Guides for solar and battery homes
33 plain guides, each checked and dated. Pick what you need, then the question you're asking. Every guide is listed below, so nothing is hidden behind another click.
All 33 guides.
Battery and plan guides
You buy less in the evening. You send less at midday.
Plans and switchingVerified 16 October 2026
Should you switch plans after getting a battery?
What a battery changes, what a bill can and can't show, and how to tell if you should stay.
48 half hours a day. Two numbers in each.
Your meter and your billVerified 5 November 2026
How your smart meter records what you use and make
What the meter writes down every half hour, what it can and can't see, and where that record ends up.
Some plans pay far more, but only in the evening.
Plans and switchingVerified 2 November 2026
Best solar feed-in tariff in Queensland
What Queensland plans pay for your solar, and why the top rate can mislead.
More plans to pick from than any other state we cover.
Plans and switchingVerified 2 November 2026
Best solar feed-in tariff in New South Wales
What New South Wales plans pay for your solar, and why the top rate can mislead.
Every kWh you keep at home counts.
Plans and switchingVerified 2 November 2026
Best solar feed-in tariff in South Australia
What South Australia plans pay for your solar, and why the top rate can mislead.
All-day feed-in rates are low in Victoria.
Plans and switchingVerified 2 November 2026
Best solar feed-in tariff in Victoria
What Victoria plans pay for your solar, and why the top rate can mislead.
Four steps down: 8.4, 6.8, 5.7, 5.2.
Plans and switchingVerified 17 October 2026
The battery discount steps down in stages: which date counts?
The federal discount drops in steps. Which date sets yours, and what to ask your installer.
A battery doesn't always provide backup.
Your battery and the gridVerified 17 October 2026
Will your battery keep the lights on in a summer power cut?
Backup needs the right set-up. What gets power in a cut, and what to ask your installer.
4pm to 9pm on weekdays is a typical peak.
Plans and switchingVerified 17 October 2026
Why summer evenings can cost the most, and what a battery does about it
What a battery does in the evening peak, where it runs short, and how to read your summer bill.
1 January 2027: the discount steps down.
Plans and switchingVerified 17 October 2026
The 1 January 2027 battery rebate change: what it means for your plan
The discount steps down on 1 January 2027. What changes, what doesn't, and what it means for your plan.
The supply charge keeps adding up while you're away.
Plans and switchingVerified 17 October 2026
Going away with solar and a battery: what happens to your bill
What keeps running on your bill while you're away, and what to check before you leave.
Joining needs an ongoing connection.
Your battery and the gridVerified 17 October 2026
Virtual power plants in summer: what to ask before you join
What a virtual power plant (VPP) does with your battery, and what to ask before you join one.
Same months, last year and this year.
Your meter and your billVerified 17 October 2026
Is your battery saving you money? How to tell from your bills
How to compare bills from before and after the battery, and what can muddy the result.
Exports drop and the feed-in credit shrinks. Normal in the first month.
Your meter and your billVerified 16 October 2026
Your first bill after the battery: what to check
The lines worth reading, and the surprises that are normal in the first month.
11am to 2pm. The daily limit counts everything.
Plans and switchingVerified 16 October 2026
Free midday power with a battery
How free-hours plans work with a battery, the daily limit, and who they suit.
- Coming
Pool pump, hot water, heating and cooling, the car.
Moving your big loads
Moving your big loads: which ones move, and what it does to your bill
Pool pump, hot water, heating and cooling, the car. Which loads can move to cheap or free hours, and which can't.
- Coming
How the charger is metered, and what a car does to a home battery.
Electric cars at home
Charging an electric car at home: when to charge, and how it shows on your bill
Solar, free midday hours or overnight. How the charger is metered, and what a car does to a home battery.
- Coming
Feed-in rates have fallen.
Your battery and the grid
Export your solar for credit, or store it: which is better for your house
Feed-in rates have fallen. When storing for the evening beats exporting, and when it doesn't.
- Coming
Your battery keeps powering your home.
Your battery and the grid
Emergency Backstop: what it is, and what it does to your house
In a grid emergency your network can turn down what your solar sends out. Your battery keeps powering your home.
Meter data guides
Your smart meter records your power use every 30 minutes, and you can ask for a copy. New to it? Start with what the file is and the two ways to get it
Guides by retailer
- AGL
The two boxes to tick on AGL's form, and how long AGL aims to take.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Origin Energy
Origin now takes the request in My Account, or by phone. What to ask for, and a usage file to try first.
Verified 6 November 2026
- EnergyAustralia
What to ask EnergyAustralia for, and what you need from your bill.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Red Energy and Lumo Energy
There's no download button. What to ask on the phone, and the faster network route.
Verified 6 November 2026
- ENGIE
ENGIE has no form. What to ask for on the phone, word for word.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Momentum Energy
The PDF request form: the box to tick, and where to email it.
Verified 6 November 2026
Guides by network
- United Energy
South east Melbourne: add your property on myEnergy, then download the detailed report.
Verified 6 November 2026
- CitiPower and Powercor
Inner Melbourne and western Victoria: one myEnergy website, then the detailed report.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Jemena
Inner north and west Melbourne: the portal download, and the email route for the standard file.
Verified 6 November 2026
- AusNet Services
Eastern Victoria: the myHomeEnergy download, or the request form if it turns your meter away.
Verified 6 November 2026
- SA Power Networks
South Australia: register on the meter data website, pick Detailed, and download.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Ausgrid
Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter: the request form, and what must match your bill.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Endeavour Energy
South west Sydney and the Illawarra: the request form, which needs a copy of your bill.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Essential Energy
Regional New South Wales: the form, and the two boxes to tick if you have solar.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Energex
South east Queensland: the request form, and which report type to pick.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Ergon Energy
Regional Queensland: the same request form as Energex, step by step.
Verified 6 November 2026
- Every network portal and form
Each network's portal or form, the exact option to pick, and how long each one takes.
Verified 6 November 2026
About the file
- About your meter data file
What the file is, what to ask any retailer for, and why opening it in Excel breaks it.
Verified 26 July 2026