For a household using 16 kWh a day, about $537 a quarter at Victoria's 30c a unit, the calculator puts 6.6kW solar at $4,850 to $6,850 after rebates, and 6.6kW solar + 10kWh battery at $6,430 to $14,330. This page also covers Clifton Springs and Curlewis.
I am an advisor, not an installer and not a lead broker. You pay nothing at any point.
See what my home should costA retired couple at home most days, using 16 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.
Drysdale and Clifton Springs are the north side of the Bellarine, and they are not the holiday towns on the ocean side. Most houses here are lived in all year, a lot of them by older owners at home through the day, with bigger lifestyle blocks running out into farmland.
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. Drysdale 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.
At the 2021 Census the median Drysdale resident was 52, and 33.2% of residents were 65 or older, against 16.8% across Victoria. 47.4% of occupied homes were owned outright. Only 7% of private dwellings were empty on Census night, below the Victorian figure of 11.1% and a third of Ocean Grove's.[5]
That makes Drysdale a town of full-time households, which is the simplest case for solar on the peninsula.
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.
The holiday-house question that dominates the ocean side of the Bellarine mostly does not apply here. A house that is occupied every day uses its solar, and a household home through the day uses the most of it. That is why the first worked example below, a couple at home most days, is the common case in Drysdale rather than the exception.
For a household like that, the decision is mostly about size and battery. Too big an array just exports more at 1c, so the sensible size is set by what the house uses through the day and evening.
On a larger block, a north-facing shed or a ground-mounted frame can carry the array, with the cable run back to the switchboard as the main extra cost. If the property is three-phase, ask what export limit Powercor has approved per phase, because it is set per phase[2].
These are examples, not an average for Drysdale. 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 | $110–$320 | Nothing to pay back |
| Solar panels only | 6.6kW solar | $4,850 to $6,850 | $680–$1,020 | 6–8 years |
| Solar plus a 10kWh batteryPays back fastest | 6.6kW solar + 10kWh battery | $6,430 to $14,330 | $1,280–$1,640 | 5–9 years |
Solar plus a 10kWh 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 $110 to $320 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 | $130–$390 | Nothing to pay back |
| Solar panels only | 10–13kW solar | $6,600 to $11,600 | $550–$820 | 9–10+ years |
| Solar plus a 10kWh battery | 10–13kW solar + 10kWh battery | $7,730 to $18,330 | $1,230–$1,780 | 5–10+ years |
| Solar plus a 15kWh batteryPays back fastest | 10–13kW solar + ~15kWh battery | $9,970 to $20,970 | $1,550–$2,060 | 6–10+ 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 $130 to $390 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 6.6kW solar in the first example above the calculator counts $1,750. 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[6][7].
Victoria's own battery support has closed, so the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program is the one that applies[8]. 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[9]. 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[10]. 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, 16 kWh a day, the calculator puts 6.6kW solar at $4,850 to $6,850 after Victorian rebates, and 6.6kW solar + 10kWh battery at $6,430 to $14,330. 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.
Mainly in who lives there. Drysdale's houses are mostly lived in all year, with only 7% empty on Census night against 21% in Ocean Grove, so the holiday-house question rarely comes up. Both are on Powercor's network and in the same solar zone.
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.