Record half-year for rooftop solar and home batteries in Australia
A record 180,000+ homes added solar and 270,000+ added batteries in H1 2026 — here's what the boom means for what solar and battery installs cost now.
More Australian households installed rooftop solar and home batteries in the first half of 2026 than in any comparable period on record, according to Renew Economy, reporting on the Clean Energy Council's latest Rooftop Solar and Storage Report. If you've been weighing up solar or a battery, the numbers suggest you're far from alone — and there are still discounts on the table.
What happened
More than 180,000 homes installed new rooftop solar systems in the six months to June 2026, up 35% on the same period last year and the strongest half-year for installs since 2021, Renew Economy reports. That's a notable turnaround: the previous edition of the same report had suggested rooftop solar might have already passed its peak, after annual installs dipped below 300,000 in 2025 for the first time since 2020.
Batteries grew even faster. Over 270,000 home battery systems were installed in the same six months — 52% more than the previous half-year — taking total installations under the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program to well over 450,000 in its first twelve months, according to the report. Renew Economy notes that batteries are now being installed faster than solar systems themselves, with roughly 153 batteries fitted for every 100 new solar systems. By the end of June, one in 2.5 Australian homes had rooftop solar, and one in seven had a battery.
The report also points to a shift in what people are buying: after changes to the federal rebate settings in May 2026, the average battery size installed dropped from around 35 kWh in April to around 25 kWh by June, Renew Economy reports — a sign households are sizing batteries closer to their actual daily usage rather than maximising rebate value. CEC chief executive Jackie Trad was quoted describing the trend as a "household solar boom".
Why it's happening
Two federal supports are doing a lot of the work here. Solar system quotes in Australia are usually shown after the STCs (small-scale technology certificates) discount is applied — a scheme that steps down in value each year until it ends in 2030, so the earlier you buy, the more it's currently worth. Batteries get a separate boost from the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, running since July 2025, which knocks down the upfront price through certificates that also reduce in value every six months through to 2030.
On top of the federal schemes, some states layer on their own support. Victoria's Solar Homes program offers a rebate of up to $1,400 on solar panels, though from 1 July 2026 that will be limited to households earning under $150,000. In Western Australia, residential battery buyers can get up to $1,300 through Synergy, or up to $3,800 through Horizon Power if they agree to join a virtual power plant. Electrical work for any of these installs has to be carried out by a licensed electrician, and quoted prices should already include GST.
What it means for your costs
With STCs and battery certificates both on a downward taper, the installs happening now are, in effect, some of the cheapest they'll be relative to the full retail price. A typical 6 kWp solar system currently runs to $8,900, with a full range of $6,950 – $11,600 depending on panel quality and installer. Adding a battery moves the number up substantially — a system with a 10 kWh battery is priced closer to $10,300, against $7,500 for panels alone. You can see how the options compare with
| Material | Typical | Usual range | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| No battery | $7,500 | $5,850 – $9,750 | – |
| 5 kWh battery | $8,900 | $6,950 – $11,600 | – |
| 10 kWh battery | $10,300 | $8,050 – $13,400 | – |
| 13.5 kWh battery | $11,300 | $8,800 – $14,700 | – |
, and the full guide is at Solar panels.
If your interest is really in hot water rather than whole-home power, a heat-pump hot water system is a smaller outlay and also usually quoted after the STC discount — typical installs sit around $4,500, detailed at Heat pump hot water.
A few things worth doing before you sign anything: get at least two or three quotes, since installer pricing and battery sizing recommendations vary more than the headline rebate numbers suggest. If you're in Victoria or WA, check whether you qualify for the state top-up before comparing quotes, as it changes the maths on system size. And if a quote lands on your kitchen table and you're not sure whether it stacks up, our "is my quote fair" tool is worth a quick check against local market rates before you commit.
With installer capacity clearly stretched this year — every state set a quarterly record, per Renew Economy — booking early rather than waiting for peak summer demand is likely to mean a shorter wait and less pressure to accept the first quote you get.