How Much Do Solar Systems Cost In 2024 in Sydney?

The Costs of Installing A Solar Power System

Solar panel prices are at a record low, with a 6.6kW solar system starting from around $5,000 fully installed. A system of this size will generate around 25 kWh a day. If we assume you are paying 30c per kWh, you can expect to save over $2500 every year if you use around 70% of the solar power as it is generated.

Good quality solar panels are now so affordable that it is possible to get a return on your money in 3-5 years. Let's break these numbers down into more detail to help you figure out how much a solar power system costs and how much it can save you on your power costs. Here are the current solar system prices for good quality solar panels for customers in Sydney:

The Price of Solar Power Using Quality Solar Panels

The main factor determining the price of solar panels is the amount of power you want to generate.

Solar panels output around 360W to 370W per panel, and as a general rule, a solar power system in Sydney will generate four times its size as a daily average. In reality, it will do a lot more than this in summer and less in winter.

Furthermore, your system will perform well on sunny days because solar power is generated from light (not heat). It may hardly work during dark, stormy weather, especially in winter.

As an example, a 10kW solar system in Sydney will generate around 40 kWh a day, as illustrated here:

The main benefit of solar power is that it is used in the home as it is generated. This reduces your power bill directly because you use free solar power rather than buying it from the grid.

Many people confuse the benefit of solar power with the feed-in tariff. More information is available here: How Solar Power Reduces Your Power Bill.

To size up a solar system, you should try to work out how much power you can use during the daytime, either as an estimate or by reading your meter. By reading the number on your meter in the morning and then again in the evening, you subtract one number from the other to determine how many kWh your household used during the day. Divide that number by 4 to get a rough idea of the solar system you need (as a solar system generates four times its size on an average day).

Step 2 is to determine how much power you currently use during the evening that could be used during the daytime. Examples include setting the dishwasher on a timer to run while at work or turning the air conditioner on a little earlier to cool down the house before you get home from work.

Step 3 is to consider any expected changes to your energy usage. Many households install an air conditioner after solar to make the most of the free electricity. It is essential to factor this into the size of your solar system.

Once you have a rough idea of how much power you need to cover, you can replace this with solar energy. Here are some guidelines to help you size up a solar system and the price for a good quality solar system:

• A 5kW system will generate around 14 kWh daily in winter and 25 kWh in summer. The price of a 5kW system is around $5,000 to $7,690 fully installed. 5kW Solar System Price.

• A 10kW system generates around 26 kWh a day in winter and 50 kWh in summer. It costs around $6,990 to $13,290, fully installed. 10kW Solar System Price.

Costs Associated With Solar System Installation

Aside from how many panels you need, the price of a solar system will vary significantly depending on the quality of the components:

Solar panels are designed to last decades. However, all solar panels drop in output over time as they age. Better-quality solar panels, on average, last longer, provide more output, and are more reliable. They also cost more money.

We recommend going with a reliable brand such as 1KOMMA5° or Trina Solar, and we would be happy to provide pricing for different panels to help you make an informed decision.

With a 5kW system, you can expect to pay an additional $1,000 to $2,000 for top-of-the-range 425W high-efficiency panels compared with a mid-range panel. You can save some money upfront by choosing a cheap Chinese panel. However, we strongly advise against it due to reduced quality, performance and reliability: A Warning About Cheap Solar Systems.

The Inverter. Solar panels output DC power, which needs to be converted to AC so it is compatible with your home. All solar systems come with an inverter that converts DC to AC, and because it is the working part of the system, it is the component most likely to break.

For this reason, 1KOMMA5° only offers the top handful of brands from companies like Enphase, Sungrow and SolarEdge.

It is common for cheaper inverters only to last a few years, whereas you can expect a good quality inverter to last 15 years or longer. Trying to cut costs on your inverter will often give you problems over the life of your system, and it isn’t always cheap to book a service job and then get an inverter replaced that is out of warranty.

Systems powered by Enphase allow for panel-level output that can significantly increase output, especially if you have patchy shade on your roof.

Monitoring typically comes with the inverter. However, there is now a range of advanced options for households that want more functionality and control. Brands like Enphase offer consumption monitoring that allows you to track how much power you use in your home and how much solar power you generate.

If you add solar battery storage, such as the Tesla Powerwall, the battery comes with advanced system monitoring and energy management. This additional functionality can turn your solar into a smart energy management system.

Solar battery storage is now becoming mainstream in Australia, and many of our customers are integrating storage into their solar power systems.

Solar battery storage starts at around $5000 for a small unit and goes up to around $13,000 for larger systems with incredibly smart energy management. Solar battery storage allows your household to run on solar 24/7, and you can choose backup functionality for emergency power when the grid goes down. A solar battery can even recharge the following day when the sun comes up. The future of renewable energy has already arrived!

Additional Costs of Installing Solar Panels

Split Arrays: Solar power is typically generated across the day, with the output looking like a bell curve. By splitting your array across two roof sections, you can spread the output across the day and have two smaller peaks of output that can then be easier to manage. Installing two arrays of panels typically costs around $150-$300 for the additional hardware, such as DC isolators and cabling, plus the additional labour cost. We recommend a split array for many of our customers.

Meter Board Work: When you have solar installed, your meter board must be left up to current Australian standards. If you have an old meter board that needs upgrading, this must be done when installing solar power.

Typically, the work will cost less than $100 for things such as a new main switch or a new service fuse. If your meter board is too high ( such as on heritage-era buildings in the inner-west of Sydney), moving a meter board can cost around $700-$1000 or so depending on what needs to be done, and so it is often a show stopper unless you want the meter board upgraded as an aside from the new solar system. Please talk to us for more information if you think your meter board needs upgrading. We’d be happy to help with a quote if you send us a photo of your board.

Access to a high roof may require hiring a cherry picker. Most houses will be fine. However, from time to time, we need to install solar power on roofs that can’t be accessed with a ladder. Hiring a cherry picker isn’t cheap, but it’s not always a show-stopper. If you have a high roof or you are concerned we won’t be able to access your roof, please call the 1KOMMA5° Team on 1800 082 651 so that we can make an assessment for you.

Metering: When you install a solar power system, you need to replace your electricity meter with a bidirectional digital meter that measures how much power you are sending back to the grid. If you have a digital meter, your retailer will most likely need to replace it with a similar model but one that has a different program in it. Most energy retailers in NSW are now offering to change your meter free of charge.

Alternatively, we can arrange a no-cost meter change should you choose to switch to Energy Locals as your energy retailer. The Energy Locals plan includes a solar feed-in tariff of up to 10 cents (including GST), competitive electricity prices, carbon offsets for all your energy use, and no exit fees or lock-in contracts.