Solar installation prices - Updated April 2026
Solar panel installation labour prices.
The labour component works out at 35 cents per watt.
Therefore if you have 21 x 475W panels installed that is 9975 watts * $0.35 = $3,491
That price includes the DC cable from panels to inverter as well as earth cable.
Roof fixings prices for solar panels.
'Fixings' comprise quite a lot of different things.
(1) The long aluminium rails that the panels are fixed to.
(2) The clamps that fix the panels to that rail.
(3) The metal or tile roof 'feet' that fix everything to the roof.
(4) Earthing the panels using lugs and specialised washers.
For a regular metal/colorbond roof, fixings are $33 per panel
For a tile roof fixings are $10 a panel more.
Inverter installation.
It depends on the power class and phase of the inverter.
Small 5kW inverters are usually about $400 to install.
10kW use larger current carrying cable and breakers and are usually about $600 to install.
15kW inverters, again, usually larger cable and breakers and $800 to install.
Battery installation.
Most 'single stack' batteries cost about $1,800 to install.
If there is a second stack then that usually adds another $800.
Backup during grid outages.
Just because you have a battery, doesn't mean you have 'backup' power during grid outages.
Some inverters have a separate backup box or 'Gateway' option (Sigenergy, Tesla, iStore and others)
These usually cost about $2,000 for the box including installation.
However, regulations with these 'whole house' backup solutions can mean significant extra cost.
Every circuit in the house switchboard, and any sub-boards needs to have Type A RCD protection.
That means oven, AC and other circuits that previously had zero protection must not have Type A RCDs.
It also means that older type AC RCDs that might be protecting the other circuits have to be replaced.
Other inverters have no backup Gateway, instead incorporating the switching gear internally (Fox, Goodwe, Alpha, Sungrow etc)
This almost always means that the backup they provide is 'essential loads' like lights and outlets only, not whole house.
Installation costs for this are usually about $1,300 plus the RCD upgrade costs, but only for the backed up circuits.
This link explains the RCD situation more.
Double Storey houses
It is becoming increasingly common for solar installers to refuse to do any double storey work.
It used to be about $500 surcharge, then it went to $1,000, then $2,000 and now it's a flat 'no'.
Our guys won't do them.
It's mostly about TIME, not safety, although safety does come into it as well.
Double storey installs typically take twice as long to complete compared to single storey.
That usually means a 1.5 to 2 day job for a crew instead of a 1 day job.
Installers either surcharge for an extra day, which can be $5,000 (or more), or refuse entirely.
Few people are likely to accept $5,000 extra, so it is simpler just to say 'sorry, no can do'.
Not everyone refuses double storey work or wants $5,000 more to do it.
You just have to shop around until you find someone.
Best way to open a discussion about getting a quote for solar/battery is "I have a double storey roof..."
The conversation may end right there, but at least everyone's time has been saved.
Take downs of existing solar panels and inverters.
It's not a favourite job of installers.
$30 a panel take down fee. (including removing fixings and old cable and isolators.)
Once upon a time we paid people $20 for their panels but those days have long gone.
So many panels coming down, they are either going to the tip or to Tony...
Tony (0402726980) scoops up our take-down panels and inverters and puts them in a container.
They travel to Africa for a second life.
He does this service for free, usually the day after our new installation, and we thank him hugely
He makes his living doing this and saves us/you tip fees plus it recycles usually perfectly good gear.
Western Power's 'equipment approval' rules prohibit your old solar from being re-installed on someone else's roof...
...unless it is for fully 'off-grid' use, in which case, they have no jurisdiction.
Other installation charges
Inverter energy meters that measure house loads, typically $200 to $400.
More than two 'arrays' of panels, $150 per additional array.
Travel in theory beyond 50km is up to $3 per km.
At time of writing, we are just getting started with a war in the middle East.
I suspect that will mean our installation area will shrink as fuel prices rise and fuel availability tightens.
Prices are up...way up.
I was aware that installation prices have gone up quite a lot since July 2025.
Writing this as i refer to contractor price lists, I am a bit shocked by how much they have gone up.
I'll spare you my full rant about the WA Government battery rebate announcement 5 months before the rebate started.
How that premature announcement killed WA solar (and battery) installs for five months as buyers delayed to get the rebate.
How 30% (at least) of electricians in WA quit/were fired during that time and many never returned.
Little wonder since July 2025 with so few installers, and so much demand, that installers are making hay.
This ill-conceived war against Iran is only going to push prices higher.
If you would like a solar quotation done by Nathan and Jack, the best solar professionals in Perth, then call us on...
or email
This review was written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.
Solar4Ever is located in Morley (Perth), WA 6062
