How to Spot Dodgy Solar Sales Tactics (and Avoid Them)

Solar and batteries are a genuinely good deal for a lot of Australian households — but the sales industry around them has a reputation for a reason. Because we sell and install nothing, we see the quotes people bring us, and the same tactics come up again and again. Here's how to recognise them before you sign.

The pressure quote: "this price is only good today"

The oldest trick in the book. A salesperson quotes a figure, then tells you it expires tonight, or that there are only a few "subsidised" installs left in your postcode. A legitimate solar quote should be valid for at least a couple of weeks — equipment prices don't swing hour to hour.

Real deadlines do exist, but they're set by government schemes, not sales teams. For example, the federal Cheaper Home Batteries discount uses an STC factor of 6.8 per kWh that holds to 31 December 2026 and drops to around 5.7 per kWh on 1 January 2027, then steps down each half-year to 2030. That's a genuine, dated change — but it's months of warning, not "sign by midnight".

Rule of thumb: if the discount only exists if you sign right now, it was never a discount. Walk away and the "expired" price almost always comes back.

Fake or exaggerated "rebates"

Watch for quotes that bundle a vague "government rebate" into the headline price without naming the scheme. The main federal incentives are specific and nameable:

Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (STCs) — the upfront discount on rooftop solar and heat-pump hot water. It's already baked into any "after STC" price, so it shouldn't be presented as a separate bonus on top.
Cheaper Home Batteries — a federal STC-based discount of roughly 30% of battery cost on usable kWh, tiered since 1 May 2026 (100% of the factor on the first 14 kWh, 60% on 14–28 kWh, 15% on 28–50 kWh).

State and territory support varies enormously and some of it has closed. The Northern Territory's Home & Business Battery Scheme, for instance, is closed — its funding is exhausted — so anyone quoting you an NT battery grant on top of the federal program is quoting something that no longer exists. In the ACT, the Sustainable Household Scheme is a no-fee loan, not a cash rebate. Always ask which named scheme a "rebate" refers to, and confirm the current figure yourself before you believe it.

The oversized system

Bigger systems mean bigger commissions, so there's a built-in incentive to sell you more panels than your roof, your bill or your network connection can actually use.

A few things to sanity-check:

Export limits. Many single-phase homes are capped at exporting around 5 kW to the grid. A huge array that can't export its surplus is just spilling free energy you paid for.
Feed-in tariffs are low. Typical feed-in rates sit somewhere around 3–10 c/kWh and have trended down for years. The economics now favour using your solar, not exporting it — so an oversized system sized around generous export income rarely stacks up.
Your actual usage. If you're out all day and don't shift loads, a 13.2 kW system may just export cheaply at midday. Indicative prices sit roughly $4,000–$6,500 for 6.6 kW, $6,000–$10,000 for 10 kW and $7,500–$13,000 for 13.2 kW after STCs — paying for the top of that range only makes sense if you'll genuinely consume it.

The same applies to batteries. The federal discount tapers hard above 14 kWh and again above 28 kWh, so a very large battery costs a lot more per usable kWh of subsidy. Typical battery payback lands around 8 years — and a battery sized for a salesperson's commission rather than your consumption pattern pushes that out further.

Here's the honest catch

Sometimes the answer is that solar or a battery won't pay for you — at least not yet, not at that size, or not on your current tariff. If you're on a time-of-use plan with peak pricing roughly 2–8pm and you use very little power at home, the numbers can be marginal. A free midday power window like the federal Solar Sharer offer (live since 1 July 2026, 11am–2pm, up to a 24 kWh daily cap on eligible plans, where your retailer participates) might even deliver cheap daytime energy without you spending a cent on hardware.

No salesperson whose income depends on the sale is well placed to tell you that. That's the whole problem — and the whole reason independent advice exists.

Why independent advice pays for itself

A dodgy upsell can add thousands to a quote — an oversized array, an oversized battery, or gear you'll never recoup through a shrinking feed-in tariff. A fixed-fee engineered assessment costs a small, known amount and is designed to answer one question honestly: what actually makes sense for your roof, your bill and your household — including "nothing, for now". When the alternative is being talked into a five-figure system you half-need, the maths tends to look after itself.

We don't sell panels, batteries or installs — so our only job is to tell you the truth, even when the truth is "don't buy yet". That's what independence buys you: advice with no quota behind it.

Want to know what actually pays for your place?

Get an independent, engineered read on your whole bill — solar, battery, tariff and the rebates you're really entitled to — for a small fixed fee. No system to sell, no sales call.

Start your audit — $100

Figures in this guide are current at the date of publication and indicative only — rebate and certificate values change over time (federal battery certificates step down each January and July), and state schemes are amended often. Confirm the current numbers for your situation before you commit. This is general information, not personal financial advice.