargers.
How to choose a solar installer
What to check on the installer, the company and the products, a printable quote checklist, your door-to-door rights and where to complain in Victoria.
Meters and bills
Smart meters, tariffs and your bill
How to tell if you have a smart meter, read its import and export registers, why a bill can show no feed-in credit, and what solar changes on your meter, bill and tariff.
Solar feed-in tariffs in Victoria
No minimum feed-in tariff any more: how to compare solar plans, time-varying rates, the networks’ opt-in two-way export tariffs, the Midday Power Saver and export limits by network.
Panels and inverters
Types of solar panels
Monocrystalline vs polycrystalline, N-type TOPCon and HJT cells, half-cut and glass-glass labels, bifacial, plug-in solar and solar roof tiles.
High efficiency solar panels
The most efficient panels on sale in Australia ranked for Melbourne roofs, and what summer heat and winter sun do to them.
Solar panel sizes
How big, how heavy and how many watts a home solar panel is, from the makers’ datasheets, and what a 500 W+ panel really is.
Solar inverters compared
Twelve inverter brands sold in Australia side by side: sizes, panels, batteries, backup, warranty and each maker’s Australian office.
Microinverters vs string inverters
Micro inverters, optimisers, string and hybrid inverters compared: when shade or a split roof makes panel-level electronics worth it, batteries, safety and warranties.
Batteries
Home batteries compared
Eight home batteries sold in Australia side by side: usable kWh, power, warranty, backup, where each can go and the rebate on each.
Home battery backup in a blackout
What keeps running in a blackout: whole-home vs essential-circuit backup, switchover times, backup ratings, sizing and the backup reserve, and three phase backup.
Virtual power plants
What a VPP pays Victorian battery owners, what you give up, and how it compares with the Midday Power Saver.
How long solar batteries last
Warranty years, cycles and throughput by model, battery types, heat and cold, safety and smoke alarms, recalls (batteries and hybrid inverters) and recycling.
AC vs DC coupled batteries
How a battery connects to solar, and whether to keep your inverter and add an AC battery or swap to a hybrid.
Rebates and programs
Solar and battery rebates in Victoria
Every solar and battery rebate a Melbourne home can get, who is eligible, when each drops, and a calculator for your postcode and size.
The solar battery rebate and calculator
How the federal battery rebate works for a Melbourne home, a calculator for what your battery size gets, who qualifies, the VPP rule and every step-down to 2030.
Solar Victoria’s Solar Homes rebate and loan
Who qualifies for the up-to-$1,400 panel rebate and interest-free loan, how to apply, rentals and apartments, and the 1 July 2027 move into VEU.
Victorian energy rebates, VEU and bill help
Every Victorian and federal energy program in one table: VEU discounts and the 1 July 2027 solar move, Solar Homes, concessions, the Power Saving Bonus status and the free midday hours.
Free electricity in Victoria
The Midday Power Saver’s three free hours a day: how it works, prices by network, a worked bill and charging a battery in the window.
Costs and finance
How much do solar panels cost in Melbourne?
Installed solar prices by system size, the extras that change the price (switchboard, meter, three phase) and how payback works.
How much does a solar battery cost?
Battery prices after the rebate by size, price per kWh, package prices, install extras and what to check in a deal.
Is solar worth it?
Payback by system size at Melbourne market prices, what solar saves on Victorian tariffs, and when it isn’t worth it.
Are solar batteries worth it?
Battery payback after the federal rebate for four Melbourne homes, a payback calculator, and when a battery doesn’t pay yet.
Solar loans and financing
Green loans compared by lender, what payment plans really cost, home loan top-up or personal loan, and the Solar Victoria loan in short.
Owning solar
How long solar panels last
Panel life vs warranty, why panels degrade and what field data shows against the warranty, 25 years of output on a Melbourne roof, what hail, heat and salt air do, and why the inverter goes first.
Solar warranties explained
Panel, inverter and battery warranties: what they cover, what voids them, your consumer rights, finding your system’s brand, the makers’ Australian support contacts, claiming when the installer has closed, and home insurance.
How to clean solar panels
Cleaning rooftop panels safely from the ground: how often in Melbourne, what the makers allow, bird droppings and lichen.
Upgrading an old solar system
Add panels, add a second system or replace an old one: inverter limits, STCs on extensions and network approval.
Owning solar in Victoria: after install day
Most of this happens without you, but it is worth knowing what to expect and what to keep.
- Keep your Certificate of Electrical Safety. Solar is prescribed electrical work in Victoria: an independent Licensed Electrical Inspector must inspect it, and it can’t be switched on until then. Your electrician must give you a copy of the certificate within 4 days of it being completed (Energy Safe Victoria). Keep it with the rest of your handover pack.
- Your meter is reconfigured. Your distributor supplies the meter, and it is reconfigured to record the solar you export. For most homes this happens remotely. If the meter has to be physically changed, a technician visits and the cost appears on your electricity bill (Solar Victoria). Smart meters and your bill.
- Choose a retail plan. Since 1 July 2025 retailers set their own feed-in tariffs, but they must give you a credit for the solar you export, so a feed-in tariff can’t be below zero, and tell you before they change your feed-in tariff (Victorian Government). Compare plans with your own meter data on Victorian Energy Compare.
- Watch it in the app. Each inverter brand has its own monitoring app, for example iSolarCloud (Sungrow), Solar.web (Fronius) and the AlphaESS app (Alpha ESS). A sudden drop in output or an error code is a reason to call your installer.
- Book a service every 2 years. Solar Victoria and Energy Safe Victoria advise a service at least every 2 years by a licensed A-Grade electrician, preferably accredited by Solar Accreditation Australia. In between, look, don’t touch: a burning smell or unusual noises mean it is time to call an electrician.
Your first three months. Check that your first bill after solar shows a feed-in credit, and compare each month’s total in the app with the expected Melbourne output for that month.
Solar terms explained
The words you will meet on quotes, bills and in these guides. Each links the guide that explains it in full, with its sources.
- Watt (W) and kilowatt (kW)
- Units of power, where 1 kW is 1,000 W, so a 6.6kW system has 6,600 W of panels (435–475 W each for the panels in our panel guide). Solar panel sizes
- Kilowatt-hour (kWh)
- A unit of energy, 1 kW for one hour: your bill charges per kWh, and a 6.6kW system on a north-facing Melbourne roof makes about 9,319 kWh a year (PVGIS). kW vs kWh on your bill
- Kilovolt-ampere (kVA)
- Apparent power (volts times amps), which some network rules and inverter datasheets use instead of kW: Jemena, for example, allows up to 10 kVA of inverter per phase on a basic connection. Inverter limits by network
- Temperature coefficient
- How much power a panel loses for each degree its cells heat up beyond the datasheet’s test conditions: 0.24–0.29% per °C for the panels we compare. Heat and panel output
- Degradation
- The power a panel loses as it ages: the makers in our panel guide guarantee a loss of no more than 0.25–0.4% a year after the first year. Panel degradation
- Inverter and hybrid inverter
- The inverter turns the panels’ direct current (DC) into the alternating current (AC) your home uses; a hybrid inverter also charges and runs a battery. Solar inverters
- String and MPPT
- Panels wired in series form a string, and each of the inverter’s maximum power point trackers (MPPTs) holds its string at the voltage that gives the most power. How panels are wired
- Inverter oversizing
- Fitting more kW of panels than the inverter is rated for; without a battery, the inverter must be at least 75% of the panels’ rating (SAA). Oversizing explained
- Single and three phase
- How many active wires bring power to your home: one at 230 V, or three with 400 V between them; most homes are single phase. Single vs three phase
- Export limit
- The most solar power your network lets you send to the grid: on AusNet Services’ pre-approved connection it is 5 kW per phase (15 kW across three phases); 3.5 kW on SWER lines. Export limits
- Flexible exports
- An export limit that moves with what the network can take, instead of a fixed figure; on Powercor’s network, it lets eligible homes export up to the inverter’s capacity, to a maximum of 10 kW. Flexible exports
- Emergency backstop
- Since 1 October 2024, new rooftop solar systems in Victoria up to 200 kW, and existing ones that get a new inverter, must be able to be switched off remotely in rare grid emergencies. The emergency backstop
- Feed-in tariff
- The credit your retailer pays for each kWh you export; Victoria has had no minimum since 1 July 2025, so retailers set their own. Feed-in tariffs
- Self-consumption
- Using your solar power as it is made instead of exporting it, which the Victorian Government calls the way to make the most savings from solar. Export or store?
- Time of use and the VDO
- A plan that prices each kWh by time of day: the Victorian Default Offer (VDO), the standing offer the Essential Services Commission sets each year, has a time-of-use tariff that charges least in its solar soak period, 11 am to 4 pm, and most at peak, 4 pm to 9 pm. Tariffs and meters
- Distributor (DNSP)
- The company that owns the poles and wires, supplies your meter and approves your solar connection; Victoria has five: AusNet Services, CitiPower, Jemena, Powercor and United Energy. Smart meters and your bill
- STC (small-scale technology certificate)
- The federal incentive usually taken off the price of solar and batteries, set for panels by system size, postcode zone and install year and for a battery by its usable capacity, and shrinking each year until the scheme ends in 2030. STC rebate calculator
- STC zone
- The Clean Energy Regulator’s postcode zone that sets how many STCs each kW earns: most of metropolitan Melbourne is zone 4 (1.185 MWh per kW), and some northern and western suburbs are zone 3 (1.382 MWh per kW). STC zones
- Usable capacity
- The amount of energy that can be discharged, which is what your home can draw from the battery (Clean Energy Regulator); the battery rebate is worked out on usable kWh, not the nominal figure on the label. Home batteries compared
- Depth of discharge (DoD)
- How much of a battery’s stored energy it lets you use before it stops discharging, which is why usable capacity can be less than the figure on the label. Batteries compared
- Throughput
- The total energy a battery delivers over its life, in MWh; many battery warranties end at a throughput limit or after a number of years, whichever comes first. Battery warranties
- AC and DC coupling
- How a battery connects: DC-coupled through a hybrid inverter it shares with the panels, or AC-coupled through its own battery inverter on the home’s AC wiring. AC vs DC coupled batteries
- Virtual power plant (VPP)
- Many home batteries run together by a retailer or other operator to support the grid, in return for credits; to get the federal battery rebate, a grid-connected battery must be able to join one. Virtual power plants
- SAA accreditation
- Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) accredits the people who design and install solar and batteries, and a system not designed and installed by accredited people earns no STCs. Choosing an installer
- Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES)
- The certificate for electrical work in Victoria: solar is prescribed work, so an independent Licensed Electrical Inspector inspects it before the system can be switched on. After install day
Calculators
Three calculators built on Melbourne sun, Victorian prices and the current rebates. Each starts from a worked example you can change.
Solar calculator
Estimate your solar savings, check the payback on a quoted price, and see monthly output for your roof’s direction and tilt.
Solar battery size calculator
What size battery suits your evening use and your solar, plus 5 to 50 kWh batteries compared: what each runs, weight and the rebate by size.
STC rebate calculator
A calculator for the STCs on solar and batteries in Melbourne and the rest of Victoria by postcode zone: what they are worth, how to check a quote, and why they drop each January until 2030.
The rebate calculator on our solar rebates guide adds up every rebate for your postcode and system size.
How we research and check these guides
- Primary sources first. Rules and rebates come from the agencies that set them, such as the Clean Energy Regulator, Solar Victoria, Energy Safe Victoria and the Essential Services Commission; network limits from the distributors; product specs from the makers’ own Australian documents. Market prices are labelled as market data, with their source and month.
- A date on every guide. “Updated” shows the month a guide’s facts were last checked against those sources, not the day the page was built.
- Re-checked on a schedule. Facts that change, like rebates, tariffs and prices, are re-checked at least every 120 days. A guide with a year in its title takes that year from its oldest check, so the title moves to a new year only once its facts have been re-checked in that year.
- Our own figures only when confirmed. Our prices, the brands we fit and our warranties appear only once the business has confirmed them. Until then a guide says how we quote instead.
- Look, don’t touch. No guide asks you to open a switchboard or a meter: electrical work is for a licensed electrician.
Each guide is published by Top End Solar and lists the sources behind its figures, so you can check them yourself. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll check it against the source.
Solar guides: your questions
Where should I start if I’m new to solar?
Start by learning how solar works and what it can and can’t do. Then plan: read your bill, check whether your home is single or three phase, size the system and run the solar calculator. After that, compare costs and rebates, check installers, and get more than one quote. The Solar 101 path at the top of our guides page links a guide for each step. How solar panels work
What is the difference between a watt and a kilowatt?
Both measure power, the rate electricity is made or used, and a kilowatt (kW) is 1,000 watts (W). Solar panels are rated in watts, 435 to 475 W for the panels in our panel guide, and a system is rated in kW by adding its panels up, so a 6.6kW system has 6,600 W of panels. Energy over time is counted in kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is what your bill charges for. Solar panel sizes
What does kVA mean in solar?
kVA (kilovolt-ampere) measures apparent power, volts times amps, while kW measures the real power that runs your appliances. The two can differ, so some network rules and inverter datasheets set limits in kVA. Jemena, for example, gives its basic connection limits as up to 10 kVA of inverter per phase and export of 5 kVA per phase (15 kVA across three phases). Your installer designs to whichever unit each rule uses. Inverter limits by network
What do I need to do after my solar is installed?
Keep the Certificate of Electrical Safety, which your electrician must give you within 4 days of it being completed, and expect your distributor to reconfigure your meter to record exports, usually remotely. Then choose a retail plan whose feed-in tariff and usage rates suit how you use power, set up your inverter’s monitoring app, and book a service at least every 2 years. Feed-in tariffs
How are the figures in these guides kept up to date?
Each figure is stored with its source and the date we last checked it. Rules, rebates and network limits come from the bodies that set them, such as the Clean Energy Regulator, Solar Victoria or a network’s connection policy, and market prices are labelled as market data. Facts that change, like rebates, tariffs and prices, are re-checked at least every 120 days, and every guide shows the month its facts were last checked. A year in a guide’s title comes from its oldest check.
Using these guides for a Melbourne home
Most of what decides solar for a Melbourne home is local, and these guides use the local figures. Each kW of north-facing panels makes about 1,420 kWh a year here (PVGIS, Mount Waverley, Melbourne). Your distributor, one of Victoria’s five, approves the connection and sets your export limit, and most of metropolitan Melbourne sits in STC zone 4. With no minimum feed-in tariff since 1 July 2025, solar you use at home is usually worth more than solar you export, so read the Plan guides with your own bill and meter data in hand. Then bring that bill to an inspection, and ask for a fixed quote with every federal rebate your home qualifies for already taken off.
Ready for a price on your own home?
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Want advice for your own home?
Locally owned, locally installed. Call, email, or send the form and we’ll come out and inspect the property.
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Mount Waverley, VIC 3149