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.
The same week with nobody home
What this means for you
Being away cuts the usage charge. The supply charge keeps adding up every day you are connected.
A few weeks away over summer leaves your home using very little power while your panels keep working. Here is what that does to your bill and what to check before you go. This guide is about your plan and your bill. For how to set your battery while you are away, ask your installer or check your battery app.
In short
While you are away, the supply charge keeps adding up and the usage charge falls. Your panels keep working, the battery usually fills first, and the rest goes out to the grid. Check any pay-on-time discount before you leave, and don't judge your plan from the bill that covers your trip.
What keeps running on your bill
- The supply charge. It pays for being connected, even if you use no power. It keeps adding up while you are away.
- The usage charge falls. That part of the bill depends on how much power you use, so an empty house adds very little.
What your solar and battery do
- The battery usually fills first. With nobody home, your panels still make power. A battery stores what the house doesn't use. Once it is full, the extra usually goes out to the grid.
- Exports earn a credit only if your plan has a feed-in rate. The credit shows on your bill. Feed-in rates are usually much lower than the rate you pay to buy power.
- An export limit can waste some. If your connection has an export limit, solar above that limit is lost and earns no credit.
- A virtual power plant (VPP) may still use your battery. If you joined one, the operator controls your battery for some or all of the time. Joining needs an ongoing internet connection, so check with your installer before you switch off your home internet.
Keep in mind
Whether solar is lost while you are away depends on your connection. If it has an export limit, solar above the limit earns no credit. Your installer can tell you whether yours has one.
Check before you leave
- Conditional discounts. A pay-on-time discount only applies if you pay on time. If a bill will land while you are away, pay it early or ask your retailer about automatic payment.
- Benefit periods. A discount that lasts for a set time, such as the first 12 months, ends on its end date. Check when yours does.
The bill after you get back
- Step 1
Upload your bill
We read what you pay now, exactly, from your own bill.
- Step 2
We price every plan in your area
Every plan in the government's open plan data, priced on your use.
- Step 3
Stay or Switch
If staying put is the better plan, that is what the report says.
The bill that covers your trip is not a normal month. You will buy far less power than usual and may send more out. Don't judge your battery or your plan from it. When you check a plan, start from a bill that looks like normal life at home. PowerLens reads the usage and billing period from your bill, and you can add more bills to cover more of your year. Your report says which bills it used.
Not sure whether your plan still suits you? Here is how to tell. Or start with a recent bill. PowerLens says Stay or Switch. Stay is free in full. If it says Switch, you pay once to see the plan's name. For time-based plans you can add your meter data file (NEM12), the detailed usage record from your smart meter, later. It's free.
Where to check the details
Read next
Check your own plan
Upload your bill and we price every plan in your area against it.
- The check is free. You only pay if we find you a better plan.
- Retailers never pay us.
- Your bill file is deleted once we've read it.