For a household using 22 kWh a day, about $701 a quarter at Victoria's 30c a unit, the calculator puts 10–13kW solar at $6,600 to $11,600 after rebates, and 10–13kW solar + ~15kWh battery at $9,970 to $20,970. This page also covers Mount Duneed and Charlemont.
I am an advisor, not an installer and not a lead broker. You pay nothing at any point.
See what my home should costA family in a four-bedroom house, out at work and school on weekdays, using 22 kWh a day.
A ballpark for one example household, not a quote. The low end of each range is what a competitive installer charges; the high end is a poor quote for the same equipment. Prices are from the same calculator the free assessment uses, with Victorian rates and rebates, and sun hours are its figure for Victoria.
Four real households, run through the same calculator this site uses for an individual report. Panels only, no battery, clean roof, someone home some of the time. Prices are after every rebate that applies in Victoria.
| Household uses | Their quarterly bill | System | After rebates | Saves a year | Pays for itself |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 kWh | $373 | 5–6.6kW solar | $4,070 to $6,100 | $350–$530 | 9–10+ years |
| 15 kWh | $510 | 6.6kW solar | $4,850 to $6,850 | $500–$750 | 8–10 years |
| 22 kWh | $701 | 10–13kW solar | $6,600 to $11,600 | $760–$1,140 | 7–10+ years |
| 30 kWh | $919 | 10–13kW solar | $6,600 to $11,600 | $990–$1,480 | 6–9 years |
The bill column is what that household actually pays in Victoria at 30c a unit, which is why the same house has a different bill in every state. Savings depend on how much of the generation gets used on site rather than exported, and at 1c a unit for exports that is the number that decides the answer. A household out all day saves less than the figures above; one home most days saves more. Every figure is produced by the calculator, not written down, so it moves when the published rates move.
Armstrong Creek is the growth area on Geelong's southern edge, and most of what has been built here is new estate housing. That changes the solar question in useful ways. The roof is rarely the problem. What usually decides the answer is how much power the house uses, whether it has gas at all, and what Powercor will let it send back to the grid.
Your retailer sells you the power. Your distributor owns the poles and wires, and it is the distributor that decides how much solar you may send back to the grid. Armstrong Creek is inside Powercor's distribution area[1], so Powercor's rules are the ones a quote here should be designed to. Look for Powercor Australia on your bill, near the meter details.
The export limit is changing. Powercor's connection policy for 2026 to 2031, approved by the Australian Energy Regulator in April 2026, says it will lower the maximum static export limit to 1.5kW per phase during that period, and that rather than give anyone a zero limit it will offer flexible exports instead: up to 10kW per phase, varying with what the local network can take[2]. From 1 July 2026 flexible exports were first offered to customers whose pre-approval came back at 0kW. They need an inverter that supports CSIP-AUS and a reliable internet connection, and in Powercor's trial participants exported freely more than 90% of the time[3][4].
What that means in practice: the limit is set for your address at pre-approval, and your installer lodges that through Powercor's eConnect portal. Ask to see it before you sign. Power the house uses, or a battery stores for the evening, is worth the full import price. Power that runs into the export limit is simply lost, and even what gets out earns about 1c a unit. So size the array to what the house uses, not to the size of the roof.
In the 2021 Census, 95.1% of occupied homes in Armstrong Creek were separate houses and 70% had four or more bedrooms, against 32.6% across Victoria. The median resident was 30. 53.2% of homes were owned with a mortgage, against 36.1% statewide. These are big, young, busy households, and big households use a lot of power in the evening.[5]
That pattern describes the area, not your house. But it shapes what a sensible quote looks like here.
Things worth knowing before an installer walks the roof:
All of that describes the area, not your house. Two homes on the same street can be completely different jobs. Put your address in and the assessment works off the actual property rather than a town average.
Since 1 January 2024, planning permits for new homes and residential subdivisions in Victoria only allow connection to an all-electric network. In Armstrong Creek that means two kinds of new home sit side by side: earlier houses on gas for heating, hot water and cooking, and newer ones where every one of those runs on electricity.
For solar, that difference matters more than the age of the house. An all-electric home uses more power, a good share of it in the evening and through winter, so it tends to justify a bigger array and gets more out of a battery. Size the system to the house you actually have. If you are on gas now and plan to replace it, say so before anyone quotes, because the array that suits you today is too small for that house.[6]
The Solar Victoria panel rebate is not only for finished homes. The owner of a home under construction can apply, which is worth knowing before the builder's solar package is signed off, because it is the same rebate either way and a separate quote for the same system gives you something to compare the package against.
About a third of homes here were rented at the 2021 Census (34.4%). If that is you, the roof is your landlord's decision, but there is a rental stream of the same rebate. The rental provider applies, a renter can agree to share the interest-free loan repayment, and the cost cannot be passed on through the rent or the bond.[7][8]
These are examples, not an average for Armstrong Creek. They are picked to show how the answer moves for the kinds of household the census shows are common here. Clean roof, no shading, Victorian rates and rebates, and the battery prices assume it is installed before the federal battery discount steps down on 1 January 2027.
| Option | System | After rebates | Saves a year | Pays for itself |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change plan and cut waste first | No system | $0 | $140–$420 | Nothing to pay back |
| Solar panels only | 10–13kW solar | $6,600 to $11,600 | $590–$880 | 9–10+ years |
| Solar plus a 10kWh battery | 10–13kW solar + 10kWh battery | $7,730 to $18,330 | $1,270–$1,870 | 5–10+ years |
| Solar plus a 15kWh batteryPays back fastest | 10–13kW solar + ~15kWh battery | $9,970 to $20,970 | $1,610–$2,180 | 5–10 years |
Solar plus a 15kWh battery. It pays back fastest of the options open to you, which is the only measure here that accounts for what the thing actually costs.
Before any of it: get onto a competitive retail offer. It costs nothing, it takes an afternoon, and on a bill your size it is worth roughly $140 to $420 a year. Every payback below gets shorter once you are paying less per kWh, so it is worth doing first either way.
| Option | System | After rebates | Saves a year | Pays for itself |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change plan and cut waste first | No system | $0 | $180–$550 | Nothing to pay back |
| Solar panels only | 10–13kW solar | $6,600 to $11,600 | $760–$1,140 | 7–10+ years |
| Solar plus a 10kWh battery | 10–13kW solar + 10kWh battery | $7,730 to $18,330 | $1,440–$2,150 | 5–10 years |
| Solar plus a 15kWh batteryPays back fastest | 10–13kW solar + ~15kWh battery | $9,970 to $20,970 | $1,780–$2,580 | 5–9 years |
Solar plus a 15kWh battery. It pays back fastest of the options open to you, which is the only measure here that accounts for what the thing actually costs.
Before any of it: get onto a competitive retail offer. It costs nothing, it takes an afternoon, and on a bill your size it is worth roughly $180 to $550 a year. Every payback below gets shorter once you are paying less per kWh, so it is worth doing first either way.
"Pays for itself" is the range between a competitive quote and a poor one for the same equipment, and 10+ means not inside ten years. The battery ranges are wide for the same reason. Your own usage, roof and timing will move every figure here, which is what the free assessment works from.
Applied by the installer as a discount on the quote, not something you claim. It scales with system size: on the 10–13kW solar in the first example above the calculator counts $2,000. It falls a little each year until the scheme ends in 2030.
Up to $1,400, or half the cost after the STC discount if that is less, plus a matching interest-free loan you choose when you apply. Household taxable income under $150,000, property under $3 million, and no solar installed at the address in the last ten years. Owner-occupiers, owners of homes under construction and rental properties can all apply. Rebates are released in batches, so check what is left in the current release before you count on it. From 1 July 2027 household solar support moves into the Victorian Energy Upgrades program[7][8].
Victoria's own battery support has closed, so the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program is the one that applies[9]. On a 10kWh battery the calculator counts $2,520. The rate is set by the date the battery is installed, not when you order it, and it steps down on 1 January 2027 and every six months after that[10]. Larger batteries earn less per extra kWh: the full rate applies to the first 14kWh.
There has been no minimum feed-in tariff in Victoria since 1 July 2025. Retailers set their own, and it cannot go below zero[11]. The calculator assumes 1c a unit, which is why every example on this page is decided by how much power the house uses itself.
The full breakdown, with dates, is in Victorian solar rebates explained.
Already holding a quote? This is how I read one, line by line.
For the first example household on this page, 22 kWh a day, the calculator puts 10–13kW solar at $6,600 to $11,600 after Victorian rebates, and 10–13kW solar + ~15kWh battery at $9,970 to $20,970. The range is the gap between a competitive installer and a poor quote for the same equipment. Your own figure depends on your usage and roof, which is what the free assessment works out.
Powercor. It sits inside Powercor's distribution area, so Powercor sets the export limit for your address at pre-approval, not your retailer. Powercor's 2026 to 2031 connection policy lowers the maximum static limit to 1.5kW per phase and offers flexible exports of up to 10kW per phase instead. Ask your installer for the approved limit before you sign.
Yes, if you are eligible. Solar Victoria lists the owner of a home under construction as eligible for the panel rebate, alongside owner-occupiers of existing homes and rental properties. The same income and property value limits apply: household taxable income under $150,000 and a property under $3 million once construction is complete. Check the current release on Solar Victoria's site before you rely on it.
Usually, yes. With no gas, heating, hot water and cooking all come off the electricity meter, so the house uses more power and more of it after dark. That makes a bigger array and a battery easier to justify than in the same house on gas. Put your real usage into the assessment rather than going by the house size.
The installer, and only when a job completes. Never the homeowner. No installer can buy placement, and nothing about you reaches one until you ask me to make the introduction.
About a minute. You get the system size, what it should cost, and what it saves. No one calls you unless you ask.
Start My Free CheckIndependent explainers on the parts of this that actually change the answer.
Prices, savings and paybacks come from this site's calculator, using Victorian rates verified 2026-08. Everything else is from the sources below, read on the date shown. Rules and rebates change, so check the source before you rely on one.