The same system, quoted by two installers, can differ by thousands. I already know what they are charging this month for the same panels and the same battery. I tell you which of those two numbers you have been handed, and I get you as close to the lower one as I can.
I am an advisor, not an installer and not a lead broker. The installer pays me, and only if you go ahead. You pay nothing at any point.
See what my home should costMost comparison sites sell your details to three or four installers and let them fight over you. That is why your phone rings for a fortnight. This is not that.
Sized off your bill, your roof and when you are home, not off whatever the salesperson has surplus of this quarter. If a battery does not pay for itself on your numbers, I will say so.
You get a price range for that exact system, so an overpriced quote is obvious the moment it lands in front of you. That range comes from what installers are quoting right now, not from a national average.
One. Vetted, and quoting at the bottom of that range. Nothing reaches them until you ask, and nobody comes to your door uninvited.
The installer pays me a fee when a job completes. That is the whole business model, and it is why there is no reason for me to push you at a bigger system or a dearer installer. You are never billed for anything.
Typical 6.6kW solar + 10kWh battery, on a $400-$600 quarterly bill.
A ballpark for one common setup, not a quote. The gap between those two numbers is the point: identical equipment, quoted by different installers in this part of Melbourne. Run the check and I will work out the range for your actual house, then tell you where any quote you have been given sits inside it.
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.
Every figure in these comes from the same calculator, using Victoria rates and rebates.
Applied automatically by your installer, around $1,500 on a standard 6.6kW system in 2026. Worth knowing that this one is not the same nationally. The federal scheme splits Australia into four zones by how much sun a panel actually sees, and Melbourne sits in Zone 4, the lowest. The identical system installed in Brisbane earns roughly 17% more certificates than it does in Essendon West. Nobody is short-changing you; the panel genuinely produces less here. But it does mean a headline rebate figure quoted off a national ad is not the figure you will get.
You get up to $1,400 off upfront, plus you can borrow another $1,400 interest free if you're an eligible owner occupier. Still running, new spots open up most months.
Around $2700 off a 10kWh battery, same as everywhere in Victoria. Needs solar panels to qualify.
Your retailer sells you the power. Your distributor owns the poles and wires, and it is the distributor, not the retailer, that decides how much solar you are allowed to export back into the grid. Get that wrong and the system size on your quote is not the system size you will be allowed to run.
Essendon West does not sit inside a single network. Addresses here fall within CitiPower or Jemena, and the boundary runs through the suburb rather than around it, so two houses on the same street can be on different networks with different export rules.
The names make this more confusing than it needs to be. Airport West and Brunswick West are cleanly Jemena. Essendon West is the one that splits. Going by the name rather than the address is guessing.
So do not assume, and do not let an installer assume either. Your distributor is printed on your electricity bill, usually near the meter details rather than beside your retailer's logo. Look for CitiPower or Jemena. Once you know which one you are on, ask any installer quoting you what export limit they are designing to for that network.
When the numbers stack up I will introduce you to one installer who deals with these networks regularly. One, not three. Nothing reaches them until you ask.
Common housing around Essendon West includes Victorian, Edwardian and Federation homes, interwar bungalows, larger period villas, many renovated and modern townhouses and apartments around the activity centres. That is a pattern for the area rather than a description of any one house, but it shapes what a sensible quote looks like here.
Essendon and Moonee Ponds contain a high proportion of established period housing, including Victorian, Edwardian and Interwar homes. Heritage overlays, complex roof forms and mature trees mean solar design can be more site-specific here than in newer estates.
Things worth knowing before an installer walks the roof:
This does not mean every property carries a heritage overlay. It means it is worth checking yours.
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 suburb average.
See what my home should costRun the check and you get a price range for the exact system you have been quoted. If the quote sits above that range, it is worth asking the installer what the difference is buying you. Sometimes there is a good answer, better inverter, harder roof, more scaffolding. Often there is not. You can also send me a quote you already have and I will tell you which line items are carrying the difference.
Typically $6,930 to $12,930 for 6.6kW solar plus a 10kWh battery, once Victoria's rebates are applied. The spread is not a hedge, it is the actual difference between a competitive installer and a poor quote for identical equipment. Closing that gap is the service.
It depends on your exact address, which is worth knowing before you take a quote seriously. Essendon West falls within CitiPower or Jemena, and the boundary runs through the suburb rather than around it. Since the network sets how much solar you can export, not your retailer, this decides the largest system you are allowed to run. Your distributor is printed on your electricity bill near the meter details.
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.
No. One introduction to one installer, when you ask for it. Your details are not sold, and they are not sent to a panel of companies to bid over.
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.