Solar and batteries in Melbourne: prices, Solar Homes and winter output

How much does solar cost in Melbourne?

After the federal rebates, installed, GST included (October 2026):

Ranges, not quotes, from current installer prices on Homerise and published Australian market data; the battery part uses national ranges. Prices are before any Solar Victoria rebate. Two storeys, a tiled roof, three-phase power or a switchboard upgrade add from a few hundred dollars to about $1,200 each. Installers' current offers can come in lower. More: solar panel cost, solar battery cost.

What rebates can Melbourne homes get?

Melbourne is in STC zone 4, so the federal solar rebate is about $1,443 on a 6.6 kW system, and the federal battery rebate about $3,663 on a 15 kWh battery, if installed now; both fall from 1 January 2027. They're already taken off the prices above. Victoria adds one program open to homeowners: Solar Victoria solar panel rebate. Every program, who qualifies and how to claim it: solar and battery rebates in Victoria.

The solar rebate is a little less here than in zone 3 cities like Sydney and Brisbane ($1,665 on 6.6 kW there), because panels make less power in Melbourne. The battery rebate is the same in every zone.

The Solar Victoria solar panel rebate is the one to check first: up to $1,400 off solar panels for households that qualify. We don't take it off your Homerise price until Solar Victoria confirms you're eligible; your installer, if they're a Solar Victoria authorised retailer, uploads the quote so you can apply. Who qualifies.

How much power does solar make in Melbourne?

Each kW of panels in Melbourne makes about 1,350 kWh a year, about 3% less than in Sydney and 10% less than in Brisbane. It peaks at about 165 kWh a month in January and drops to about 65 in June (PVWatts, panels facing north at 20°), so winter output is only about 40% of summer's. A 6.6 kW system makes about 9,000 kWh a year.

What that means for you: in Melbourne, more panels than you need in summer is usually the price of enough in winter, and a battery that fills easily from October to March may only part-fill on short winter days. Heating with a heat pump or reverse-cycle air conditioning shifts your biggest use into the months when solar makes least, so tell your installer about it when they size the system.

What does power cost in Melbourne?

On the Victorian Default Offer for 2026-27 (the average across Victoria's five network zones), power costs about 28c a kWh plus about $1.27 a day in supply charges. The feed-in tariff we use for Victoria is about 2c a kWh (check your own plan's), so each kWh of solar you use yourself is worth about 14 times one you export. Using your solar in the day, or storing it for the evening, is where the savings are. Enter your own rates in the savings calculator.

The Solar Sharer Offer (free midday power) isn't available in Victoria. More: where it is.

The installers we introduce in Melbourne

Homerise introduces one vetted local installer at a time, never several at once. We check their licence, accreditation, insurance, reviews and complaints before they get an enquiry, and every 90 days after (what to check yourself). Enter your address to see whether one covers your postcode.