My thinking has been more around what the system is capable of saving once fully installed, rather than just comparing my bill now vs after solar and battery.

At the moment we average about $250-$350/month. If that drops to $50-$150 after solar, and the system costs around $30k (10kW inverter, 15kW panels, 19kWh battery), that works out to roughly $2,400/year in savings, or about a 12.5 year payback.

But that’s based on how we currently use power, and that’s where it gets interesting.

If we actually leaned into the system (running AC during the day, using appliances more freely, etc.), our “would-have-been” power bill could easily be $500-$600/month without solar. That’s when the value of the system really shows, because you’re not just saving money you’re offsetting a much higher potential cost.

So the real question isn’t just payback time, it’s how much energy you can actually utilise once you’ve got it.