Solar Panels Sydney: Compare Costs & Installers

Sydney is a leading city for residential solar power installations, with suburbs like Schofields seeing over 70% of homes fitted with solar panels, according to the Australian Photovoltaic Institute. If you’re considering installing solar panels in Sydney or anywhere across NSW, this article will guide you through the process. We’ll help you compare costs, find the best local installers, and show you how to make the right decisions when considering installing a solar system in your home.

Interested in solar power for your business in Sydney? See our complete guide: Commercial Solar Panels Sydney

Overview: Installing Solar Panels in Sydney, NSW

• Reliable Solar Energy Production in Sydney: With enough sun to produce 3.96 kWh of electricity per day on average, a 6.6kW solar system can generate around 26.1 kWh daily, making solar a strong investment for homes with unshaded roofs and daytime energy use.
• Cost-Effective Solar Installation: Sydney boasts some of the lowest solar installation costs in the world. A typical 6kW system costs $5,440 on average, making solar highly affordable for local homeowners looking to cut long-term electricity expenses.
• Federal STC rebate for Sydney solar: The federal Small-scale Technology Certificate (STC) scheme provides an upfront discount on eligible solar systems. For a typical 6.6kW system in Sydney, the incentive in 2026 is roughly 45 STCs, which equates to about $1,620 to $1,800 depending on the certificate price at the time of installation.
• Attractive Payback Periods on Solar: Sydney households can expect a solar payback period of around 4-5 years. A 6.6kW system is estimated to save about $1,207 per year with a payback period of 4.8 years, while larger systems may offer stronger total annual savings.
• Battery Storage: Though solar battery prices remain high, government incentives may help significantly reduce upfront costs for some households. Batteries can offer backup power during outages and reduced reliance on the grid. While the financial return is generally slower than solar panels alone, batteries can still provide energy security and environmental benefits.
• Maximize Savings with Solar Self-Consumption: Sydney homeowners can significantly reduce electricity bills by maximizing solar self-consumption—using solar power during the day. Any excess energy is fed back into the grid, earning you credits through feed-in tariffs, although current rates are lower than in the past.

How much power do solar panels in Sydney generate?

With NREL’s PVWatts calculator, we can see that for each kilowatt (kW) of solar panels installed, you can generate an average of 3.96 kWh of electricity per day. This factors in a system efficiency loss of 15% which would be typical of a reasonable quality Sydney solar system.

We’ve put together the below table of common solar system sizes in Sydney to help you understand what this means. It’s helpful to remember that kilowatt-hours (kWh) are the units that appear on your electricity bill – and which your electricity retailer uses to calculate your quarterly or monthly electricity charges.

* Output was calculated using PVsyst software

How solar panels can cut your electricity bills in Sydney

When does solar power make sense for home owners? Solar power is a great investment for virtually any home in Sydney that has a reasonably-sized, unshaded roof and some electricity consumption during daylight hours (see the sections below). This is because your home-generated solar energy can save you money in two ways:

1. Solar helps you reduce the amount of energy you need to purchase from your electricity retailer / the grid. This is commonly referred to as ‘solar self-consumption‘, and it is the key to making the most of your solar system in Sydney – you should do everything you can to maximise your self-consumption. In practice, self-consumption means running your appliances (pool pump, washing machine, dishwasher, etc) when the sun is shining and using NSW solar power. (Read more about shiftable loads.)
2. You can earn credits on your electricity bill for your system’s surplus energy. This is usually referred to as a solar feed-in tariff. Any solar energy produced that is not immediately put to use in devices in your home will automatically be sent back to the grid, earning you a feed-in credit. A few years ago, feed-in tariffs were state-sponsored and quite generous; these days the rates offered are a bit lower but still enough to help make solar an attractive investment.

The value of your solar energy is based on a combination of how much you self-consume and how much you export. If you have 6.6kW of solar panels in Sydney that produce an average of 26.1kWh/day, but you only manage to self-consume 20% of that, then your savings will be smaller than if you managed to self-consume 40% – or even, ideally, 60%.

It’s therefore important that the system you choose is appropriately sized for your home and electricity consumption. We have developed a tool to help you select a solar PV system size based on the amount of energy that you consume and your consumption pattern.

Calculate how much money you could save with solar panels in Sydney

What rebates are available for solar panels in Sydney

Federal STC Rebate in NSW

Like everyone everywhere in Australia, Sydney residents who install solar can benefit from the nation’s small-scale technology certificate (STC) rebate under the Renewable Energy Target. In simple terms, the STC rebate offers an upfront discount of approximately 30% for any solar installation under 100kW in capacity in Australia. The rebate does differ slightly depending on your location in Australia and on the current market price for the certificates it produces.

The rebate is designed to be collected by the company that installs solar system in NSW, so they in turn offer you a net price that has deducted the STC rebate. Most quotes will provide a breakdown of the total costs (before the rebate) and the net cost to you (after the rebate).

To give you an example, a typical 6.6kW solar panel system in Sydney would generate around 45 STCs in 2026 (using the Clean Energy Regulator’s calculation). At $36 per certificate up to $40 per certificate, that would equate to an upfront discount of roughly $1,620 to $1,800.

Federal battery rebate and NSW VPP incentive

The NSW battery installation discount is no longer available. Households in Sydney now mainly access the Australian Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program, while NSW also offers support for eligible battery owners who connect their system to a Virtual Power Plant (VPP).

Find out if you are eligible and how to apply in our detailed NSW battery rebate guide.

How much do solar panels cost in Sydney?

As of March 2026, a typical 6kW system in Sydney averages $5,440 after the STC rebate has been deducted.

Thanks in part to the federal incentives explained above, Australia is home to some of the lowest solar PV system prices in the world – which is one of the reasons that so many homes and businesses have solar panels installed. Solar Choice has been keeping track of solar panel installation price trends since 2012 and as you can see in the below table the cost of solar in Sydney tracks closely to the national average.

The chart below shows how prices have changed (in terms of dollars per watt of capacity – $/W) since 2012 for a range of popular system sizes. On average solar system prices in Sydney have more than halved since we started publishing figures.

Pricing will vary depending on if any additional costs are involved like tile roof installations or tilt frames. Solar Choice’s online quote comparison tool includes a comparison of all of these extra costs which might apply to your home.

Average solar panel prices in Sydney from the Solar Choice Price Index:

The Solar Choice Price Index is a trusted resource used by the Australian Government, Bloomberg NEF, and CHOICE. Our pricing data is regularly updated, providing a comprehensive look at current solar costs across Sydney and Australia.

What is the financial return on solar for Sydney customers?

The short answer is that there is a great return on investment for Sydney homes. Annual savings range from about $909 for a 5kW system to about $2,727 for a 15kW system, with payback periods generally falling between 4.3 and 5.3 years.

The table below shows payback periods and annual savings in the first year for a Sydney based solar panel system in several different scenarios. Note that we have attempted to match the system size to the energy usage, however, the right size system also depends on what time of day energy is used within a home. The self-consumption rate of 40% means that a reasonable amount of power is being used in the middle of the day.

Assumptions/limitations of this analysis

• Assumes an electricity price of 30c / kWh which is towards the middle of what is offered in Sydney
• Assumes an uncapped solar feed in tariff of 5c / kWh which on the better end of what you can find in Sydney
• Average costs come from the Solar Choice Price Index for 2026
• Your self-consumption rate will vary depending on how you use power in your home. A higher rate, means less power is exported to the grid and improves your financial return

Use our calculator to work out the return for your own specific details in Sydney

As we’ve used average prices from the Solar Choice Price Index, the financial return could be even better for you if you can find a cheaper quote. Although be wary of quotes that are too cheap – as workmanship, sales, installation process and quality of products can drop away very quickly.

What about solar battery storage in Sydney?

The cost of solar batteries in Sydney is much higher than the cost of installing solar panels. Although the battery functionality has been well established and there are different brands in the market, the return on investment still leaves something to be desired.

At Solar Choice, we have been tracking the costs of solar batteries in the battery price index and regularly performing an assessment of the financial return of batteries. We look at 3 typical use cases for solar batteries and adjust the size of the solar and battery solution to fit. See the below payback periods and annual savings from solar and batteries in Sydney.

To review our assumptions and the methodology of this analysis see our full article on whether or not home solar batteries are worth it.

As most solar batteries have a warranty for 10 years, our analysis suggests that battery storage for Sydney residents will not be able to pay for itself during its lifetime. There is still quite a way to go on the cost of batteries before this story will change. Previously we have estimated that batteries will need to cost $200-$300 per kWh of capacity to offer a good return on investment while the current price is around $1,000 to $1,100 per kWh.

This analysis does ignore some of the non-financial benefits of batteries. Crucially as Australia is experiencing higher frequencies of flooding and more severe bushfires, many households are attracted to batteries to provide back-up power in the instance of the grid outage.

There is also the benefit to the environment to assist in the reduction in Australia’s reliance of coal-fired power stations. Batteries, and many of them, will be required if we are going to eliminate fossil fuel power in Australia altogether.

Since 2008, Solar Choice has been a trusted resource for Sydney homeowners looking to install solar panels. We’ve helped over 1 million Australians each year compare pre-vetted local installers, ensuring they get the best quality and value for their solar systems in NSW. With a network of over 400+ trusted installers, including many right here in Sydney, Solar Choice makes it easy to find the right option for your home. As the publisher of the Solar Price Index—used by the Australian Government and trusted by Bloomberg NEF and CHOICE—we bring expertise and transparency to your solar journey.

Case Study: An example of a solar panel installation in Sydney

Balgowlah RSL engaged Solar Choice to complete a feasibility study and manage a tender process with 3 leading commercial solar installers.

On completion of the tender, Balgowlah RSL opted to proceed with a 90kW solar system which covers the majority of the unshaded roof space.

This system utilises 252 Canadian Solar panels and SolarEdge inverters with DC optimisers to improve performance of panels impacted by partial shading. The system produces around 116,000 kWh per year and will offset 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions through the expected lifetime of the project.

FAQs on Sydney solar panel installation

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Jeff Sykes

CEO at Solar Choice

Jeff has consulted on over 20MW of commercial solar projects, ranging from SMEs to ASX top 100 companies. Jeff has also provided independent advice to 100s of residential solar, battery and EV charging customers across every state in Australia. He holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and is an expert in business strategy and financial analysis.

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