Is Now the Right Time to Add a Battery to Your Solar System?
If you've been holding off on solar because battery storage felt too expensive, 2026 might be your year to reconsider.
The Australian Government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program is now live, offering around 30% off the upfront cost of home battery systems. For many Melbourne households, this could be the tipping point that makes solar-plus-battery finally stack up financially.
What's the deal?
The program provides a rebate of up to $372 per kilowatt-hour of battery capacity. For a typical 10-13 kWh home battery, that works out to roughly $3,600 to $4,800 off your system cost.
The rebate applies whether you're adding a battery to an existing solar setup or installing solar and battery together as a new system. Households, small businesses, and community facilities are all eligible, and there's no income test.
Why batteries matter
Australia has one of the highest rates of rooftop solar in the world, but only about 1 in 40 solar households currently have a battery. Without storage, excess solar energy gets exported back to the grid during the day (often for minimal feed-in credits), while you're left buying electricity at peak rates in the evening.
A battery changes this equation. Store your daytime solar and use it when you actually need it — cooking dinner, running the heating, or keeping the lights on during a blackout. Households with solar and battery storage can save $700 to $1,600 per year on electricity bills.
Why act sooner rather than later?
The rebate is designed to decrease each year until 2030. Installing now locks in the highest available discount. Early movers also avoid potential installation backlogs as demand increases.
For Victorians, there's an added bonus: the federal battery rebate can be combined with the Solar Homes Program rebate of up to $1,400 on solar panels. If you've been waiting for the right moment to go solar, stacking both incentives makes 2026 a compelling time to move.
What you need to know
To qualify, your battery must be between 5 kWh and 100 kWh capacity, connected to rooftop solar, and installed by an accredited professional using approved products. The rebate is applied upfront by your installer — no complicated paperwork required on your end.
Ready to explore your options?
If you're curious whether a solar and battery system makes sense for your home, we're happy to chat through the details and provide a quote.