How much do solar panels cost in 2026?

Most New Zealand homes pay between $8,500 and $20,000 for a rooftop solar system, fully installed. A battery adds another $5,000 to $15,000 on top.

In 2026 the average install has grown as households electrify heating and add EVs. The average new residential system is now around 8 kW of inverter capacity, which carries roughly 9.5–10 kW of panels and lands near $18,000–$19,000 fully installed, GST included.

For the most accurate price for your own home, short of a detailed installer quote, use the Easy Solar app for a personalised read on whether rooftop solar is a fit for your home.

This guide is the context behind that number: what pushes the price up or down, what a battery actually adds, what a fair quote should include, and how the cost stacks up against what you'll save, equipping you to make an educated decision about solar for your home.

Cost by system size

Bigger systems cost more in total but less per kilowatt, since the install labour, scaffolding, inverter and grid connection are largely fixed and spread across more panels. EECA's reference prices, by panel size, are a fair yardstick to check a quote against:

How big a system you need is the main lever on price, with newer panels delivering more power and costing less, kiwis are opting for bigger systems. The average across NZ's existing rooftop solar is 5.6 kW. But new installs have outgrown that: the average new residential system is now around 8 kW (Electricity Authority, EMI, 2026).

Read that 8 kW carefully: it's inverter capacity, panel capacity is deliberately oversized for the best efficiency, so a typical new system carries ~9.5–10 kW of panels. That sits near the 10 kW mark, running at around ~$18,000–$19,000.

To find the right size for your home and usage use the Easy Solar app.

What drives the price

• System size

  The single biggest factor. More panels means more generation and a higher total, but a lower cost per kW.
• Roof type and access

  A simple single-storey roof with good access is cheapest. Steep pitches, multiple roof faces, tile roofs or two-storey homes add labour and scaffolding.
• Panel & inverter quality

  Budget hardware lowers the upfront price but can cost more over 25 years in lost output and earlier replacement. The inverter is the part most likely to need replacing first.
• Battery (optional)

  The biggest single add-on. See below.
• Electrical work

  An older switchboard may need upgrading before the system can be connected.

What a battery adds

A battery banks your daytime generation for use after dark. It's a sizeable extra outlay, though, and on the maths it typically pushes your payback further out, not in. Here's roughly how a typical ~8 kW system compares:

A battery adds roughly $5,000 to $15,000 depending on size. For most households the return is strongest with panels alone. A battery earns its keep when your evening and overnight use is high and can't shift into daylight hours, or when you want power that rides through a grid outage. Weigh that extra cost against how much night-time power you'd genuinely shift before committing.

Ongoing costs

The upfront price is most of the story. Solar is close to set-and-forget. The panels last around 25–30 years with very little upkeep. In most of the country rain does the cleaning for you; an occasional wash is plenty, and you'd only pay a contractor if your roof is too steep or high to reach safely.

The one part you should plan to replace is the inverter, usually after about 10–15 years, at a cost of a few thousand dollars depending on type and size. It's worth folding that into your lifetime sums rather than treating the install price as the total cost.

Tell your home insurer once the system is in, too. Rooftop solar is treated as part of the house and is normally covered by your existing home policy, but insurers want it on record and may nudge up your sum insured to account for it. Any change to your premium is usually small or nothing, but confirm it rather than assume.

What a fair quote should include

A genuine, all-in quote isn't just panels on a roof. Before you compare prices, check that each quote includes:

• Panels: make, model, wattage, and number
• Inverter: make, model, and capacity (and whether it's hybrid/battery-ready)
• Mounting and installation: labour, racking, and any scaffolding
• Grid connection: application to your lines company and the export meter
• GST: the price should state whether it's included (EECA's figures are)
• Warranties: panels (product warranty usually 10+ years, performance warranty often 25), inverter (5+ years for a string inverter, 10+ for microinverters), battery (10+ years), and the installer's workmanship warranty (at least 5 years)

If two quotes look far apart, it's almost always down to system size, panel and inverter quality, or roof complexity, not because one installer is ripping you off. A cheap quote with budget hardware can cost more over the system's life, so compare what's included line by line, not just the bottom-line price.

Financing it

You don't have to fund it all from savings. Every major NZ bank now runs a home energy loan at 0–1% interest that covers solar, typically structured as a small mortgage top-up. With a rate that low against panels that keep generating for 25+ years, you'll usually clear the loan long before the system stops paying its way. Read the terms and get independent advice if anything's unclear.

Either way, there's normally a deposit of 10–30% to secure your install once you sign off the quote, with the rest payable after it's in and certified.

Are there subsidies or rebates?

Worth knowing up front: not really. New Zealand has no national subsidy, grant or rebate for home solar, so the prices above are what you actually pay. There's no government discount to knock off the top.

What does exist is cheap finance. Alongside the bank home energy loans above, a growing number of councils are looking at rates-based schemes that let you spread the cost across your rates bill (the proposed Ratepayer Assistance Scheme is the best-known), though availability still varies by council, so check what yours offers. And if anyone selling you solar implies there's a government rebate to claim, treat it as a red flag.

The bottom line

Price is only half the picture; what counts is the return on investment.

By installing solar panels you are locking in the cheapest energy a kiwi can buy for the next 25 years. Once the system is paid back the savings stack up quickly. For a well-matched system that's typically 7–10 years, and panels are warrantied for around 25, so most of the system's life is effectively free power.

A 5 kW system saves an average NZ home at least $1,000 a year no matter where you are in the country.

Even if you don't stay in the home for 25 years it lifts resale value: a 2025 NZ study, Power in the pitch, found homes with solar sold with an average 1.34% premium.

Don't forget the other very real benefits, ask yourself:

• Do you want the lights to stay on in an outage?
• Do you want to be protected from the next big energy shock?
• Do you want to hedge against continually rising electricity costs?

For most Kiwi homes, the numbers stack up. But the only figure that really matters is your own: get a personalised read on the right system size, cost and payback for your roof with the Easy Solar app. No sales call, no commission.

Common questions