The last month of 2019 didn’t see the usual degree of slowdown in interest from Australians wanting to bust their electricity bills by installing a solar power system.
December is usually a quieter time on SolarQuotes, but it was our busiest December to date. Here’s what Australians using our service were looking for in a system.
Solar Power System Size
Of those who already had a system size in mind, 76% were after pricing and other details on 6kW solar or bigger – the same as in November. This was the first time in six months that figure has stabilised – the previous months all saw growth for 6kW+ capacity range.
But it may not stay that way for long as more Australians discover that assuming suitable roof space, bigger solar is better in most circumstances as larger systems provide the best bang for buck.
Solar Power System Purchase Timeframe
The proportion of Australians wanting buy solar panels immediately jumped again in December to close to 32% (26% in November, 22% in October). Some of this enthusiasm was likely to do with the next stage of winding down of Australia’s solar rebate. In some cases there was also a mistaken perception the solar rebate was about to end; fueled by the antics of some dodgy advertisers. Learn more about Australia’s solar rebate in 2020.
Just over 88% of those using our service in December were wanting to purchase a system within the next 3 months, a little lower than in November (89%).
Quality vs. Cost
In December, a little over 12% wanted pricing on a “top quality” (most expensive) solar package, ~8% a good quality budget system and approximately 79% a system offering a balance between quality and cost. This breakdown has changed very little over the time we’ve been publishing the auSSII report.
Advanced Consumption Monitoring
Many savvy solar buyers want advanced system monitoring – and here’s why. However, in December the level of interest dropped back again to 62%; the lowest for some months. At its peak, around two-thirds were wanting this option.
Battery Ready PV Systems
22% registered their interest in a “battery-ready” PV system in December, the same level as in November. While practically all solar power systems are battery-ready, some are more so than others and indicating a desire for batteries down the track helps prospective installation companies in designing a system.
Solar + Concurrent Battery Installation
We saw the highest level of interest for some time in having a solar battery installed at the same time as solar panels, but not much higher – a bit over 6% (November 5%, October 5.6%, August/September 5.5%). Perhaps the threat of heat-related blackouts had a few more Australians thinking about storage.
Battery backup is a nice idea, but adding energy storage greatly increases the payback time of a system and a generator is probably better option for many Australians at this point in time from a financial point of view for what are (mostly) short interruptions to supply.
Battery Storage Capacity
Where prospective solar buyers were also wanting a battery and knew what they required in terms of capacity, the most popular size range was 5 – 10kWh at 49%; well up on November’s 41%. Next in line was 10kWh+ at 37% (41% in November) and then 1-5kWh at 14% (18% in November).
Note: NT is blank in the next couple of graphs as we saw no interest in a concurrent battery installation from the Northern Territory during December.
Primary Use For Battery
In December, near on 6% indicated backup was the primary intended application for a battery system (November, 4%). Close to 41% were focusing on minimising grid electricity consumption (same as November) while 53% were interested in a battery for both backup and minimising grid electricity use.
Quarterly Electricity Bills
Where electricity costs were known, 47% indicated bills of between $500 and $1,000 a quarter on average (48% in November and 50% in October). Just under 10% were paying more than $1,000 a quarter (11% in November and October).
About The auSSII
We compile the auSSII based on responses from Australians who submit their details to us for solar quotes matched to their requirements from up to three carefully-screened solar businesses we trust that are participating in the SolarQuotes network
Quality Solar Sales For Over A Decade
Solar quoting services come and go, but we’ve continued to grow due to our focus on providing quality sales leads to companies that put the customer first. Learn more about our solar sales lead service.
Reproducing auSSII Content
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About Michael Bloch
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