SolarQuotes Blog

Australia Needs More Electricians. Can Big Sister Help?

July 29, 2026 2026-07-28T13:30:57 by Leave a Comment

Big sister programAustralia needs more electricians, and one organisation believes helping more women complete their apprenticeships is part of the answer.

Big Sister is working with apprentices, employers and training providers to improve the number of women entering electrical trades and, just as importantly, staying long enough to become qualified.

The work comes as demand grows for electricians capable of installing solar, home batteries, EV chargers and the other equipment needed to electrify Australian homes.

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Most Battery Owners Passed On VPPs. Offer Them Something Better.

July 27, 2026 2026-07-26T23:57:45 by 22 Comments

Only 24% of Australian battery owners have joined a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). That’s from the ACCC’s latest electricity market report, and the reaction has been fairly uniform: this is a problem, and the fix is to make VPPs more appealing. Better consumer protections. Simpler products. Minimum technical standards. Probably more VPP rebates.

 But there’s another way to read a number like that.

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Best Home Battery In Australia 2026: Installer’s Choice Awards

July 27, 2026 2026-07-27T15:05:46 by 15 Comments
2026 Installer Choice Awards - best home battery

Continuing the 2026 Installer’s Choice Awards, we asked Australia’s solar installers a simple question: “Which home battery would you choose for your own home?” These are the people designing, installing and servicing battery systems every day, so they have a front-row seat to what works well in the real world. And Australian Consumer Law holds […]

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Solar Sharer Plans Compared: Three Free Hours, At A Cost

July 24, 2026 2026-07-23T15:48:20 by 20 Comments

From the start of this month, most energy retailers are required to offer plans offering three free hours of daytime electricity. We’ve put three Solar Sharer offers under the microscope to see the devil in the detail – just how much extra customers will be paying in daily supply charges and peak rates.

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Regulator Crackdown On Dodgy Solar Installs & Fake Selfies

July 23, 2026 2026-07-22T16:54:35 by 6 Comments
Solar inspector giving a thumbs down for a battery or solar installation.

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has suspended 21 solar companies from the small-scale solar rebate scheme, moved to ban a retailer for falsely claiming installations were complete, and issued a warning to installers over fake verification photos.

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Supply Charges Are Rising, But Off Grid Still Doesn’t Make Cents

July 22, 2026 2026-07-21T16:57:55 by 45 Comments
A man chopping down power poles to go off-grid.

With the recent rises in fixed daily charges, the retail price of electricity means a lot of people are going off. I understand the anger – I’m paying it too – but I have to reiterate the answer isn’t going off grid.

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Can You Be Confident Joining A Virtual Power Plant?

July 21, 2026 2026-07-27T10:47:30 by 28 Comments
VPP consumer confidence report

Home batteries can lower electricity bills, and those benefits can be even greater when batteries are coordinated through virtual power plants (VPPs). But a new report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) points out that asking people to hand over some control of a battery they’ve paid for requires confidence that it will […]

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The ACCC Is Fighting Battery Cowboys Backwards

July 20, 2026 2026-07-22T05:32:58 by 11 Comments

Last week the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) published a 114 page report on the electricity market which uncovered the following insights: People bought lots of batteries after the battery rebate came out People with batteries have lower bills than people without People on VPPs have even lower bills.

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Solar Sharer In Winter: Heat Your Home For Free

July 17, 2026 2026-07-16T13:37:49 by 10 Comments
Solar Sharer Offer Explainer

With Australia in the grip of winter, a new breed of free daytime electricity plans have arrived just in time to keep your home warm on the cheap. Here’s how to time your electric heating – and cooling – to make the most of the Solar Sharer Offer’s free electricity period.

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The Best Battery Size For Solar Sharer

July 16, 2026 2026-07-16T16:07:48 by 28 Comments
Battery size for solar sharer

I’m a man with a mission. And that mission is to decide what size battery my sister should get, while taking into account that she’ll be topping it up with free daytime electricity. If I give her a bad answer, I will still be a man — but it may become much more difficult for […]

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