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To start utilising the sun’s sweet rays in your home, you’ll need a solar system that can connect to the electricity grid. This means having three major components: 

• A solar panel array to capture all that sunlight and transform it into direct current (DC) electricity. 
• A grid-interactive inverter that turns DC electricity into the 230-volt alternating current electricity that is commonly used in appliances and devices. Just be aware that, even if the sun is shining, when the grid goes down your inverter isn’t going to work for safety purposes. 
• A meter that can measure energy as it comes from and goes to the grid. If you have a smart meter, you’re all set on this one. 

You can always add other components to your solar system too , like a hybrid or multimode inverter to facilitate battery storage meaning you will have power if the electricity grid goes offline.

It’s a fair question to ask, it just feels unfair that there isn’t a simple answer! Ultimately, what you can expect your FiT to be will depend on where you live. Some parts of Australia have regulated minimum or set rates, whereas in other areas it’s up to the Energy Retailer to decide.

A high feed-in tariff can certainly be enticing but it’s important to read the fine print. Crazy-high FiTs can often be bundled with higher supply and usage charges. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you have a solar system that generates and stores enough electricity to cover your electricity usage whether the sun is up or down. However, if you haven’t got that flash of a solar system, it could mean you end up paying more for your electricity than before you had solar.

It might help to switch your thinking on solar energy to be more about saving money than making it.

You made it, so you can decide what you do with your excess solar electricity. Use it, store it (if your system allows that) or sell it if you can export to the grid. This is your Goldilocks moment and it’s time to find your ‘just right’.

For some people, this is making the most of their solar electricity in the moment, like running appliances during the day on solar power rather than paying for peak electricity later. Others get batteries added to their solar system so that they can store solar-generated electricity for later instead. Still others prefer to export and sell their excess to get credit on their electricity bills.

The sun is well and truly shining on the future of solar. It’s only going to become more important as time goes on. This means the government wants you to get on board, and they’re willing to pay (kind of).

The Federal Government has the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, which comes with incentives to install and use your new renewable energy system, whether it’s solar, wind or hydro. If you’re eligible, you can receive small-scale technology certificates (STC) for every megawatt hour generated. You can then sell these STCs to make up the costs of buying and installing the system. They’re kind of like NFTs but without the risk and negative environmental impact. You’ll need to act quick though; the scheme is only going to be around up to the end of 2030.

Depending on where you live within Australia and if you meet certain eligibility requirements, you could also make use of state or territory-based rebates and loans.