The Honest Guides.

Is a home battery worth it in 2026?

The honest answer, including when to wait or buy smaller.

Is solar still worth it in 2026?

Yes for most — and here's exactly who it's NOT worth it for.

Do I actually need an EV charger?

Most drivers may not. The honest test runs on your daily kilometres, not the brochure.

Is heat pump hot water worth it?

How to dodge a lemon — and the "free/$33" trap explained.

The Cheaper Home Batteries Program, honestly

Solar payback in Australia, by state

What moves your payback, plus an honest estimator that will tell you if it doesn't stack up.

What size solar system do I need?

Bill-first sizing — and the cases where bigger is genuinely worse, not better.

Is my roof suitable for solar?

Orientation, shade, space and age — check it yourself in five minutes, from the ground.

How much does going off-grid really cost?

In the suburbs, honestly: don't. The 90% answer is a hybrid system that keeps the grid.

Should I rush a battery before the next rebate step-down?

The rebate steps down gradually to 2030 — a deposit doesn’t lock it, so “beat the deadline” is a tactic.

Feed-in tariffs hit zero — is solar still worth it?

A near-zero export rate strengthens the case for right-sized solar, and doesn’t force you into a battery.

Do I need a battery for summer blackouts?

For a handful of outages a year a $10k+ battery is poor value — and most don’t back up without a gateway.

Is vehicle-to-grid (V2G) worth it in 2026?

Approved hardware is scarce and pricey — for most people, smart charging or a normal battery wins today.

Solar & batteries for apartments and strata

It’s a governance problem, not a tech one — what’s possible, and when the honest answer is “not yet”.

Adding a battery to old solar: retrofit or replace?

AC-coupling usually avoids ripping out a working inverter — but check your legacy feed-in tariff first.

Solar & batteries on a pension or low income

Well-sized solar with a concession can help — but a battery on a low-usage home usually won’t pay back.

EV vehicle-to-load vs a home battery for backup

If your EV has V2L it runs the fridge and phones for near-free — but it won’t back up the whole house.

Should I disconnect gas and go all-electric?

Killing the gas supply charge is real money — but ripping out a working system all at once rarely pays. Sequence it around end-of-life.

Do I need three-phase power?

Most homes don’t — a 7kW single-phase charger with load management is plenty. The $3k–8k upgrade is often just padding the quote.

The cheapest way to heat your home this winter

Reverse-cycle wins on running cost — but free fixes come first, and mid-winter is the worst time to panic-buy.

Going solar again after a bad experience

Burned once? Your scepticism is an asset. Salvage vs replace, the verification checklist, and your ACL rights.

The “free” (or $33) heat pump offer, honestly

The $0 pitch is certificate maths, not generosity — what regulators found, and when a subsidised deal is fine.

Do you need a 22kW three-phase EV charger?

Most EVs can’t accept more than 7–11kW AC anyway. The overnight maths, and the few cases where 22kW fits.

Can I get a home battery without solar?

It works fine. It just isn’t eligible for the federal rebate — so you pay ~30% more and earn less per cycle.

How long do home batteries last?

What 70% at 10 years really means — and the Canberra test where only 2 of 26 batteries finished without a fault.

Is a reverse cycle air conditioner a heat pump?

It moves heat instead of making it. That one fact explains your entire running cost.

What does an EV charger cost to install?

The charger is the predictable part. Your switchboard and cable run are what actually decide the bill.

Do solar panels add value to your home?

Real Australian data says yes — but installing before you sell usually doesn’t pay, and four things erase the uplift.

Check a solar installer before you pay a deposit

How to check an installer won't vanish — and yes, run the checks on us too.

My solar installer went bust — now what?

The recovery playbook: what survives, who to call, and your Consumer Law rights.

The Orphaned Solar Report

The data behind the problem: how many systems, what survives, how to stay off the list.

How to read a solar quote, line by line

The anatomy of a proper quote — and the questions that expose a bad one.

Install day: what to check

What to verify before the crew leaves — police your own installer, including us.

2026 solar & battery scams: the red flags

The rebate boom brought a pressure-selling surge — the tactics to spot, your cooling-off rights, and how to check a recall.

Buying a house with solar? Check these first

System age, warranty transfer, who installed it, and the legacy feed-in tariff rules — before you sign.

Installer gone bust? How to claim your warranty

The claim ladder in order — Consumer Law guarantees, the manufacturer, and who to call, no upsell.

Is my new battery installed safely?

A rebate and an accredited installer don’t guarantee a compliant install. Here’s the homeowner check — and what “substandard” really means.

Do I need to tell my insurer about solar?

Yes — notify your insurer and lift your sum-insured, or a claim can be cut. The premium bump is usually small.

Can the grid switch off my solar?

The emergency backstop in SA, QLD, VIC and WA — what it actually does, versus what door-knockers claim.

Are home batteries safe?

Modern LFP installed to AS/NZS 5139 by accredited installers is low-risk — the real hazard is cut corners.

The emotions solar sellers play on

Six emotions every pressure pitch targets — what each tactic sounds like, and the honest counter-move.

Does a split system need regassing?

A sealed system never uses gas up. If it’s low, you have a leak — and topping it up is renting cold air.

When does the solar rebate end?

31 December 2030, shrinking each January. “Sign today or miss out” is a closing line, not a deadline.

Can I install an EV charger myself?

It can void your home insurance and both warranties. The fine is the least of it — and here’s what you legally can do.

EV charging in an apartment or strata?

Committees don’t reject chargers — they reject vague applications. Plus which NSW reforms are law, and which aren’t yet.

How do I stop solar phone calls?

The Do Not Call Register, why they still ring after you register — and the 10-day right that makes “today only” meaningless.

Will my battery work in a blackout?

Most do NOT back up by default — what backup actually needs, and how much of the house it runs.

My power bill went UP after solar

The three real causes sellers skip — and how to tell if the system is genuinely faulty.

The network rejected my application

Export limits explained — and the paths that still get you connected.

Inverter red light or fault code?

The one safe reset — and when to call a sparkie instead.

Solar stopped exporting to the grid

Not generating vs not exporting vs not credited — three different problems, diagnosed safely.

Battery won't charge to 100%

Usually by design — reserves, VPPs and calibration — and the signs it's a real fault.

Solar panels in bushfire and smoke season

Smoke, ash and fire threats: protecting output and staying safe.

Is professional solar panel cleaning worth it?

For most tilted rooftop arrays rain does the job — check your output before you pay for a clean.

Heat pump hot water: noise, cold & error codes

Most ‘faults’ are an undersized tank, a cold-night element fallback or bad placement — not a dud unit.

“Your solar is faulty” — the door-knock, decoded

Fire-risk scares, fake inspections and repair pitches — the tells, and your cooling-off rights.

Home EV charging problems, diagnosed

Slow, stopping, tripping or won’t start? Most “faults” are settings, not hardware — check the free things first.

Split system leaking, smelling or not heating?

Symptom by symptom — what you can fix in ten minutes, and the one noise that means switch it off now.

When does a solar inverter need replacing?

The part that fails long before your panels do — the signs, the 8-year rule, and the Consumer Law right most people miss.

Why is my battery charging from the grid?

Charging at 2am, refusing to discharge, exporting to the street — mostly settings, not faults.

How do I know if my solar is working?

Half your array can drop out with no warning light at all. Four checks, and exactly who to call.