Solar panel installations go on the roof and through the roof
From overcast Victoria to sunny Queensland and beyond, the number of homes going solar is soaring.
Queenslanders are harnessing their state’s most abundant resource, accounting for half of Australia’s top 10 locations adopting solar power as electricity prices soar.
Bundaberg in regional Queensland had the most solar uptake for 2023, according to data from Solar Analytics.
It was followed by Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne, Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Marsden Park in Sydney and Hervey Bay in Queensland.
Mackay and Toowoomba in Queensland, Cranbourne in Melbourne, Mandurah in WA and the suburb of Kellyville in Sydney rounded out the top 10.
More than 191,000 households installed solar panels in 2023 for an average saving of more than $1400, the solar comparison site said.
Families are jumping onto the solar trend as their electricity costs soar by as much as 30 per cent, Solar Analytics chief executive Stefan Jarnason said.
Rising electricity prices also mean it’s taking less time for families to pay off their rooftop solar investment with payback periods as short as three years.
“Typically the types of households jumping on solar this year are those in larger homes that want to be able to run their air conditioning and appliances during the day but not see the effects on their electricity bills,” Mr Jarnason said
“They see solar as a way of being able to live comfortably but saving money at the same time.”
One in three Australian homes now have rooftop solar.
-AAP