New Energy Solutions
The NSW Solar Hot Water Rebate
Hot water, although a necessity for daily life, uses large amounts of electricity. We use it in many aspects of running our homes yet it can significantly increase the amount we are charged on our electricity bills.
Although installing an energy efficient hot water system would bring significant benefits to many Australian households, due to the initial cost of installation this is often a home improvement that falls to the bottom of the list. The NSW state government has introduced an initiative aimed at reducing the upfront price of upgrading a water heating system in order to encourage more homes to make this transition.
Key Takeaways:
What’s the Deal? The NSW government is offering a rebate to make it easier for homes to switch to energy-efficient hot water systems, helping reduce both electricity bills and greenhouse gas emissions.
How Much Can You Save? Depending on what you're replacing, you can get up to $670 for swapping out an electric water heater for a heat pump, or up to $300 for a gas heater.
Easy Process: To take advantage of the rebate, just assess your current system, choose a heat pump or solar system, have it installed by an accredited professional, and then claim your rebate through the certificates provided.
Who’s Eligible? The rebate is available for any NSW household or business looking to upgrade from an old electric or gas hot water system to a new, energy-efficient option. Just make sure it's installed correctly!
What is the Solar Hot Water Rebate?
If you’ve been considering upgrading your current hot water system, whether that be for added savings or to just live a more sustainable life, well you’re in luck! This new incentive from the NSW government will offset the initial cost of installing an energy efficient heat pump solution.
The Purpose
This initiative falls under the NSW Energy Savings Scheme.
This scheme aims to help homes and businesses across the state to upgrade to energy efficient systems, allowing them to save more whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This incentive acts as a discount on upfront purchase price, making installation of cleaner home energy solutions in reach for many.
The Value of the Rebate
There are two options for those looking to make the most of this rebate:
$400 - 670 when replacing an electric water heater with an air source heat pump.
$190 - 300 when replacing a gas hot water heater with an air source heat pump.
The amount of the subsidy is dependent on the current system you have installed, making it important to check whether your current water heating system is electric or gas.
How Does it Work?
The Solar Hot Water Rebate reduces initial costs associated with installing new cleaner technologies as upon the installation of an energy efficient water heating system you will be provided with certificates. These can be traded or sold in return for a discount on purchase price. These certificates are provided by an accredited certificate provider (ACP), although it sounds complicated this is usually your chosen retailer carrying out the installation.
How Does This Help You?
You may be questioning how necessary this move is, with so much else going on you may be leaning towards postponing these upgrades for a more convenient time. While no, upgrading your heat pump isn’t a life or death situation it can be extremely beneficial in terms of long-term cost reduction. Traditional hot water systems use significantly more electricity than newer technologies. The modern heat pump uses an amazing 75% less electricity than the older models.
Eligibility Criteria
This rebate is open to homes and businesses looking to upgrade their current water heating system to one that is more energy efficient.
Households and businesses must be located in NSW
You must have an existing electric or gas hot water system to replace
The new system must be installed by an accredited installer
The new system must be either a:
Heat pump hot water system
Solar hot water system
NSW Solar Hot Water Rebate: The Process
Now you have a better idea of why this rebate exists, what it can do for your household and whether or not you meet the requirements, let's discuss the process for obtaining this incentive and the next steps you need to take.
STEP 1: Assess Your Current Hot Water System:
Check if you are currently using an older electric or gas hot water system that is due to be upgraded.
STEP 2: Choose an Energy Efficient Hot Water System as a Replacement:
To ensure that the new system is energy efficient and as such eligible for the incentive, make sure that the products you choose are HEER approved (Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit Scheme).
STEP 3: Install Your New Hot Water System:
In order to claim this rebate your system must be installed by a licensed installer. Additionally, the installation and all other work carried out must meet Australian regulatory standards.
STEP 4: Claim Incentives & Rebates:
Once the new system has been installed the amount of certificates your system is eligible for will be calculated and then used to discount the overall cost of installation.
STEP 5: Trade or Redeem Certificates:
There are two main options when it comes to trading these certificates. T first is to have them assigned at the point of sale, this is usually done by the retailer/installer of the heat pump system. The second is to trade them independently, this is more difficult.
Sum It Up
As the world moves towards a clean and renewable future governments like ours are pushing these sustainable solutions through financial incentives similar to this, making now the time to elevate your house into a modern and efficient home with clean energy technologies bringing you savings and reliability.
These rebates and other government schemes can often be difficult to understand, but hopefully now you have the knowledge you need to make the most of these subsidies and can now design a home with energy solutions that suit you and your life.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Installing Solar Power
There are great government rebates/incentives still in place for eligible households. Basically, the larger the panel array, the more STCs your solar system generates as it is based on the expected output of the system over time.
When you buy a solar system, the purchase price is normally reduced by the value of the STCs created by your system. You simply fill out a form on the day of installation to confirm that the system has been installed, and that’s it. There is no additional paperwork that you need to do.
Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs)
Small-scale Technology Certificates (STC’s) – previously known as Renewable Energy Certificates or RECS – are created when a Renewable Energy System such as a Solar PV system is installed.
The number of STC’s depends on the predicted amount of energy generated and hence the larger the system the greater the rebate. In essence, one STC is created for every megawatt-hour of production capacity of the system.
This is further multiplied by the number of years the system is likely to generate energy (for home solar systems, this is usually 15 years, although the life of the solar panels themselves is considerably more than that).
This incentive program is being phased out until 2030, so each year the number of certificates your system is eligible for reduces.
STC Price
The system for trading and pricing STCs for small systems is managed by the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).
STCs are bought by Liable Parties (usually electricity retailers) and must be surrendered at the end of each quarter. As the number of STCs that are required to be surrendered is a fixed amount each year, but the number of STCs created is variable, the price paid for STCs also varies and is determined by supply and demand.
The Federal Government legislated in 2010 a fixed price for STCs by implementing a Clearing House system where STCs can be bought and sold for $40. However, there is no requirement for Liable Parties to purchase from the Clearing House, so they are likely to only do so if there is a shortage of STCs or the market price exceeds $40. There is currently a surplus of STCs in the market which means the market price of STC’s below $40
The Feed In Tariff is only something you need to worry about if you don’t have battery storage.
The price your chosen energy retailer pays for any excess electricity generated from your solar panels is recorded as a credit on your power bill.
In NSW, solar power is fed into your home as it is generated and your household will use it first before you draw power from the grid.
This means that for every kWh of solar power used in the home you are directly saving money you’d spend on your power bill. This reduction in your power bill is the main financial benefit of solar power.
Everything else will be bought up at an agreed rate by your electricity retailer.
At the moment, most feed-in tariffs are between 5 and 10 cents per kWh, with many being about 7 cents. They bounce up and down a lot, for example in previous years they have been up over 20 cents per kWh. Typically, they are always at least 5 cents per kWh.
Once you sign up for a 1KOMMA5° Installation, we immediately submit your grid application to the relevant energy distributor. For systems up to 5kWs, this is a formality. For larger systems it can take a few days or more. Once we receive approval, your installation will be managed by our installation coordinator, who will welcome you to 1KOMMA5° and book an installation date for you. This is generally booked within around two weeks and installation dates are available Monday to Friday, weather permitting.
We endeavour to have your system installed within 2-4 weeks unless you request us to hold for whatever reason. Due to our strict safety policy, we do not install solar systems when it rains. In the event of inclement weather, we will rebook your installation as soon as possible. We always work with your requests as we strongly recommend that someone be home on the day of installation.
Green Loans can be an affordable way to pay for your solar power system and is only available for approved products. As a Clean Energy Council Accredited installer, all our systems qualify.
Green Loans can be used to finance 1KOMMA5° systems from $1,000 to $30,000 over a 2-7 year term. Once you have received a referral from 1KOMMA5°, online approval usually occurs within 1-2 business days. Green Loans have a competitive fixed interest rate that is as low as 7.99% p.a.* | Comparison rate 9.21% p.a.^ Establishment fee of $299 added to the loan amount. $2.70 per week account keeping fee included in repayments.
To be eligible to apply you must:
Be over 18 years old and an Australian resident or citizen
Own or be purchasing a home
Be employed, self-employed, a self-funded retiree; or is receiving the Government Age Pension
Have an Australian driver’s license or Passport
Provide two most recent payslips or 90 days of bank statements
There are a number of good, competitive Green Loan providers – ask us about the options available.
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