Price guide
How much does an off grid solar system cost in Victoria in 2026?
An off grid solar system for a Victorian home is priced after a site visit, because the battery and the generator decide the cost far more than the panels do. Below are three typical systems sized by our own tool for a Central Victorian winter, what moves the price up or down, and the rebates that apply.
Three typical systems
What a winter in Central Victoria asks for.
These are the sizes our sizing tool gives for three kinds of property, north facing panels, two nights of battery autonomy and a generator for the darkest weeks. They are the sizes we would start a design from, not a quote. One night of autonomy instead of two roughly halves the battery, and that is the biggest single lever on price.
| System | Daily use | Solar | Battery | Inverter | Generator | Installed cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekender or small cabin | 6 kWh | 4.5 kW | 15 kWh | 3 kW | 6 kVA | Priced after a site visit |
| Family home, all electric | 16 kWh | 11 kW | 40 kWh | 8 kW | 10 kVA | Priced after a site visit |
| Farm with sheds and pumps | 32 kWh | 22 kW | 80 kWh | 15 kW | 20 kVA | Priced after a site visit |
Sized with the method printed on the sizing tool page. Winter first, 82 percent whole of system efficiency, 25 percent solar margin, lithium at 90 percent depth of discharge.
What drives the price
Battery nights, winter sun and the long cable run.
Panels are the cheap part. The cost of an off grid system lives in storage, the inverter and the civil work, and each of these is a decision you make with us, not a fixed number.
- Nights of autonomy. Every extra night the battery has to carry is another battery bank. Most homes choose one or two and let the generator cover the darkest week.
- Winter yield. A Trentham June gives under two sun hours a day, so an array here is bigger than the same home would need in Mildura. Shading from gums cuts it further.
- Peak load and phases. A big workshop, a bore pump or three phase machinery moves the design to a larger inverter or a three phase inverter bank.
- The generator. Sized to run the house and charge the battery at once, with automatic start. A quality diesel unit is a real line in the quote.
- Where the array goes. A ground mount in a clear paddock costs more than a roof, and often out performs it. Long cable runs between the array, the shed and the house add up.
- Access and ground. Rock, slope and a long driveway change the civil work and how many days the crew is on site.
Rebates
What applies to an off grid home.
Solar Victoria's solar panel rebate is open to off grid homes that meet its other criteria, but the state battery rebate requires a grid connection, so it does not apply. The federal small scale certificates that discount every rooftop solar install in Australia apply to the panels on an off grid system too, and we claim them on your behalf in the quote.
What is in a quote
One price, the whole job.
Our quote covers the design on your real loads, every panel, battery, inverter, charge controller and the monitoring, the generator and its automatic start where you want one, the mounting and the cabling, the switchboard work, the electrical safety certificate and the inspection, commissioning and the handover of the monitoring. It is one fixed price after the site visit, with no supply charge ever after.
Start with the size, not the price.
The sizing tool gives you the array, battery, inverter and generator for your own loads in five minutes. Bring that to the site visit and the quote follows.
Questions
Asked about this, often.
- Why will nobody give me an off grid price over the phone?
- Because two homes with the same daily use can need very different systems. A shaded roof versus a clear paddock, one night of autonomy versus two, a workshop or no workshop, and a rock shelf under the array all move the price. The sizing tool gets you the size in five minutes; the site visit turns it into a price.
- Is lithium worth it over lead acid?
- Yes. Lithium costs more per kilowatt hour on the day and less over the life of the system: thousands of cycles, 90 percent usable, no maintenance, and it does not mind a partial charge through a grey week. Every system we design today is lithium.
- Can I stage the system to spread the cost?
- Yes, if it is designed for it from the start. Victron systems grow in steps: more panels on another charge controller, more battery modules, a second inverter in parallel. We size the cabling, the board and the enclosure for the final system so each stage is an addition, not a rebuild.
Sources
- Solar Victoria, solar panel rebate: off grid homes are eligible
- The sizing method, printed on our sizing tool page
Written by the Trentham Energy team. Figures without a source are our own sizing model or our own installs.
Tell us about the property.
Where it is, what is on it, and what you need to run. We will tell you honestly whether standalone power stacks up and what it would take.