Fair questions, honest answers

It depends on your bills, and anyone who quotes a figure before reading them is guessing. Your saving comes down to how much power you use, when you use it, which way your roof faces and what you pay per kilowatt hour. A battery changes the sum again: export rates have fallen a long way, and the money is now in using your own power through the evening peak. At the free assessment we model both from your last four bills and show you the working, payback included. If a battery isn’t worth it yet, we’ll tell you.

Three rebates and a loan, and they stack. Solar panels: the federal solar rebate comes off your invoice. Batteries: the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program takes around 30% off eligible batteries, also off the invoice. The full rate covers the first 14 kWh of usable capacity, then tapers, and the rebate steps down every six months. A bigger battery isn’t always better value. The battery must be on the government approved list and installed by an SAA-accredited installer. Rhys is accredited. Virtual power plants: connect a battery to a virtual power plant and the NSW Government pays an incentive through your VPP provider. The amount depends on the provider and the battery’s size (up to 28 kWh counts). It can be claimed once per meter, and since July 2026 you don’t need solar. Loans: the NSW Home Energy Saver program lends up to $15,000 interest free over 10 years for solar, batteries and getting off gas, for households earning up to $210,000. Discounts of up to $4,000 are due later in 2026 for households earning up to $80,000 or holding a concession card. We work out what you qualify for, take the federal rebates off your invoice and help with the rest.

It depends when you use power. If you use most of it during the day, solar alone may be the better investment. If your use peaks in the evening, or you want power through a blackout, a battery makes sense. We show you the figures both ways and tell you if a battery isn’t worth it yet.

In most cases, yes. An AC-coupled battery (one with its own inverter) works alongside almost any existing solar system, whoever installed it. First we check your inverter’s age, your switchboard and your evening power use, and size the battery to suit. Any switchboard work happens in the same job.

Only if it’s designed to. We build backup in from the start: you pick the circuits that stay live, and we wire the system that way. All work is done to Australian standards and covered by our 10-year workmanship warranty.

Solar takes one day to install, and so does a battery. Both together usually take two days. You get a firm date with your proposal.

No. Refresh Electrical is owned by two licensed electricians, Rhys Brissett and Jake Goller, who work on the tools. Every job is scoped, designed and installed by an owner or a licensed Refresh Electrical employee.

Call us and we come back. Your install carries our 10-year workmanship warranty, and the equipment carries its manufacturer warranties, which we register in your name. Across the Sutherland Shire, coming back is a short drive.

Yes. Strata approval adds time, and we can tell you what your scheme is likely to ask for before it signs off.

We work across the Sutherland Shire, Sydney, Wollongong and the Southern Highlands. If you’re not sure we cover your area, call and ask.