Calculating Your Home Battery Rebate — The Easy Way

Forget the mental gymnastics. Here’s the super-simple way to estimate how much federal government rebate you can get on whatever eligible home battery you’re interested in.

How To Calculate Your Solar Battery Rebate — Fast

The SolarQuotes federal battery rebate calculator has been updated to reflect recent changes to the Cheaper Home Batteries Program (CHBP).

Here’s how to use it:

1. Select the battery you’re interested in. If a system isn’t noted, just select “my battery isn’t listed” and then add its useable capacity in the form field that will appear.
2. Select the *installation* (not purchase) date range. The level of subsidy is partly based on installation date, not the date the system is ordered or contract signed.
3. Hit “calculate rebate”.

That’s it!

The following screen provides the estimate. In this example, I’ve chosen a Sungrow SBR HV 16 kWh as the system to be installed during the January to April 2026 timeframe.

From the calculate results page, you can restart the calculator to try another battery, or request obligation-free, detailed quotes from SolarQuotes approved installers. If you should choose one of those quotes, the work will be backed by the unique SolarQuotes Good Installer Guarantee that provides valuable additional peace of mind.

What’s The “STC Slider”?

At the top of the calculator’s results page, you’ll see a slider allowing you to change the “STC” price. STC stands for Small-scale Technology Certificate, virtual bits of paper with a tradeable value on which the rebate is based; subject to a multiplier that reduces as time goes on. The formula for the rebate is basically:

Battery useable capacity x STC multiplier x $40

Under the CHBP, a single STC has a fixed value of $40. The number of certificates accompanying a system will vary depending on the system’s useable capacity and date of installation; the latter dictating the STC multiplier applicable at the time.

However, the $40 per certificate is before STC processing admin fees and charges that will vary according to the provider. We estimate those fees to generally be up to $4 per certificate, and at that level brings the rebate value to $36 per STC. You can adjust the slider for different admin charge scenarios.

Note that the rebate value result will be an estimate. For more detailed results including estimated electricity bill savings and simple payback period based on your household energy usage, try our Add Battery Calculator (most accurate) or Solar & Battery Calculator. Both tools will be updated shortly (if not already by the time you read this) to factor in the rebate rate that applies for installations occurring from January to the end of April 2026.

Why Is The CHBP Rebate Changing?

The Cheaper Home Batteries Program rebate is changing in response to its massive popularity since formally launched in July this year to ensure it can continue to the scheme’s originally intended end date in 2030. While it was always subject to scheduled reductions and other changes depending on uptake, under the previous original settings and funding levels — and without intervention — it may have run out as early as June 2026.

While the rebate will reduce faster and more often, it will still be very generous and more Australian households will get the opportunity to install a subsidised solar battery than under its original settings. That’s good news for everyone; even those who don’t install a system as more batteries will mean increased benefits for the broader electricity system.

Other Useful Home Battery Tools On SolarQuotes

Buying a battery is an important decision; one that shouldn’t be rushed into as you’ll be living with it for a long time. A wide range of related tools and guides are available on SolarQuotes to help ensure you get a system that best suits your needs and circumstances; including:

• Our comprehensive home battery guide — brands, side-by-side model comparison table, recommendations, estimated costs, payback, installation and much more.
• “101” guides – detailed plain-English advice on understanding, buying and owning a solar battery system.
• Battery reviews – Australian customer reviews and ratings of batteries from dozens of brands, along with company details.
• Top 10 best solar battery brands according to those customer reviews + estimated costs, pros and cons. Leaderboard regularly updated.
• Understanding and comparing Virtual Power Plant (VPP) programs.

Also check out our other useful tools and calculators for current and prospective Australian solar power system owners.