Answers to Your Solar Energy Questions

The cost of a solar system varies depending on the size of the system, the type of solar panels, the inverter and the battery. In New Zealand, the average cost of a solar system for a home is around $14,000 without a battery and $30,000 with a battery.

Our own all-in-one home packages start at $8,999 including GST for an approx. 5kW system with 12 panels and full installation.

The installation time for a solar system depends on the size of the system and the complexity of the installation. In general it takes about one to two days to install a solar system for a home. In wet weather the team may need to come back on a second day.

Each home and its power use is different. Our team of solar specialists will look at your power bill and design a system for your home.

The installation of solar panels will penetrate your roof. As part of the installation we provide a weather tight guarantee. Your roof will operate exactly as it did, just generating sunshine as well.

Solar systems require very little maintenance. The only regular maintenance required is to clean the solar panels once a year. You may also need to replace the inverter every 10 to 15 years. Our customer care team and solar technicians look after you for the entire life of your system.

Solar panels are designed to be largely self cleaning. We install solar panels on a slight angle so that they clean themselves when it rains. Our team monitors your system, so if performance drops we will get in touch about a clean.

A solar green loan is a bank loan that is specifically designed to fund the purchase and installation of solar panels. Solar green loans typically have lower interest rates and more flexible repayment terms than traditional loans, making them an attractive option for homeowners who want to go solar.

You can see the current New Zealand green lending options on our solar finance page.

Buy back rates in New Zealand currently range from about 8c to 17c per kWh depending on the retailer and the plan. We keep a current comparison on our solar buy back rate page.

A battery is not essential for a solar system, but it can be a good idea if you want to store excess solar energy for use at night or during times of high electricity demand. Batteries can also help improve the reliability of your solar system in the event of a power outage.

Yes. Most of the systems we install are grid tied without a battery, because that keeps the upfront cost down and still delivers strong daytime savings. Storage can be added later if you want night-time cover or outage backup.

A battery is programmed to buy and use power at the times that deliver the best rates for you. It can charge with grid power overnight when electricity rates are low, then power your home at the start of the day to minimise what you buy during the morning peak. During the day the battery charges up with surplus solar power, and that stored electricity is used during the evening peak when grid rates are high again.

If your system includes a battery, our team will ask you which circuits you want to keep powered during an outage. During a power cut your solar panels continue to generate energy to store in the battery. It is worth checking your solar monitoring during a power cut so you can see how much energy is left in the battery and decide what to turn off. There is about a one second delay before the backup energy in the battery kicks in.

Yes. The batteries we install comply with strict regulations and have several safety mechanisms to prevent accidental damage. They also operate at extra safe low voltage.

There is no noise during daily operation.

No, it only discharges when scheduled. You do not need to worry about this. Our team takes care of optimising how solar is used in your house.

Your solar monitoring app has a monitoring tab where you can see exactly how much energy is stored in the battery at any time.

Yes. Our team programmes the battery to buy and store energy when it makes the most sense for your home, so you can keep using energy the way you want to.

A solar battery has a lifespan of about 10 years. We continually update the software in the battery, much like the software on your phone, to make sure it keeps running at its optimum.

No. Our solar systems are grid tied. Going completely off-grid can be expensive and requires extensive lifestyle changes. A grid tied system makes it easy to keep living the way you want without changing your lifestyle considerably.