In this month’s Solar PV Price Index, the average price for a ‘primary’/standard solar PV system offering remains almost unchanged from December, at about $1.31 per watt ($1.31/W). The average […]
Category: Installation advice
Solar Choice blog articles about what to consider when installing your solar power system.
Battery Storage Price Index – December 2017
Welcome to the second edition of Solar Choice’s Battery Storage Price Index – the companion to our Solar PV Price Index, which covers solar system installation prices around Australia. The […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for December 2017
This month’s Commercial Solar PV Price Index sees the introduction of 70kW solar systems for the first time (a long overdue addition). The average cost of installing a commercial solar […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – December 2017
The average price per watt ($/W) for primary offerings was $1.30 this month – down slightly from November and a new low since we began tracking prices in 2012. The […]
Solar-plus-storage: How much battery capacity do you need?
Lots of Solar Choice customers ask about battery storage for solar power, but not many have a clear idea of how much battery capacity they need. This article takes a look at […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for November 2017
Average commercial solar system prices remain at about $1.20 per watt (after STC incentive and GST are applied) for the month of November, according to data from the Solar Choice […]
Is home solar power a scam?
Because of our position in Australia’s solar industry as a comparison and advisory service, we get feedback and comments of all sorts. One of the most confounding that we have […]
Introducing Solar Choice’s Battery Storage Price Index (and a major overhaul of our Solar PV Price Index)
Since the beginning of 2017, there have been over half a million views of battery storage-related pages on the Solar Choice website and well over 3,000 customer enquiries about batteries. […]
Battery Storage Price Index – November 2017
We’re excited to announce that we have at long last published our first Battery Storage Price Index – a generalised view of what it costs to have a battery storage […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – November 2017
We’ve introduced some major improvements to this month’s Solar PV Price Index. Namely: We’ve added 7kW solar systems to all tables We’ve included in new tables & data for ‘premium’ […]
GreenPower – Is it Worth It?
GreenPower is an attractive option for Australian households who want to support renewable energy production. Is opting for GreenPower a better idea than installing rooftop solar? In this article we […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for October 2017
Average commercial solar system prices stay steady at about $1.20 per watt for the month of October. The average price of a 100kW system comes in at about $1.10 per […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – October 2017
Average solar system prices hold stable for the third month in a row, with the average price per watt ($/W) for an residential solar system installation coming in at about […]
What if you sent all of your solar into the grid? Is it worth it?
If you’ve got solar, the way to maximise your electricity bill savings these days is to use your solar energy directly within your home (or business). From an investment point […]
Energy blindness: The anxiety of not knowing (Solartopia #3)
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about the ‘Energy Awareness Factor‘ in household energy savings. This was prompted in part by having just moved into a house […]
Solar panel reliability testing: More relevant than tier ranking for solar homes & businesses?
Deciding whether you’re happy with a solar installers’ panel offering can be tricky business in a market flooded with different options (as is the case in Australia). Fortunately, DNV GL […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – September 2017
Average residential solar system prices are roughly on par with last month’s figures – about $1.43 per watt for a fully installed system. 5kW systems continue to offer the best […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for September 2017
Average commercial solar system prices continue to hover around $1.20 per watt for the month of September, following an STC-driven increase between July and August. Commercial solar system prices (10kW-100kW) […]
Retrofitting battery storage in Brisbane: Some example case studies
We recently published an article containing a number of example case studies about retrofitting solar battery storage in Sydney. This time around we’ll be taking a look at the case […]
How SunTenants bringing solar power to the roofless
While nearly 1.7 million Australian home owners now enjoy the benefits of cheaper electricity from rooftop solar, an even greater number of households don’t have access to the market – […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for August 2017
August saw a slight increase in average commercial solar system prices as compared to July, due to a combination of price modifications due to changes in the value of STCs […]
Is home solar battery storage worth it in 2017? (August update)
Since 2015 Australians have been talking about home battery storage being on the cusp of financial viability. Are home batteries worth the investment in 2017? We’ve crunched the number for […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – August 2017
Average residential solar system prices have risen slightly following two consecutive months at their lowest levels since Solar Choice began keeping track in August 2012. This month’s higher average price […]
Interested in batteries? NSW Government’s Home Solar Battery Guide is a must-read – no matter which state you live in
Earlier this year the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment commissioned Total Environment Centre, Alternative Technology Association and Zumio to produce a guidebook for state residents interested in […]
How home heating affects your solar PV setup
The relationship between home heating and solar PV is significantly different to that between home cooling and solar PV. There are two key differences: Time of day: we need heating […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for July 2017
Average commercial solar system prices remain mostly unchanged at about $1.19 per watt ($1.19/W) between June and July 2017. Commercial solar system prices (10kW-100kW) All prices in the tables below […]
STC prices are falling: What you need to know
‘The federal solar rebate is falling!’ is a cry that Solar Choice has been hearing pretty loudly from our customers, website visitors and installers in and outside our network for the […]
Australia’s 5B launches ground-breaking ‘solar farm in a box’
Sydney-based 5B has launched a pre-fabricated, easily deployed solution for solar farm construction that looks set to revolutionise medium to large-scale solar in Australia (and possibly the world). The company’s […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – July 2017
Average residential solar system prices for July remain mostly unchanged since June’s big shakeup, hovering at $1.34/W. 5kW solar systems continue to offer the best value for money, and Perth is […]
Electricity prices to increase in NSW, SA and QLD: Why and what can you do about it?
As you’re likely to have read, there are significant electricity price rises coming into effect from 1 July if you live in New South Wales, Queensland or South Australia. Driven by […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for June 2017
Average pricing for commercial-scale solar systems has dropped to $1.19 per watt ($1.19/W) from $1.23/W following some shakeups in the Solar Choice installer network (see notes in our Residential Solar […]
