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Solar panels in Hobart

Hobart has the longest summer days in the country and some of the shortest winter ones, and solar here works on that rhythm: a big share of the year's output arrives between October and March, and the winter months are thin. It still pays, because Tasmanian homes use a lot of power for heating and most of it is electric. The Clean Energy Regulator's postcode data on this page covers Hobart and its suburbs, Kingston and the Channel, the eastern shore and Sorell.

Clean Energy Regulator small-scale installation data across 36 postcodes in Greater Hobart, to October 2026. Averages include some business systems.

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Where the installs are going

Kingston, Margate and the southern suburbs have been the growth areas, along with Brighton and the northern estates, and the eastern shore from Bellerive to Lauderdale installs steadily. The older suburbs of Sandy Bay, New Town and Lenah Valley have plenty of good north-facing roofs on Federation and interwar homes, and heritage controls in Battery Point and the city.

Roofs and homes in Hobart

Hobart is hilly, and hills mean shade and orientation problems that a flat city never sees. A house on the wrong side of a valley can lose the winter sun altogether, so a shade analysis done from your roof is the first thing to ask for. Roofs are mostly corrugated iron on older timber homes and Colorbond on newer ones, both easy to work with. Heritage overlays apply in the inner suburbs. The mounting needs to handle strong winds off the mountain and, on the higher suburbs, the occasional snow.

Brick house with solar panels on its roof, on a suburban street

The network: TasNetworks

TasNetworks runs the network, and Tasmania's retail market is small, with Aurora Energy as the main residential retailer and the feed-in tariff set by the state regulator rather than by competition. Single-phase homes have an export limit and larger systems need a connection application. Because the grid is mostly hydro, the environmental case for solar here is weaker than on the mainland, and the case rests on the bill: heat pumps, electric hot water and long winters add up.

Suburban street with power poles and overhead lines at sunset

What a system generates in Hobart

Hobart averages 3.7 peak sun hours a day and sits in STC Zone 4. A peak sun hour is an hour of sunlight at full strength, so the figure is what a panel collects once the weaker morning and evening light is added up. On that average, this is what the two most common system sizes produce on a north-facing roof with no shade.

Average daily and yearly solar generation in Hobart
SystemAverage dayYear
6.6 kW20.8 kWh7,576 kWh
10 kW31.5 kWh11,479 kWh

Worked as system size times 3.7 peak sun hours times 85%, the allowance our suburb pages make for inverter, heat and wiring losses, over 365 average days. Summer days produce well above the average and winter days well below it, and an east or west-facing array produces less than a north-facing one.

Across the eight capitals, the same 6.6 kW system makes from about 7,576 kWh a year in Hobart to about 11,262 kWh in Darwin. More sun means more output from the same panels, but it does not change the STC rebate within a zone: that is set by the zone, the system size and the year you install.

Rebates and feed-in tariffs in Hobart

Federal
Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates in STC Zone 4. See how we calculate this.
Tasmania
no state add-on.
Feed-in tariff
The best single-rate plan we can find for 7000 pays 10.9c per kWh (CovaU). Compare TAS feed-in tariffs.

How much solar panels cost in Hobart

These are the installed prices our solar panel cost guide works on, with the federal STC rebate for Hobart taken off. The rebate comes off the quote at the point of sale, so the last column is what you actually pay. In STC Zone 4 it is worth $1,482 on a 6.6 kW system and $2,242 on a 10 kW one.

  • 5 kW

    Installed price
    $4,500 to $6,500
    STC rebate, Zone 4
    $1,102
    You pay after the STC
    $3,398 to $5,398

  • 6.6 kW

    Installed price
    $5,500 to $8,000
    STC rebate, Zone 4
    $1,482
    You pay after the STC
    $4,018 to $6,518

  • 10 kW

    Installed price
    $8,000 to $12,000
    STC rebate, Zone 4
    $2,242
    You pay after the STC
    $5,758 to $9,758

  • 13 kW

    Installed price
    $10,000 to $15,000
    STC rebate, Zone 4
    $2,926
    You pay after the STC
    $7,074 to $12,074

Prices are the national ranges from our solar panel cost guide. Installed prices are before any rebate. The STC rebate is the certificates each system creates in Zone 4 over the 2026 deeming period of 5 years, at $38 a certificate. The deeming period shortens by a year every 1 January, so the same system earns less rebate each year you wait.

The average system installed across Hobart in the 12 months to October 2026 was 10.2 kW, between the 10 kW and 13 kW rows, although that average includes some business systems. Size yours on your own bills and roof, but it is a fair check on what your neighbours are putting up.

What moves a quote up or down: the panel and inverter brands, a second storey or a steep or tiled roof, and switchboard or meter work. The full breakdown is in our solar panel cost guide.

Payback in Hobart

Payback is the after-rebate price divided by what the system saves each year. The saving comes from two places: the power you use yourself, which you no longer buy at around 26.0c per kWh, and the power you export, which earns the feed-in tariff.

  • 6.6 kW

    Yearly generation
    7,576 kWh
    Yearly saving
    $1,167
    You pay after the STC
    $4,018 to $6,518
    Simple payback
    3.4 to 5.6 years

  • 10 kW

    Yearly generation
    11,479 kWh
    Yearly saving
    $1,769
    You pay after the STC
    $5,758 to $9,758
    Simple payback
    3.3 to 5.5 years

Assumes 30% of the solar is used in the home at 26.0c per kWh, the average residential usage rate we hold for Tasmania, and the other 70% is exported at 10.9c per kWh, the best single-rate feed-in tariff we can find for postcode 7000 (CovaU). That 30% is the share our suburb pages and calculators assume for a household out at work during the day. No battery, no price rises and no panel ageing are counted.

Using more of it yourself improves the numbers quickly, because a kWh used at home is worth 26.0c and an exported one 10.9c. At 50% self-consumption, which a household home through the day or one that runs the pool pump, dishwasher and hot water on a timer can reach, the 6.6 kW system saves about $1,397 a year in Hobart and pays back in 2.9 to 4.7 years.

Your rebate in Hobart

Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates. One Why Solar Approved installer, one free written quote, and fifteen minutes with a solar expert before you sign.

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Batteries in Hobart

The federal Cheaper Home Batteries rebate applies in Hobart as it does everywhere. It is paid on usable capacity, at $258/kWh for the first 14 kWh and at lower rates above that, and like the STC rebate it comes off the price at the point of sale. It steps down on 1 January 2027, when the full rate falls to $217/kWh.

Battery rebates in Hobart
Battery (usable)Federal rebate
10 kWh$2,584
14 kWh$3,610

The table is the federal rebate only: there is no TAS battery rebate that a typical household can count on.

Tasmania: no state add-on.

Whether a battery pays in Hobart comes down to the gap between what you pay for power and what you are paid for exporting it. Each kWh a battery moves from export into your evening is worth about 15.1c (26.0c less 10.9c). A 10 kWh battery that filled and emptied every day would be worth up to $552 a year on that gap alone; most do less in winter, when there is less surplus to store.

Battery prices by size, before and after the federal rebate, are in our battery cost guide, and the TAS battery rebate page has the state detail.

Installers in Hobart

We have not published an installer guide for Hobart yet. Our national installer directory lists SAA-accredited installers with customer reviews.

When you check your rebate with us, you are matched with one Why Solar Approved installer in Hobart. An installer has passed all six of our checks: credentials, staying power, proof of work, who actually turns up to do the job, what goes in, and how they handle trouble. They earn it before they see a single homeowner, and they lose it if they let one down. The installer never cold-calls you; the one call is from a solar expert, fifteen minutes before you sign.

Installer in hi-vis and a safety harness fitting solar panels to a tin roof

What's actually happening on roofs near you

Hobart is 36 postcodes. Check yours, or any other.

What Hobart homeowners ask us

Hobart homeowners ask whether solar is worth it at all this far south, and the answer depends on how much power the house uses: a heat pump home with electric hot water uses enough that a winter-light array still pays back, while a small household on wood heat may not. They ask about batteries, which are a harder sell because the winter surplus to store is small. And they ask about installers, because the Tasmanian pool is small and a couple of mainland companies have come and gone. Local, long-established and accredited is the combination to look for.

Questions people ask

How many homes in Hobart installed solar in the last 12 months?
2,096 small-scale solar systems were installed across Hobart's 36 postcodes in the 12 months to October 2026, averaging 10.2 kW. The figures are the Clean Energy Regulator's postcode data, not estimates.
What solar rebates apply in Hobart?
Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates apply in Hobart, calculated from STC Zone 4 and the federal battery rebate. Tasmania: no state add-on.
What is the best feed-in tariff in Hobart?
The best single-rate feed-in tariff we can find for 7000 is 10.9c per kWh with CovaU. Rates change often; compare plans once your system is in.
How much does it cost to install solar panels in Hobart?
A 6.6 kW system in Hobart costs about $5,500 to $8,000 installed. The federal STC rebate in Zone 4 takes $1,482 off, so you pay about $4,018 to $6,518. A 10 kW system is $8,000 to $12,000 before the rebate and $5,758 to $9,758 after it. Prices move with the panels, the inverter, the roof and any switchboard work.
Is it worth getting solar in Hobart?
For most owner-occupiers with a roof that gets sun, yes. A 6.6 kW system in Hobart makes about 7,576 kWh a year from 3.7 peak sun hours a day. Using 30% of that at home and exporting the rest saves about $1,167 a year at today's rates, which pays back the after-rebate price in 3.4 to 5.6 years. It pays back faster if you use more of the power during the day, and more slowly on a shaded roof or a small bill.
Who is the best solar installer in Hobart?
There is no single best installer for every home. Look for SAA accreditation, a written workmanship warranty and a company that has traded under the same ABN for years; our national installer directory lists accredited installers with reviews. If you check your rebate with us, you are matched with one Why Solar Approved installer in Hobart who has passed all six of our checks.
What is the 20% rule for solar?
It is the rule of thumb that the panels should be rated 20 to 33 per cent above the inverter, such as 6.6 kW of panels on a 5 kW inverter. Panels rarely produce their full rating, so a slightly larger array keeps the inverter working near its capacity for more of the day. The Clean Energy Council's design guidelines, which the STC rules follow, allow panels up to a third larger than the inverter. That is why 6.6 kW is the standard size on a 5 kW inverter, and why 13.3 kW is the largest array on a 10 kW single-phase inverter.

Suburbs in the Hobart figures

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Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates · Federal rebates step down in 80 daysSee how we calculate this