Can You Afford Solar During the Cost-of-Living Crisis?

I want to start by saying something that solar companies rarely do: if you are under serious financial pressure right now, adding any new commitment to your household budget might not be the right call. That is a completely valid position, and nobody should make you feel otherwise.

With that said, energy bills are not optional. They are one of the few household costs that families cannot simply cut out. And for a lot of Australian households, electricity has become one of the most frustrating line items in the budget, because even when you are careful with usage, the bills keep going up.

That is the tension at the heart of this topic. Solar costs money to install. But electricity costs money every single quarter, indefinitely. The question is not really “can we afford solar?” It is closer to “can we reduce a cost we are already paying, without making things worse?”

Australian households are dealing with a combination of pressures that make any spending decision feel risky. Interest rates have pushed mortgage repayments up significantly. Groceries, insurance, and childcare have all increased. Many families have shifted into survival mode, focused entirely on cash flow and cutting back wherever they can.

In that context, telling someone they “should just get solar” is tone-deaf. What is actually helpful is laying out the numbers honestly, explaining what options exist for reducing or eliminating the upfront cost, and being clear about when solar helps and when it does not.

Because here is the thing about electricity: unlike a gym membership or a streaming subscription, you cannot cancel it. Higher tariffs and rising daily supply charges mean that even households using less power are seeing bigger bills. That is why energy costs tend to become the focus when budgets tighten. Not because families want to spend money on solar, but because they are already spending money on power and want it to stop climbing.

The sticker price of a solar system is not what you pay. The federal government's Small-scale Technology Certificate (STC) rebate is applied as a point-of-sale discount, reducing the cost before you hand over any money.

The biggest barrier to solar is the upfront cost. But in 2026, a growing number of families are installing solar with zero money down, using interest-free payment plans offered through providers like Brighte, Humm, and Plenti.

Here is how the maths typically works for a household spending $500 per quarter on electricity (which is increasingly common).

One of the most common misconceptions is that solar is all-or-nothing. It is not. A staged approach can be one of the smartest ways to manage costs, especially for families who already have an older system or who cannot justify a large outlay right now.

Batteries are often positioned as the answer to rising power prices. The reality is more nuanced. A home battery system costs $10,000 to $16,000 installed, and the payback period is typically 8 to 12 years. For a household that is watching every dollar, that is a significant commitment with a long wait before it pays for itself.

Some households do see genuine value from batteries, particularly those with high evening usage, low feed-in tariffs, or time-of-use electricity plans where peak rates are expensive. But for many families, solar panels alone deliver the fastest return. Adding panels and shifting usage into the day can achieve 60 to 80% of the savings a battery would provide, at a fraction of the cost.

If money is tight, panels first, battery later is almost always the right call.

Beyond the federal STC rebate, several states run their own programs that can make solar more accessible for families under financial pressure.

Solar tends to make the most difference for households where energy bills are a significant, ongoing burden. Not a minor inconvenience, but a genuine source of stress every quarter. If that sounds familiar, and you meet a few of the following criteria, solar is likely worth exploring seriously.

It is equally important to say this clearly: waiting is not failing.

For some families, the cash flow simply is not there right now. Even with interest-free plans, taking on a new financial commitment when you are already stretched can create more stress than it solves. If any of these describe your situation, it is completely reasonable to hold off.

During a cost-of-living crisis, the biggest risk is not missing out on solar savings. It is over-committing, buying the wrong system, or locking money into an upgrade that does not actually reduce your bills.

Pressure-free advice matters more than ever right now. A good solar company will not rush you into a decision or push upgrades you do not need. They will look at your bills, your roof, your usage patterns, and your budget, then tell you honestly whether solar makes sense for your situation. If they skip that step and jump straight to a quote, that tells you something about their priorities.

Families do not need to be told that solar is “the answer.” They need to understand whether it helps their specific situation, right now, with their actual numbers.

Instead of asking “can we afford solar?” a more useful question is: “can we reduce a cost we are already paying, without increasing financial pressure?”

Sometimes the answer is yes. An interest-free plan covers the upfront cost, the savings exceed the repayments, and you come out ahead from month one. Sometimes the answer is no, and that is equally valid. Either way, making that decision from a place of understanding rather than sales pressure is what matters.

Australia's cost-of-living crisis has changed how families make decisions, and solar is no exception. It can help some households reduce long-term energy costs. It will not solve every financial problem. And it should never be rushed or oversold.