Explore residential solar power

Is household solar right for you?

By investing in solar power for your house, you could potentially reduce your household electricity bills and play an important role in WA’s sustainable energy future.

There are many potential benefits of residential solar – but the decision to install solar isn’t right for everyone. 

The cost of solar panels, maintenance and other factors can be a barrier for many households. 

Rooftop solar generates electricity during the day when the sun is shining. If you’re not home or can’t shift habits to use up that electricity during the day, you might miss out on the potential savings benefits of solar. You would still need to draw power from the energy system (or grid) when the sun goes down, unless you also have a battery system.

You’ll need to consider a range of factors including your roof space and orientation, the way you use energy and your reasons for wanting to invest in solar in the first place.

Household solar alternatives

If solar is not right for you, there are options you can consider:

• Different tariffs – for example, Midday Saver is a time-of-use option with cheaper rates for using off-peak electricity, during the sunniest parts of the day when a lot of renewable energy is fed into the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).
• Shift your energy use – Even if you don’t have your own solar, using more of your electricity during the day means you’re tapping into some of the renewable energy being fed into the energy system.
• Renewable energy options – If you want to offset the environmental impact of some (or all) of your electricity use, you can choose from our renewable energy options.

What size is household solar system is right?

It pays to do your research when it comes to considering the right sized residential solar system for your needs. Choosing the correct sized system for your home will depend on a number of factors including:

• Your budget 
• Your roof layout and orientation
• How and when you use electricity 

It’s also worth thinking about whether your electricity use might increase in the future, for example if you’re considering an electric vehicle, if you’re close to retirement and will be at home more, if you’re welcoming a new family member or making potentially energy-hungry home improvements like a pool or new air conditioning system.

Designing your residential solar system

When designing your solar system, it’s important to consider how your household uses energy. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, which means: 

• East-facing panels are likely to generate more power in the morning.
• West-facing panels are likely to generate more in the late afternoon.
• North-facing solar panels are likely generate the most energy overall. However, they may generate less in the morning and late afternoon compared to east or west-facing panels.

Your household might use more solar energy with east and west-facing panels, because they produce more energy before and after school or work. Your solar retailer will work with you to design your system with your energy use in mind.

Solar and other household energy assets

When you don’t use up all of your household solar during the day, it gets sent to the energy system. If you invest in a solar PV system with a battery storage system, you could store some of your excess solar energy and tap into that when the sun goes down. This could help reduce your need to buy electricity from the energy system during peak times, such as early evening when most people come home from work or school.

Many people who have been adopting more environmentally-friendly technology such as solar panels and home battery systems are also investing in electric vehicles (EVs). You might be trying to power more of your life with renewable energy, choosing a fully electric model (such as battery electric vehicles) or hybrid electric vehicle (including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles).

If you have solar panels, you could use solar energy to charge your EV during the sunniest parts of the day.