Battery Booster — Queensland battery rebate
QLD's targeted battery rebate, currently $3,000 for most households and $4,000 for households earning under $66,667. Restarted in 2024 with fresh funding.
CEC — Clean Energy Council
Australia's solar industry body. CEC accreditation is mandatory for installers and required for products to qualify for federal rebates. Always check your installer is CEC-accredited before signing.
DEBS — Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme
WA's regulated solar feed-in scheme. Pays 2.25 c/kWh off-peak and 10 c/kWh during peak (3pm–9pm). Replaced the older Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme. Time-of-export pricing makes batteries especially valuable in WA.
DNSP — Distribution Network Service Provider
Your local electricity network operator — the company that owns the poles and wires (different from your retailer). You need DNSP approval to connect solar; your installer handles this. Examples: Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy (NSW); CitiPower, Powercor (VIC); Energex, Ergon (QLD); Synergy, Horizon (WA).
Empowering Homes — NSW battery loan scheme
NSW's interest-free loan for solar + battery, up to $14,000, repayable over 8 years. Income-tested ($180,000/yr cap). Open to owner-occupiers in most NSW LGAs.
FIT — Feed-in tariff
The per-kWh rate your electricity retailer pays you for solar power you export to the grid. Varies by state and retailer; typical rates in 2026 range from 4c/kWh (VIC minimum) to 13c/kWh (some QLD retailers, capped).
Inverter clipping — DC oversize penalty
When your panels produce more DC power than your inverter can convert. AC output is capped at the inverter's rating, and the excess is 'clipped' (lost). Common with 6.6 kW of panels on a 5 kW inverter — a legitimate setup designed to maximise STCs (which are calculated on inverter capacity) without much real-world loss.
kW vs kWh — Power vs energy
kW (kilowatt) is the rate of power, like the size of your tap. kWh (kilowatt-hour) is the energy, like the volume of water that flowed. A 6.6 kW system at full sun produces 6.6 kWh in one hour. A 13.5 kWh battery can store enough energy to run a 1 kW load for 13.5 hours.
Microinverter — Per-panel inverter
Instead of one central inverter for the whole array, microinverters put a small inverter on each panel. More expensive upfront but performs better on shaded or split-orientation roofs because each panel produces independently.
Net metering — Single import-export meter
A meter that records your net import and export separately. Required for any modern solar install. Replaces the older 'gross metering' setup where solar generation was metered separately from household consumption.
Payback period — Time to break even
How long it takes for your solar savings to repay the out-of-pocket cost of the system. Typical Australian payback is 3–5 years for panels-only, 6–10 years if you add a battery.
PDRS — Peak Demand Reduction Scheme
NSW state scheme that pays up to $1,600 for installing a home battery, applied as a point-of-sale discount. Stacks with the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program.
Self-consumption — Solar used onsite
The portion of your solar generation that you use yourself rather than exporting to the grid. Higher self-consumption = more savings, because import rates (35c/kWh) are higher than feed-in rates (4–13c/kWh). Batteries push self-consumption up to 80–90% from a typical 30%.
Smart meter — Type 4 meter
An advanced meter that records electricity use in 5- or 30-minute intervals and reports back to your retailer remotely. Required for time-of-use tariffs. Most new solar installs are paired with a smart meter upgrade.
Solar Homes — Victorian rebate program
Solar Victoria's flagship rebate scheme. Currently offers $1,400 off solar panels for owner-occupiers earning under $210,000/yr, plus an optional matching interest-free loan, plus an $8,800 battery loan, plus a $1,000 hot water rebate. Stack with federal STC for the full picture.
STC — Small-scale Technology Certificate
A federal tradable certificate. Every CEC-accredited solar system generates STCs, which translate to an upfront rebate on your invoice. One certificate = roughly 1 MWh of expected generation over the scheme's remaining life. Currently worth around $38 each on the open market.
STC Zone — Federal solar zone rating
Australia is split into four STC zones based on latitude. Zone 1 (NT) gives 1.622 STCs per kW. Zone 4 (Tasmania) gives 1.092. Your zone determines your federal STC rebate.
String inverter — Central inverter
The standard inverter setup. One inverter converts DC from all panels into AC. Cheaper and more common, but shading on one panel can drag down the whole string's output.
TOU — Time-of-use pricing
An electricity tariff that charges different rates at different times of day. Peak (4pm–9pm) is most expensive, off-peak (10pm–6am) is cheapest. Households with batteries can charge off-peak and discharge during peak to save money.
VPP — Virtual Power Plant
A network of home batteries that a third party can remotely dispatch to support the grid during peak demand. You can opt in for higher feed-in credits or one-off payments, but enrolment is optional under the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program (the battery just has to be VPP-capable).