Resources
Plain answers,
before a sales pitch.
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Free guides we hand to customers before they sign. View in the browser, or save a copy for later.
Buyer's Guide
Things to consider before getting solar
A short checklist of the questions worth asking — about your roof, your bills, your installer and the small print — before you put a deposit down anywhere.
Solar, in plain English
Quick reads on the things customers ask us before signing. Tap show more for the longer version.
- Rebates№ 01
The Australian STC scheme, explained
The federal STC rebate is an up-front discount on your install — not a cheque you claim later. It scales with system size.
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STCs are certificates your installer trades on your behalf, and the value is deducted from your quote before you pay anything. The multiplier steps down each January through to 2030, so the same kilowatt system is worth a little less every year. We always quote with the current STC value already applied.
- Battery№ 02
When a battery makes sense (and when it doesn't)
A battery pays back fastest when most of your power is used after dark, or you live somewhere with frequent blackouts.
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If you're home during the day and self-consume most of what your panels produce, oversizing the array usually beats adding storage. Evening-heavy households — kids home after school, EV charging overnight, winter heating — benefit more, because the battery shifts your daytime solar into peak-rate hours. NSW also runs its own battery rebate worth checking.
- Audit№ 03
Reading your own electricity bill
Skip the pie charts. Look for kWh used and the daily supply charge — solar only dents the first.
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Find the usage table and note kWh per quarter, ideally split into peak, shoulder and off-peak if you're on a time-of-use plan. Check the feed-in tariff (cents you're paid per kWh exported). The supply charge is a fixed daily fee that solar can't reduce — everything else is on the table.
- Specs№ 04
Panel tiers, explained without the marketing
“Tier 1” isn't a quality rating — it's a banking term meaning the manufacturer is financially stable.
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What actually matters: efficiency (how much sunlight becomes power), temperature coefficient (how much output drops on hot days), warranty terms (years and what's really covered), and hail rating. A well-specced mid-tier panel often outperforms a cheap Tier 1 panel from a brand-name maker.
- Roofs№ 05
Heritage, tile and tricky rooftops
Older roofs aren't a no — they're a design problem. Most can take solar with the right mounts and a bit of thought.
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Terracotta and slate tiles can crack under standard rail feet, so we use tile-replacement hooks or tin patch-ins where needed. Standing-seam metal often takes clamp mounts with zero roof penetrations. Heritage councils can have their own rules — we check those before drawing a single line on the design.
- Tax№ 06
Feed-in credits and tax. The short answer
For most households, feed-in credits aren't taxable. For businesses and home-based businesses, the rules change.
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If your home is just a home, the ATO treats feed-in credits as a private reduction in your bill, not assessable income. If you run a business from the property or the system is on a commercial site, credits can count toward income — and depreciation and GST rules come into play. A five-minute call with your accountant before the next BAS is worth it.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions our inbox gets every week, answered the way we would explain them across a kitchen table.
How much money can I save with solar?+
A quick rule of thumb is to multiply your current electricity bill by 0.4. The answer is your potential savings after installing solar.
For example, your bill is $1,000 this quarter. Using the calculation 1000 × 0.4 = $400. This means you could potentially save your family and your business $400 this quarter.
While this is a great tool to get an idea of your potential savings, your actual savings are affected by: your electrical load profile (what you use, when you use it and for how long), solar system size and grid export restrictions in your area, feed-in tariffs (what your retailer pays you for excess energy), and where you live (the more sun you get, the more you save).How much does installing a solar system cost?+
After the federal STC rebate is applied as an up-front discount, most residential systems land between $4,000 and $15,000 depending on size, inverter and any battery. Commercial systems are quoted line-by-line against your meter data.
Are your solar systems covered by warranty?+
Yes. Manufacturer warranties cover panels (typically 25 years), inverters (10 to 15 years) and batteries, plus our own workmanship warranty on the install. If something fails, we handle the claim end to end, so you're not shipping panels or chasing paperwork.
I was told that rebates are ending soon. Is this true?+
The federal STC scheme is stepping down each year and ends in 2030, so the rebate gets smaller every January. It hasn't ended yet, but sooner is better than later if rebate value matters to your payback.
I got offered Tier 1 Panels. Are they any good?+
“Tier 1” is a financial-bankability rating, not a quality grade. It tells you the manufacturer is well-funded, not that the panel is the best fit for your roof. We pick panels on engineering merit (efficiency, temperature coefficient, warranty terms, hail rating), not on tier label alone.
If I need to replace a panel and the exact model is unavailable, what do I do?+
We document every system at handover, so we know exactly what was installed. If your original panel is out of production, we source the closest electrical and mechanical match. If mixing creates a mismatch, we'll show you the trade-offs before swapping anything.
Are solar panels durable enough to withstand hail?+
Quality panels are tested against substantial hail impact during certification. For hail-prone postcodes we can specify reinforced glass options, and good mounting design takes wind and impact loads into account from the start.
Are solar energy credits refundable?+
Feed-in credits appear on your electricity bill rather than as a cash refund. They reduce what you owe, and in months where you export more than you import they can roll into a bill credit. Different retailers handle the surplus differently, so the rate and treatment is worth comparing.
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