Tool · Real 2026 FiT + tariff data
Solar battery payback calculator
Work out the actual payback period on a home battery using your state's real feed-in tariff, real peak/off-peak electricity prices and the federal Cheaper Home Batteries rebate. No lead form, no email gate.
★Key takeaways
- ✓2026 FiT ranges: NSW 5-8c, VIC 3.3-7c, QLD 4-12c, SA 0-8c, WA 2-10c (DEBS), TAS ~9.4c, ACT 6-10c, NT ~9.13c. Always cross-check on Energy Made Easy.
- ✓Daytime export now pays ~10% of what retail electricity costs. The case for a battery is built on self-consumption (saving 30-44c/kWh), not on the export rate.
- ✓Federal Cheaper Home Batteries rebate (1 July 2025) cuts ~30% off installed cost, bringing typical payback from 9-11 years down to 6-9 years.
- ✓A right-sized battery for most homes is 10-13.5kWh (Tesla Powerwall 3, BYD Battery-Box, Sungrow SBH). Oversizing past your daily self-consumption capacity wastes money.
- ✓Backup during a blackout is an extra config item, not a default. Add the backup gateway in the quote if it matters to you.
Calculator
Estimate your battery payback in years
Inputs default to a typical Sydney household with an existing solar system. Adjust to match your situation. Output assumes the federal Cheaper Home Batteries rebate applies and that the battery cycles once per day on average.
Check your retailer app: 90-day average export kWh / 90 days.
Net battery cost
$12,000
after federal rebate
Annual saving
$1,500
vs export at FiT
Payback period
8.0 yrs
indicative, no VPP income
Maths used: annual saving = min(battery kWh, daily export kWh) x 365 x (peak rate - FiT) / 100. Payback = net cost / annual saving. Excludes VPP income, electricity-rate inflation, battery degradation, blackout-cover value.
2026 feed-in tariff reference
Real FiT ranges by state
These ranges are compiled from retailer published plans and state-regulator determinations. The rate on your bill depends on your retailer and your specific plan. Compare with the official tool at energymadeeasy.gov.au before treating any rate as locked in.
| State | Typical 2026 FiT | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 5-8c | Voluntary retailer FiT. IPART benchmark 4.9-6.3c; most retailers 5-8c flat. Time-varying plans pay more for solar exported in peak windows. | IPART solar FiT benchmark |
| VIC | 3.3-7c | Essential Services Commission minimum rate ~3.3c (early 2026); most retailers offer 4-7c flat. Time-varying option pays peak/shoulder/off-peak. | ESC Victoria minimum FiT |
| QLD | 4-12c | No mandatory rate (regional Ergon ~7-13c, SEQ retailers 4-10c). Some retailers offer higher first-tier ceiling (e.g. first 5kWh/day at 12c). | QCA + retailer plans |
| SA | 0-8c | No mandatory rate. Several retailers now offer 0c (or negative) FiT during midday solar oversupply. Time-varying plans pay 8-15c in evening export windows. | AER SA reference price |
| WA | 2-10c | Synergy DEBS scheme: 2.5c off-peak / 10c peak (3pm-9pm). Horizon Power varies by town. | Synergy DEBS / Horizon Power |
| TAS | ~9.4c | Aurora Energy mandated single FiT; one of the more stable rates in the country. | Tasmanian Economic Regulator |
| ACT | 6-10c | No mandatory rate. ActewAGL + other retailers 6-10c flat. | ICRC + retailer plans |
| NT | ~9.13c | Jacana Energy mandated rate (declines if system > 30kW). | NT Government FiT |
Tariff reference
Average peak / off-peak electricity rates
| State | Peak (c/kWh) | Off-peak (c/kWh) | Daily supply ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 38 | 22 | $1.30 |
| VIC | 32 | 18 | $1.15 |
| QLD | 30 | 19 | $1.10 |
| SA | 44 | 26 | $1.40 |
| WA | 31 | 31 | $1.10 |
| TAS | 30 | 18 | $1.10 |
| ACT | 27 | 17 | $1.00 |
Indicative residential single-rate or two-rate plan averages, early 2026. AER Default Market Offer and state-specific reference prices are the authoritative benchmarks. Source: aer.gov.au Default Market Offer determinations.
Where the maths breaks
When a battery does not pay back
You export less than 8kWh/day
If midday solar is mostly self-consumed (running pool pump, AC, hot water timed for midday), there is little excess to fill the battery with. A battery cannot save you money on power you weren't going to export. Look at the retailer app for daily export kWh before quoting.
You use little electricity in the evening
If the house is empty after 6pm or evening use is minimal, you do not capture the high peak rate benefit. The battery still cycles in shoulder rates but the dollar arbitrage is much smaller.
Plan to move within 5 years
Solar adds resale value modestly (~$1-$3 per watt installed in CoreLogic data); batteries add far less because buyers do not yet price them in. If the timeline to sale is short, the unrecovered cost lands on you, not the buyer.
Your retailer offers excellent time-varying FiT
If a peak-window export tariff already pays 12-18c (e.g. Synergy DEBS evening rate, or premium SA time-varying FiT), the gap between export and self-consumption is smaller and the battery payback stretches.
Common questions
Battery payback questions
Why are feed-in tariffs so much lower than they were?
Daytime solar generation across Australia is now so abundant that the wholesale electricity price during the middle of the day is often near zero or negative. Retailers paying you a high FiT for exports made at near-zero wholesale prices would lose money. Several SA and VIC retailers now offer 0c FiT (or negative rates with caps) during the worst oversupply windows. The economics have shifted permanently from "export at high tariff" to "self-consume + battery-shift to evening".
Is a battery worth it in 2026?
For most owner-occupiers using more than 18kWh/day with a solar system already installed: yes, post the federal Cheaper Home Batteries rebate. The numbers are tightest in WA (Synergy DEBS already shifts solar to evening export windows) and in homes with low evening usage. Worst case: 10-12 year payback with the rebate, comfortably inside the 10-year battery warranty. Best case: 6-8 years.
How long do batteries actually last?
Most lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries are warranted to 10 years and ~6,000-10,000 cycles to 70% capacity retention. Real-world cycling is usually one full cycle per day, so the cycle count is rarely the binding constraint. NMC batteries (Tesla Powerwall 2) have shorter rated lives. Expect to replace the inverter once during the battery lifespan if it is a separate unit.
Does a battery let me run off-grid during a blackout?
Only if specifically configured for backup. Most battery installs default to grid-parallel mode, which legally disconnects from the grid (and your panels) during a blackout for grid-worker safety. To run the house during a blackout you need backup-ready wiring, a backup gateway (Tesla Backup Gateway, Sigenergy Hub) and the inverter configured for island mode. Add ~$1,500-$3,000 to the install.
What is a Virtual Power Plant and should I join one?
A VPP aggregates many home batteries and dispatches them as a single resource into the wholesale market or for grid-frequency services. The retailer pays you for the kWh discharged from your battery, typically much more than a normal FiT. Net effect: faster payback by 1-3 years. Trade-off: you lose some battery cycles for general household use, and a poorly-designed VPP can cycle the battery harder than is warranted. Check the cycle-limit clause before signing.
Should I oversize the battery or get more solar?
For most households the answer is more solar first, then a right-sized battery. A 13kW system + 10kWh battery beats a 6.6kW system + 15kWh battery for total household self-sufficiency in nearly every scenario, because the battery only matters if you have enough excess midday solar to fill it. Use the system-size calculator first.