Is solar worth it in New Zealand in 2026?

Quick answer: For most owner-occupied homes with a normal roof, yes, and it did not need an election to make it so. EECA puts a mid-sized 5 kW system at about $11,500 installed, saving $1,000 or more a year off the power bill, which is a payback of 7 to 10 years on panels warranted for 25. The maths already works for a lot of houses. And now, every major party is promising to help with the upfront cost.

Why is everyone talking about solar right now?

Because the election has made it a contest. The Greens, Labour and National have all set out policies to make putting panels on your roof more affordable, through cheap loans, subsidies, or a mix of the two. Act's version is fewer regulatory hoops. Councils have joined in as well: National, Labour and the Greens have backed the home energy component of Local Government New Zealand's Ratepayers Assistance Scheme.

Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey has been the loudest voice behind all of it, and his diagnosis is the one the parties have adopted: "The biggest barrier to people doing this is the upfront capital cost." Beyond that, he reckons, it is for most people an "economic slam dunk."

Nobody in the debate is arguing about whether solar works in New Zealand. The argument is about how you pay for it.

Solar in NZ isn't a small industry any more. MBIE's Energy in New Zealand 2026 report has solar installations growing 52% in 2025, from 545 MW to 830 MW, and with this year's additions the country has likely passed a gigawatt.

What does a home system actually cost?

EECA has done the work for us.

• A small 3 kW system: about $8,500 installed.
• A medium 5 kW system: about $11,500.
• A large 10 kW system: about $20,000.

A 3 to 5 kW system produces roughly 50 to 80% of the electricity an average three-person household uses. For most houses, that is a sensible range. Bigger is not automatically better, because the value is in the power you use yourself, and once you export most of what you make, the system's overall return typically drops.

How much does it save, and how fast does it pay back?

EECA's figure is $1,000 or more a year for an average home. The regional spread for a 5 kW system runs from about $1,047 a year in Southland to about $1,467 in Marlborough. Sun helps, but it is not the whole story.

On those numbers, the payback is 7 to 10 years. The panels are warranted for 25 years. So one way to think about this is roughly a decade of paying yourself back, then 15 years of power you are not buying.

It is easy to forget about the financing. To cover this, most major New Zealand banks now offer home energy loans at 0 to 1%, usually added to your mortgage as a top-up. Borrow $11,500 at 1%, and you are paying back about $1,200 a year, against a saving of $1,000 or more. Depending on your roof and your region, that is close to cash-neutral from day one, and clearly positive once the loan is gone. It is also why the political promises are all about finance rather than about the technology.

Does it matter what else is in the house?

More than most people expect. There are two main things to consider here.

When you use power. Solar makes electricity in the middle of the day. If you are home then, or you can shift the dishwasher, the washing and the hot water heating into the daytime, you use more of your own power and buy less. If everyone is out until six, you export more and earn less for it.

Whether your hot water and heating are already electric. EECA's advice to anyone still on gas is to switch those over first, because they are the loads that turn cheap daytime power into real savings. A hot water heat pump on a timer that runs at lunchtime is about the best friend a solar system can have.

If you use a lot of power after dark, a battery can start to make sense. We have written about that decision separately, so we will not repeat it here.

What are New Zealanders actually asking for?

Solar is the upgrade Cogo homeowners ask us to quote most.

Of every request sent to an installer through the platform, 41% were for solar, with or without a battery. Hot water was next at 27%, then space heating at 21%. Solar is also the most-saved upgrade when people are just browsing, at about 40% of everything saved.

That surprised us a little. Hot water and heating are usually the faster payback. But solar is the upgrade people can picture on their own roof, and it is the one every party is now promising to help with. Solar features much more in daily discourse and now the appetite is real.

A worked example

Take a family of three in Christchurch with an electric hot water cylinder, a heat pump in the lounge and one adult working from home most days.

They put in a 5 kW solar system for around $11,500 on a 1% home energy top-up. Because someone is home, the daytime loads are significant: the dishwasher and washing run at lunchtime, and the cylinder heats on a timer while the sun is up. They use most of what they make.

Their bill drops by around $1,000 a year. The loan costs them about $1,200 a year, so they are close to even on cash while it runs, then a clear $1,000 or more a year for the remainder of the 25 year life of the system. Depending on the setup, they'll likely need to replace the inverter along the way. If they had access to a cheap government loan or a subsidy, it moves them into the black sooner. Even without, for most households solar is still a substantial win.

So should you wait for the election?

Only if the difference between "pays back in eight years" and "pays back in six" is what decides it for you. For most houses it is not.

Get quotes now. Ask your bank what its home energy lending looks like, because for most mortgage owners, 0 to 1% is already available. Sort the hot water and heating first if they are still gas. Then, if the roof suits and you are home in the daytime, solar is one of the more predictable investments you can make in a house. Whichever party wins can only make it cheaper.

Frequently asked questions

How much does solar cost in New Zealand in 2026?

EECA puts a 3 kW system at about $8,500, a 5 kW system at about $11,500 and a 10 kW system at about $20,000, installed.

How long does solar take to pay back in NZ?

EECA's estimate is 7 to 10 years for a typical home, on panels warranted for 25 years.

How much will solar save me a year?

EECA's figure is $1,000 or more for an average home, with a regional range of roughly $1,047 to $1,467 a year for a 5 kW system.

Is there a government subsidy for solar in NZ?

Not yet. The Greens, Labour and National have all promised help through loans, subsidies or both, and National, Labour and the Greens back the home energy part of LGNZ's Ratepayers Assistance Scheme. None of it is in place.

Do I need a battery?

For most homes adding a battery makes the payback longer. Despite this batteries are more often being included in solar installations as households are increasingly valuing the more intangible benefits of resilience and energy security. The economics of a battery look better if you use most of your power after dark and/or you're only able to get low rates for your solar exports. We have covered that decision in a separate post.

Run your own numbers

How well solar stacks up for you depends on your roof, what else is electric in the house and when you are home. The Cogo platform runs those numbers for your household, then points you at vetted installers if you want a quote.

See what solar would save your household

This article is general information only. It is not financial, energy or product advice. What you save depends on your home, your power plan and how you use energy, so get quotes from qualified installers or licensed dealers and seek independent advice for your own situation.