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Solar panels in Sydney

Sydney is really two solar cities. The eastern and northern suburbs are dense, shaded and full of terraces, semis and heritage overlays, with roofs that hold a modest system if they hold one at all. The west and south west, from Parramatta out through Blacktown, Penrith and the Macarthur estates, is where the big roofs and the big installs are, and where summer air conditioning makes the bill that solar answers. The Clean Energy Regulator's postcode data on this page covers all of it, from the harbour to the Blue Mountains foothills.

Clean Energy Regulator small-scale installation data across 241 postcodes in Greater Sydney, to October 2026. Averages include some business systems.

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Where the installs are going

The growth is on the fringe. Marsden Park, Schofields, Box Hill, Oran Park and Leppington have been adding solar-ready homes for years, most with three-phase supply and Colorbond roofs. Closer in, the middle ring of brick veneer from Ryde to Bankstown installs steadily as roofs are replaced, and the inner suburbs add smaller systems where a north-facing plane can be found.

Roofs and homes in Sydney

Roof space is the Sydney question. A terrace in the inner west might carry six panels; a project home in Kellyville can carry twenty. Terracotta tile is everywhere in the middle ring and needs careful tile-hook mounting, and many inner suburbs sit under heritage or conservation controls that restrict what can be seen from the street. Salt matters along the whole coast and around the harbour, so coastal-rated hardware is the right specification east of Parramatta. Shade from neighbours and big trees is the other thing to have measured properly rather than guessed.

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

The network: two distributors

Ausgrid runs the network east and north of Parramatta and Endeavour Energy runs the west and south west, and the two behave a little differently. Both limit single-phase homes to a 5 kW export as standard, both handle larger and three-phase systems through a connection application, and Ausgrid has been rolling out flexible exports that let a system export more when the network has room. New estates almost always have three-phase supply; older homes usually do not, which is worth knowing before you size a battery or plan for an electric car.

Suburban street with power poles and overhead lines at sunset

What a system generates in Sydney

Sydney averages 4.5 peak sun hours a day and sits in STC Zone 3. 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 Sydney
SystemAverage dayYear
6.6 kW25.2 kWh9,214 kWh
10 kW38.3 kWh13,961 kWh

Worked as system size times 4.5 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 Sydney

Federal
Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates in STC Zone 3. See how we calculate this.
New South Wales
VPP incentives under the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme, plus a $15,000 interest-free Home Energy Saver loan. No upfront battery discount.
Feed-in tariff
The best single-rate plan we can find for 2000 pays 12.0c per kWh (Origin Energy). Compare NSW feed-in tariffs.

How much solar panels cost in Sydney

These are the installed prices our solar panel cost guide works on, with the federal STC rebate for Sydney 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 3 it is worth $1,710 on a 6.6 kW system and $2,622 on a 10 kW one.

  • 5 kW

    Installed price
    $4,500 to $6,500
    STC rebate, Zone 3
    $1,292
    You pay after the STC
    $3,208 to $5,208

  • 6.6 kW

    Installed price
    $5,800 to $7,500
    STC rebate, Zone 3
    $1,710
    You pay after the STC
    $4,090 to $5,790

  • 10 kW

    Installed price
    $8,500 to $11,000
    STC rebate, Zone 3
    $2,622
    You pay after the STC
    $5,878 to $8,378

  • 13 kW

    Installed price
    $10,000 to $15,000
    STC rebate, Zone 3
    $3,382
    You pay after the STC
    $6,618 to $11,618

The 6.6 kW and 10 kW prices are the Sydney figures from our solar panel cost guide; the 5 kW and 13 kW prices are its national ranges. Installed prices are before any rebate. The STC rebate is the certificates each system creates in Zone 3 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 Sydney in the 12 months to October 2026 was 11.5 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 Sydney

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 32.0c per kWh, and the power you export, which earns the feed-in tariff.

  • 6.6 kW

    Yearly generation
    9,214 kWh
    Yearly saving
    $1,659
    You pay after the STC
    $4,090 to $5,790
    Simple payback
    2.5 to 3.5 years

  • 10 kW

    Yearly generation
    13,961 kWh
    Yearly saving
    $2,513
    You pay after the STC
    $5,878 to $8,378
    Simple payback
    2.3 to 3.3 years

Assumes 30% of the solar is used in the home at 32.0c per kWh, the average residential usage rate we hold for New South Wales, and the other 70% is exported at 12.0c per kWh, the best single-rate feed-in tariff we can find for postcode 2000 (Origin Energy). 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 32.0c and an exported one 12.0c. 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 $2,027 a year in Sydney and pays back in 2 to 2.9 years.

Your rebate in Sydney

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 Sydney

The federal Cheaper Home Batteries rebate applies in Sydney 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 Sydney
Battery (usable)Federal rebate
10 kWh$2,584
14 kWh$3,610

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

New South Wales: VPP incentives under the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme, plus a $15,000 interest-free Home Energy Saver loan. No upfront battery discount.

Whether a battery pays in Sydney 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 20.0c (32.0c less 12.0c). A 10 kWh battery that filled and emptied every day would be worth up to $730 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 NSW battery rebate page has the state detail.

Installers in Sydney

Our guide to the best solar installers in Sydney looks at 6 companies that install across Greater Sydney: SolarBright, 1KOMMA5° Sydney, Isolux, PSC Energy, Smart Energy Answers and Skyline Solar. It compares accreditation, customer reviews, warranty terms, years in business and pricing.

Best solar installers in Sydney

The guide is editorial: a company appearing in it is not the same as holding Why Solar approval.

When you check your rebate with us, you are matched with one Why Solar Approved installer in Sydney. 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

Sydney is 241 postcodes. Check yours, or any other.

What Sydney homeowners ask us

Sydney homeowners ask whether their roof is worth it, and the honest answer is that a small north or west facing system on a terrace still pays back, it just pays back on a smaller bill. They ask about the state, which offers no upfront rebate but does have incentives for batteries in virtual power plants and an interest-free loan. And they ask who to trust in a market with more installers than any other in the country, which is exactly why every installer we match has passed the same six checks and answers to us afterwards.

Questions people ask

How many homes in Sydney installed solar in the last 12 months?
38,383 small-scale solar systems were installed across Sydney's 241 postcodes in the 12 months to October 2026, averaging 11.5 kW. The figures are the Clean Energy Regulator's postcode data, not estimates.
What solar rebates apply in Sydney?
Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates apply in Sydney, calculated from STC Zone 3 and the federal battery rebate. New South Wales: VPP incentives under the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme, plus a $15,000 interest-free Home Energy Saver loan. No upfront battery discount.
What is the best feed-in tariff in Sydney?
The best single-rate feed-in tariff we can find for 2000 is 12.0c per kWh with Origin Energy. Rates change often; compare plans once your system is in.
How much does it cost to install solar panels in Sydney?
A 6.6 kW system in Sydney costs about $5,800 to $7,500 installed. The federal STC rebate in Zone 3 takes $1,710 off, so you pay about $4,090 to $5,790. A 10 kW system is $8,500 to $11,000 before the rebate and $5,878 to $8,378 after it. Prices move with the panels, the inverter, the roof and any switchboard work.
Is it worth getting solar in Sydney?
For most owner-occupiers with a roof that gets sun, yes. A 6.6 kW system in Sydney makes about 9,214 kWh a year from 4.5 peak sun hours a day. Using 30% of that at home and exporting the rest saves about $1,659 a year at today's rates, which pays back the after-rebate price in 2.5 to 3.5 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 Sydney?
There is no single best installer for every home. Our guide to the best solar installers in Sydney compares 6 companies, including SolarBright, 1KOMMA5° Sydney and Isolux, on accreditation, reviews, warranty terms and years trading. Whoever you choose, check the SAA accreditation, the workmanship warranty and how long the company has traded under its current ABN. If you check your rebate with us, you are matched with one Why Solar Approved installer 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 Sydney figures

All of New South WalesSearch every suburbInstallers: work with Why Solar in Sydney

More city pages in New South Wales

Best solar installers in SydneySydney installer directory

Your rebate, one Why Solar Approved installer in Sydney, and a solar expert on the phone before you sign.

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