Government subsidies aimed at helping homeowners afford solar systems have encouraged a lot of people to take up the technology, but they can also throw open the door to disreputable operators. 

With the launch of the federal government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program on 1 July, some historical perspective can help ward off the charlatans.  

When the federal government rolled out the Photovoltaic Rebate Program (later rebranded the Solar Homes and Communities Program) in 2000, it took off slowly. But the $8000 rebate proved hugely popular in the program's final years. 

Disreputable solar businesses employed aggressive door-to-door sales tactics and non-stop telemarketing to sign up customers

Along the way, disreputable solar businesses employed aggressive door-to-door sales tactics and non-stop telemarketing to sign up customers. These pushy methods were often not backed by technical expertise. 

In an audit conducted by NSW Fair Trading in 2011 dubbed Taskforce Eclipse – after the rebate program was shut down – around 18% of the solar installations it inspected (122 of 658) had major defects, and a further 63% had minor ones. 

Shoddy installations were so common that Fair Trading established a dedicated Solar Hotline, which received  around 1150 calls between June and September 2011.

The ABC reported in 2010 that as many as 2000 homes around Australia were at risk of fire due to shoddy solar installations related to the subsidy program.   

Scammers also came out of the woodwork, knocking on doors and posing as government employees. The ruse was generally to ask for bank details or a fee so they could deposit your rebate, which they claimed would soon be going away. 

Scammers also came out of the woodwork, knocking on doors and posing as government employees

By 2010, the program had subsidised the installation of 107,752 photovoltaic systems across Australia, nearly all of them for household use. It got so popular that the government had to pull the plug due to cost overruns. 

But scaling up renewable energy is no easy task. An ANU study later concluded that the scheme, which cost around $1 billion in taxpayer dollars, reduced Australia's carbon emissions by a mere 0.015%. At the time, rooftop solar generated only 0.1% of Australia's electricity. 

Incentives on the decline

Households that invested in rooftop solar have suffered some rude shocks in recent years. With so much solar energy going back into the power grid, the primary payback mechanism – the feed-in tariff – has steadily dwindled. The tariff is the financial benefit solar owners receive for sending back their unused energy, generally in the form of a credit on your power bill. Since the late 2000s, feed-in tariffs have dropped from a high of around 60 cents to 10 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), if they're paid at all. 

Some energy networks (the poles and wires companies) are now charging customers a fee to export solar-derived energy back into the grid. 

Yet the transition to renewable energy is more of an imperative than an option, so the subsidy schemes continue. These days the focus is on installing batteries to store your solar power, which makes sense given that the power grid is already receiving more that it can handle. 

As more and more solar comes online, Australia is now awash in cheap renewable energy during the day

SolarQuotes editor Max Opray

There are approximately four million rooftop solar systems operating in Australia at the moment, but only around 2.5% have installed batteries to store energy for future use. 

"As more and more solar comes online, Australia is now awash in cheap renewable energy during the day," says longtime energy journalist and editor of SolarQuotes Max Opray. (CHOICE currently has a partnership with SolarQuotes to help consumers find reputable installers.) 

"For rooftop solar owners, this means they aren't getting as much money as they used to for exporting to the grid. A battery means they can get more value from their excess solar by storing it to use or export in the evening peak period, rather than drawing from the grid when electricity prices are most expensive."

Offers of government solar subsidies are often followed by aggressive solar sales tactics, including door knocking and cold calling.

30% upfront discounts on offer 

The Cheaper Home Batteries Program is an extension of the government's Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), and it offers a 30% upfront discount on the costs of installing a small-scale solar battery system. The size of the discount will gradually decrease until 2030.  

The national SRES scheme and its new battery component can be accessed in conjunction with state and territory solar schemes, though there may be conditions that limit the extent to which you can benefit from multiple schemes, depending on the jurisdiction. 

To be eligible for the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, households will need to either already have a solar array or be getting one installed along with the battery. No actions are required to benefit from either the solar or battery incentives under the SRES: the financial aspects are all handled by the retailer or installer. 

If you already have rooftop solar, you can add a battery through the scheme as long as your existing system meets safety and capability requirements. 

No actions are required to benefit from either the solar or battery incentives under the SRES: the financial aspects are all handled by the retailer or installer

To be eligible for the discount, batteries will have to be installed by a tradesperson approved by Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA), which has a 'fit and proper person' policy. Accreditation can be revoked if an installer has done shoddy work and not rectified it, had their electrical worker licence cancelled, or had an adverse finding in a court or tribunal regarding work they've done. 

SAA has a platform that allows you to check an installer's credentials before agreeing to have them do the work. CHOICE, in partnership with SolarQuotes, also offers a tool that allows you to get quotes from reliable solar battery installers in your area. 

The batteries themselves will need to be okayed by the Clean Energy Council, whose website features a list of approved batteries. 

What to look for in a solar battery and installer

CHOICE senior project officer Chris Barnes is well versed in the ins and outs of the solar industry and its products. He recommends choosing a battery from a well known manufacturer with offices in Australia.

"You want a good long warranty for a brand that you can actually contact in the event that your installer goes out of business or disappears." 

Look for evidence and assurance from the installer that they know the product and will back it fully

CHOICE senior project officer Chris Barnes

Installers should have experience installing batteries, not just rooftop solar, and they should visit your home in person before finalising their quote, which should specify all the components and installation work as well as the warranty and conditions.

"Look for evidence and assurance from the installer that they know the product and will back it fully," Barnes says. 

Solar batteries are becoming increasingly necessary as solar system owners continue to feed more energy back to the power grid than it was designed to handle.

What's a 'virtual power plant'?

If you live in Western Australia, in order to access the state's battery incentive (see below), you'll have to join a virtual power plant, or VPP. They allow energy retailers to access your battery to help supply the grid in times of high demand. In return they pay you a small but not insignificant sum of money.

"The general advice is that a VPP is worthwhile for most homes and will further improve the payback times," Barnes says. "You give up some of your battery storage from time to time, and pay for more grid power as a result on those days, but the net gain should be positive," Barnes says.

The general advice is that a VPP is worthwhile for most homes and will further improve the payback times

CHOICE senior project officer Chris Barnes

SolarQuotes estimates that including a VPP brings battery payback times to 10 years or less in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Canberra. Other cities don't fare as well due to having less sunshine. There are no local VPPs currently in operation in Darwin. 

How long it takes for your solar battery to pay for itself by lowering your energy costs depends on several variables, but payback times are generally decreasing. Still, it may not make economic sense for some households. 

"The return on investment is generally okay now that the federal and state battery incentives are in place, but there are homes where a battery still won't necessarily recoup its costs via savings on the electricity bill," says Barnes.

"However, the federal rebate, and state rebates, have changed the equation enough that there are now many more homes for whom a battery makes solid financial sense." 

How long it takes for your solar battery to pay for itself by lowering your energy costs depends on several variables, but payback times are generally decreasing.

WA puts solar businesses on notice 

In a preemptive move in mid-June, WA Consumer Protection put 1300 solar businesses in the state on notice to not falsely claim affiliation with the state's Residential Battery Scheme, which also launched on 1 July. The scheme offers a combination of rebates and no-interest loans for eligible households.  

Some businesses had already engaged in fraudulent activity before the scheme was launched, using state government logos in their marketing and urging customers to fill out questionnaires. These were probably lead generation tactics, where a third-party business targets potential customers and then sells the leads to solar installers, some of whom may be unqualified.  

Consumer Protection has concerns about the promotional practices of a number of solar and battery installation businesses in connection with the Residential Battery Scheme

WA Consumer Protection spokesperson

In mid-June, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it was launching a review into unsolicited selling and lead generation, including door-to-door sales and cold calling. The action came in response to a designated complaint to the ACCC filed by the Consumer Action Law Centre, which wants to see unsolicited selling banned across Australia.  

"Consumer Protection has concerns about the promotional practices of a number of solar and battery installation businesses in connection with the Residential Battery Scheme," a WA Consumer Protection spokesperson tells CHOICE. "These concerns are not confined to a single trader. Several businesses have used marketing approaches that imply an early affiliation with the scheme or suggest that consumer registration is already open."

In WA, unsolicited sales activities are governed by a number of rules, including a cooling-off period of 10 business days during which no work can start and no payments can be accepted. Salespeople must present company-issued identification, explain the purpose of the visit, and let the prospective customer know they can be asked to leave at any time.

Battery retailers participating in the WA Residential Battery Scheme must be approved sellers under the New Energy Tech Consumer Code, which spells out a number of consumer protection standards. And the batteries also have to be on the Clean Energy Council's approved list. 

If you see an advertisement for a solar product that warns you to act now before the rebate ends, they are misleading you

SolarQuotes editor, Max Oprey

Salespeople who show up at your door after buying a third-party lead may not tick these boxes. 

Consumer Protection welcomes the ACCC's ongoing work in investigating unsolicited door-to-door sales and third-party lead generation practices, particularly in the solar sector. In Western Australia, such practices have raised concerns in both solar and other industries, the WA Consumer Protection spokesperson says. 

Max Oprey says many issues that arose during the Photovoltaic Rebate Program rollout in the 2000s haven't gone away. 

"If you see an advertisement for a solar product that warns you to act now before the rebate ends, they are misleading you. The battery rebate drops each calendar year by a small amount, which many disreputable companies exaggerate." 

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

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