Getting solar without a battery in 2026 is a bit like buying a car without a steering wheel. It may seem okay at first, but you’ll quickly realise something important is missing.
This isn’t just a sales pitch for batteries. It’s a clear explanation of why going solar without a battery, doesn’t work anymore.
At PSC Energy, we have seen the battery market explode in the last year. Skipping the battery might have made sense ten years ago but no longer. If you’re asking, “Do I need a battery with solar?” in 2026, the answer for most homeowners is yes. And the reasons go well beyond just saving power for the evening.
In this article, you’ll learn about the following:
- What Has Changed: The Three-Pronged Squeeze
- What Solar Without a Battery Exposes You To
- The One Exception: When Solar Without a Battery Still Makes Sense
- Why Your Battery Now Saves More Than Your Panels
- Rebates: What Is Available Right Now
- FAQ: Solar Mistakes
By the end of this article, you’ll understand what you risk if you go solar without a battery, why the situation has changed, and when solar-only could still make sense.
What Has Changed: The Three-Pronged Squeeze
To understand why going solar without a battery is now a big mistake, it’s important to look at what’s changed in the energy market.
Three main factors are all getting worse at the same time:
- Energy prices keep rising. As grid electricity becomes more expensive, being self-sufficient is more valuable each year.
- Daily connection charges are also going up. This is the flat fee you pay just to stay connected to the grid, no matter how much power you use. It goes up every year, and solar panels alone can’t reduce it.
- Feed-in tariffs are falling quickly. This is the rate your retailer pays for extra solar you send to the grid. Years ago, it was as high as 60 cents per kilowatt-hour, then 40, then 20. Now, most retailers pay about 4 cents per kWh. Some even charge you for sending power to the grid when demand is low.
All three of these changes make things harder for solar-only homeowners. You pay more just to stay connected, earn almost nothing for extra solar, and your bills still rise at night when your panels aren’t working.
A battery can solve all of these problems.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about feed-in tariffs, you might want to check out the following article titled, Understanding Feed-In Tariffs and Their Limitations.
What Solar Without a Battery Exposes You To
Most people focus on what they’ll gain from solar, but it’s just as important to understand the risks of going solar-only.
Negative feed-in tariffs: When grid demand is low, often in the middle of the day when solar output is highest, wholesale electricity prices can go negative.
Some retailers pass these costs on to solar customers. Instead of earning money for extra power, you end up paying to export it. A battery stores that extra solar for later, so you keep its value.
No blackout protection: Many people don’t realise that a standard solar-only system won’t help during a power outage. For safety, your inverter shuts down when the grid goes down.
Without a battery, your panels won’t produce any power during a blackout, even if it’s sunny. Most homeowners only discover this when the power goes out.
Paying for installation twice: Installing solar panels requires a licensed electrician, roof access, and a full day’s work. If you add a battery later, you’ll need another visit, more labour, and sometimes extra electrical work.
If you plan to get a battery eventually, installing both at once saves you the cost of a second installation. Solar-only isn’t a good value when you think about this.
Straining a grid that’s already under pressure: Excess solar from solar-only systems flows back into the grid during the day. The grid wasn’t designed to handle this much reverse energy, and it simply can’t cope.
A battery keeps more of your solar energy in your home, reducing the load on local infrastructure.
If you’re interested in solar batteries, you might want to check out the following article titled, Are Solar Batteries Worth It in NSW? PSC’s Ultimate Guide for 2026.
The One Exception: When Solar Without a Battery Still Makes Sense
Solar-only isn’t the wrong choice for everyone. There are three situations where it can still make sense:
- You work from home: If you’re home during the day, you use most of the solar energy your system produces. Appliances, air conditioning, and other devices run when solar output is highest. Because you use so much of your own solar, a battery adds less value than it would for someone who’s out all day.
- You are retired: As above, retirees who spend most days at home use a lot of their solar power directly. If you’re not generating much extra solar, there’s less need for a battery.
- You are moving soon: Batteries pay off over several years, not months. If you plan to sell your home in the next year or two, you probably won’t recover the battery’s cost before you move. Solar panels alone still add value to your sale, but a battery is harder to justify financially in this situation.
If you don’t fit into one of these three groups, a battery is almost always the best choice in 2026.
If you’re interested in looking at some solar battery choices, you might want to check out the following article titled, Which Solar Battery Should I Buy?
Why Your Battery Now Saves More Than Your Panels
Here is something that surprises most people: your battery now saves you more money than your solar panels do.
This wasn’t always the case. A few years ago, the rule of thumb was to spend about 40% of your solar budget on panels and 60% on a battery. Even then, the panels did most of the financial work. Feed-in tariffs were high enough that exporting extra solar made good money.
Now, things have completely changed.
Today, it makes sense to split your budget about 50/50 between panels and a battery. Now, the battery gives you about 60% of your total bill savings, while the panels give you about 40%.
Why the change? At just 4 cents per kWh, sending extra solar to the grid barely earns anything. Every unit you export is lost value.
A battery stores that energy for the evening, when grid electricity costs 30 to 40 cents per kWh. The difference between what you’d earn by exporting and what you save by keeping it is what makes batteries so valuable in 2026.
Your panels make the energy. Your battery lets you keep and use it when you need it most.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the price of solar batteries, you might want to check out the following article titled, How Much Are Solar Batteries? A Full Breakdown of Prices, Rebates, and Value in 2026.
Rebates: What Is Available Right Now
Adding a battery has become much more affordable, and two government incentives make it even easier.
- The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program currently delivers around $238 per kWh for the first 14 kWh of battery capacity. For a typical home battery, this translates to a discount of roughly $2,000 to $4,000 off the installed price.
- The NSW Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Incentive offers eligible homeowners up to $1,500 when they connect their battery to an approved VPP program.
- You can combine these two incentives. NSW homeowners can claim both.
The federal rebate will gradually decrease until 2030. Now is the best time to claim it, since the discount gets smaller each year. For details on current rates, eligibility, and how to apply, check our battery rebates guide.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Cheaper Home Batteries Program and it’s recent changes, you might want to check out the following article titled, Changes to the Australian Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program Explained.
Bottom Line: The Sun Sets on Solar-Only
Going solar without a battery in 2026 is the biggest mistake most homeowners make. Feed-in tariffs have fallen from 60 cents to 4 cents per kWh. Daily connection charges keep going up. Negative grid pricing is a real issue. And if you plan to add a battery later, installing it now saves you the cost of a second installation.
Solar-only makes sense if you’re home during the day, retired, or planning to sell your property soon. For everyone else, the battery isn’t just an optional extra anymore, it’s the part of the system that does the most work.
If you’d like to find out the best solar and battery setup for your home, contact the PSC Energy team today. We’ll walk you through your options and work with you to create a customised system for your unique energy needs and goals. It’s what we do.
If you’d like to learn a bit more about what solar batteries are on the market, you might want to check out the following article titled, 6 Best Solar Batteries on the Market.
FAQ: Solar Mistakes
Do I need a battery with solar in 2026?
For most homeowners, yes. Feed-in tariffs have fallen to around 4 cents per kWh, which means exporting excess solar to the grid earns you almost nothing. A battery stores that energy so you use it in the evening when grid electricity costs 30 to 40 cents per kWh. If you work away from home during the day and are not planning to sell, the financial case for going without a battery is very difficult to justify.
Is going solar without a battery a mistake?
It’s one of the biggest. It exposes you to negative feed-in tariffs, no blackout protection, and the full cost of a second installation if you add a battery later. The economics of solar-only haven’t just weakened; they have reversed.
Will my solar panels keep the lights on during a blackout?
No. A standard solar-only system shuts down automatically when the grid goes down. This is a safety requirement built into every grid-connected inverter. Without a battery, your home has no power during an outage, regardless of how much sun is shining.
Can I add a battery to my solar system later?
Yes, but it will cost more than installing both at once. You pay for a second day of labour, another site visit, and often additional electrical work. If you plan to add a battery at any point, now is almost always a better value.
How much does a battery add to the cost of going solar?
A quality solar battery typically costs between $9,000 and $18,000 installed before rebates. With the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program and the NSW VPP Incentive combined, eligible NSW homeowners can save $3,500 or more.
