Buying Solar In Australia In 2025: Everything You Need To Know

My Solar 101 video guide has been updated for 2025! You'll discover absolutely everything you need to know to buy a good quality solar power system installation in Australia with confidence, and at the right price.

00:00 - Introduction
01:05 - How many panels should you buy?
03:58 - Ideal roof direction
04:30 - Ideal panel angle
05:24 - Panel shading
05:51 - Let's talk $$$
07:18 - Main components of a solar system
10:38 - Inverters
13:55 - Monitoring
15:24 - The importance of a good installer

The text version of this guide will always have my latest recommended solar panel, inverter and racking brand charts and can be found here:

To see estimated savings and payback for a system in your situation, try my solar (and battery) calculator:

And to get quotes from solar installers I trust:

If after watching the video you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments section below :)

[philbuckle]

After fitting my Tesla 13 kWh battery recently something dawned on me that no one told me about and that I never bothered to work out for myself. Let's say my electricity usage cost is 30c per kWh at peak times. That means that when my solar panels fill my 13 kWh Tesla Battery to 100% I will have exactly $3.90 worth of power in it. So that massive hi tech Battery that I paid over $13, 000 for will save me $3.90 a day. Whoopee!! That means it will take 10 years to pay for itself. That's if the sun shines every day of the year. So it's more likely to take 14 years to pay for itself in reality. You can only charge and discharge once a least in my household.

[sun-man]

One of your recommended installers talked me out of a 10kW system and now I have a 5kW system and a Fronius hybrid inverter but no battery. I got the strong impression that getting me to install a smaller system was good for their bottom line because they needed a limited supply of solar panels for all the different clients queued up. It's more profitable to install lots of small systems rather than fewer big systems. Buyer beware, even of the "recommended" installers!

[supherbman]

Love it, thoroughly detailed though. I really wanna thank you for having all the content set up at a place, went through your guides for like 2 months and got it installed by a company called Speedy Solar as you suggested, smooth like a feather. Thank god I didn’t sound newbie and was confident enough haha! Once again, Many Thanks!

[momouppa]

Solar quotes is such a good resource, the website and videos are great. Just started looking into solar and your videos help give me the confidence to make the right choice. Appreciate all you do.

[thethirdman]

One of the best, most informative YouTube videos I’ve seen. First timer here. Subscribed.

[jamessutherland]

We went with one of your recommendations, and after a few hiccups entirely of our own making, we finally got 23 Trinia panels, micro inverters, and Enphase at the side for 10kw with a goal of an E.V at some stage. Thanks for the advice Finn and thanks to Lightning energy for an efficient install.

[peva]

At last, a straight forward vid without the BS or tech talk. .

[joelm]

Thanks for the wealth of information on Solar. We’ve gone with one of your recommended installers. Hopefully they are as good as the reviews say in your website.

[robertcruikshank]

I've heard people complaining they have too much solar and have to curtail due to negative FiT every day in summer!!! Best to balance solar with consumption I recon. Especially if you plan to spot trade on the NEM.

[xyrus]

Great video, was wondering when your next video was coming.

[geoffmastus]

Great video…thanks
I recently tried to make a claim for panels under a performance warranty. I quickly realized after the experience that the 25 year performance warranty offered by some wholesalers and installers is complete rubbish. Don’t even factor them into your decision to buy Solar because the hurdles that you are required to get over just don’t make it worth your while.

[Tpry]

REC or solahart solar panels
String inverter ( next to switchboard) or hybrid
Inverter ( $1000 more)- SMA, Fronius, enphase, solar edge, mil-solar.
Your own smart meter to monitor -
Installers - read1 star reviews and read 3 reviews sites.

[LawlessRaafay]

I have saved this video for future use :) When I can finally have my house here in Melbourne, I would definitely going to use your website and ur recommended installers.

[bobparker]

We had 54 good quality panels and inverter etc installed just over 12 months ago and recently had a "dark start" battery and hybrid inverter installed with one of your recommended installers and to be frank it's been a nightmare, and yes I sent you an email outlining my concerns and currently woking through a number of persistant issues. I now realise that when you do your due diligence and part of this was using information from Finn Peacock's site, you need to consult widely to be informed, don't just listen to the glossy brochure spiel or recommended installers.

[mikefau]

Thank you for such an informative video. I had solar installed about 12 years ago, now I'm thinking of adding solar panels, and at some stage, a battery....You've helped me heaps!

[AshMelb]

Impeccable video. You are perfect for this. Thanks.

[gregandtarynsplace]

I was going to make my own video for family and friends - and now I don't have to!
Nicely made - well done 👏

[PeteMackay]

Great channel. What is your view on water cooled solar panels that apparently are more thermally efficient and also heat the pool water while simultaneously powering a heat pump? Love to see a video on this.

[ADVBrett]

We got totally screwed by Arise Solar, thousands of dollars down the drain. Installers couldn't even put the system in properly and the company's response was "how is that my problem?"

[lvisva-]

Could you please advise, on EV (Nissan Leaf) instead of Home Batteries, for energy storage ?