Back in 2007, $8,000 would get you 1 kW of solar panels on your roof. Today, Aldi is promising 6 kW of panels AND a 4.6 kWh (usable) battery installed for the same money. We’re watching something I call the ‘Aldification of Solar’ – the race by giant retailers to slap a discount tag on what used to be a specialist service.
While Aldi are dipping into low-cost electrical installs, Bunnings now offer EV charger hookups ‘starting at $699’.
Welcome to 2025, where you can grab a licensed electrical installation with your sausage sizzle.
Everybody Loves A Bargain
Look, I’m not here to mock low prices. Who doesn’t love grabbing a discounted cordless drill at Bunnings? For a specific model, you get the same warranty and performance, whether you paid top dollar or got it half price.
Same with basic foodstuffs. Years ago, I worked in a UK factory where flour for high-end supermarkets and flour for discount shops ran through the same bagging machine.
One morning, someone would load the machine with boutique packaging which sold for an arm and a leg; the next, it was a discount supermarket bag sold at a fraction of the cost (6p per bag of flour if I remember right). As far as I could tell, the contents didn’t change.
But while plain white flour is flour – no matter the bag – compliant electrical installations can look the same on a quotation yet hide big differences in long-term quality.
Solar Is Not The Same As A Bag Of Flour
Australian Standards often contain ‘shall’ and ‘should’ clauses. ‘Shall’ is strict: do it, or it’s legally non-compliant. ‘Should’ is more of a best-practice tip.
Take the Australian Standard for Solar Installs: AS/NZ 5033. Section 2.2.2 says the installer should allow for thermal expansion between panels, but I’ve lost count of how many solar panels I’ve seen jammed right against each other.
That might still technically be installed to code, but it’s not great for the system’s longevity, and it’s a perfect example of where ‘good enough’ might not be good enough over time.
With solar or EV charging, there’s a team climbing on your roof, modifying your meter box, and deciding how to run cables through your forever home. Skill, attention to detail, and an eye for aesthetics don’t always come cheap.
So by all means, grab your flour from Aldi, pick up a drill from Bunnings, and save a dollar where you can. But when it comes to hooking your million-dollar house1 to the sun or your $60,000 EV to your house, take a moment to ask: is price your only criteria?
If you do choose the budget option, please do your homework on the contracting entity checking for any unresolved 1-star reviews online. If the big box retailer won’t divulge the installer’s details on the quote – I reckon that’s a big red flag.
Phase Shift is a new weekly opinion column by SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock, published on the SolarQuotes blog every Saturday morning.
Footnotes
- In September 2024, the average price reached a new high of $985,900 ↩
About Finn Peacock
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Just adding my 2 cents on reviews i find it’s often best to exclude both 1 and 5 stars and look at the rest when possible as those 2 spots are the ones that get inundated with bots and fake reviews.
Finn,
I have been advocating for some time that any EV charger permanently installed should be OCPP compliant. This is the case in SA I think, but not mandated in other states?
Finn Peacock, back in 2011 I was guided by you and I installed my first 1.5 Kws of rooftop solar. At that point my buy tariff was 19c per Kw and my feed-in tarrif was 60c pr Kw, 45c guaranteed by the government until 2026. Great, it seemed like a good deal. That first 1.5 Kws cost me $3,000 but at least it got rid of my summer power bills and got some relief during winter.
But ever since that time either the government or power providers have moved the goalposts to make sure I can not actually take advantage of this great deal that I signed up to. I now have 6Kws of solar on my roof and I am still faced with $1100 per quarter power bills and yet everyone tells me I have to spend yet more of my money on a battery to actually get any advantage from my $7,000 investment.
Would I have signed up to a deal back in 2011 where my Kw buy price was 48c and my feed-in tariff was 1.85c……absolutely no way!!!! I have been screwed, royally!
If I could have my time over again there is no way on gods earth I would sign up to solar, I would have put that money into making my property energy efficient with double glazing and improving insulation where I at least know what I can depend on year after year, not what some smart salesman tells me is the deal of a lifetime!
Sorry but I am seriously not a happy solar customer!
Hi Robin,
My first 3kW of solar cost $12,000 so you’ve done well considering premium tariffs were designs to establish a new industry when the technology was expensive.
If you’ve got an extra 6kW for $7,000 you have also done well.
The key to solar is using energy when it’s available, timing your consumption to daylight hours.
Batteries are expensive but electric storage hot water is cheap, so is a new Nissan Leaf with 40kW battery & 10 year warranty for $35,000.
Efficiency is always a no brainer.
Yes, I agree. $11k for 10kwh in 2024, and now $0 FiT in Vic, my ROI is now close to 10 years, and probably by then 10 to 15 years I’ll need to replace the panels and inverter. Let’s hope price of batteries drop dramatically. All in all probably no better off with solar on the roof vs. 100% via the grid in 20 years time.
Fed Gov’t should have invested in national renewable farms longer before they did.