NSW Home Energy Saver - In short
Under the NSW Government's Home Energy Saver program you can borrow up to $15,000 at zero interest, over as long as ten years, to put solar, a battery or other energy upgrades on your home. The program is funded by the NSW Government and the loan itself comes from an approved lender. No interest, no establishment fee, no account-keeping fee, and nothing to pay for clearing it early.
There is one condition that decides who you can spend it with. Solar, batteries and EV chargers can only be installed under this program by a NETCC Approved Seller who also holds the right industry accreditations, the right electrical contractor licence and a separate accreditation with the program's lender. Rainbow Power Company holds all four. We have been designing and installing solar and battery systems from Nimbin since 1987, and we are accredited with Brighte, so your Home Energy Saver application can be part of your quote rather than a separate errand.
There is one condition that decides who you can spend it with. Solar, batteries and EV chargers can only be installed under this program by a NETCC Approved Seller who also holds the right industry accreditations, the right electrical contractor licence and a separate accreditation with the program's lender. Rainbow Power Company holds all four. We have been designing and installing solar and battery systems from Nimbin since 1987, and we are accredited with Brighte, so your Home Energy Saver application can be part of your quote rather than a separate errand.
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What the money can go towards
Home Energy Saver is deliberately broad. It is not a solar scheme with a few extras bolted on, it is a whole-of-home electrification budget. You can put the full amount into one large upgrade or spread it across several smaller ones.
Two lists matter here, and most pages you will read only show you the first one. The NSW Government sets the list of eligible technologies. Each lender then decides which of those it has switched on. Below is both, so you can see exactly where you stand before you spend time on a quote.
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The NSW Government also lists these as eligible technologies. They are not financeable through us today, and we will tell you so rather than let you find out at application stage.
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Lender product categories are being switched on progressively and this list changes. Current at the time of writing. Call us and we will tell you what is live this week.
What it actually costs you each fortnight
This is the part worth sitting with. Because the interest rate is zero and there is nothing charged to open or maintain the loan, the arithmetic is simply the amount borrowed divided by the number of repayments.
The full $15,000 over ten years works out at $57.69 a fortnight. Whether that is more or less than what the system takes off your power bill depends entirely on your usage, your tariff and how the system is sized, which is why we show both numbers side by side in every quote rather than asking you to take our word for it.
The full $15,000 over ten years works out at $57.69 a fortnight. Whether that is more or less than what the system takes off your power bill depends entirely on your usage, your tariff and how the system is sized, which is why we show both numbers side by side in every quote rather than asking you to take our word for it.
Before May 2026 every kilowatt hour earned the same rebate. It does not any more. Your battery is now split into bands, and each band earns a different share of the STC factor. The bands apply to portions of the battery, not to the battery as a whole, so a 20 kWh system earns the full rate on its first 14 kWh and the reduced rate only on the remaining 6 kWh.
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Indicative only, calculated as the amount borrowed divided by 26 fortnightly repayments a year, with no interest. Your lender sets your available terms, your exact repayment amount and your start date on approval.
There is nothing to pay to set the loan up, nothing charged monthly to keep it open, and no penalty for paying it out early. The one fee that does exist is a late payment fee if you miss a repayment. Its size and its annual cap depend on which lender you end up with, and it will be set out in your credit contract before you sign anything.
Can you get it?
These conditions are firm rather than negotiable, and it is worth checking them before you spend time on a quote.
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Take a 20 kWh battery installed today. The first 14 kWh earn the full rate, which is 14 multiplied by 6.8, or 95.2 certificates. The remaining 6 kWh earn 60 per cent of the rate, which is another 24.5 certificates. That totals 119 certificates, or approximately $4,520 off your installed price.
When the rebate reduces, and by how much
The rebate is driven by an STC factor that falls on a published schedule. From 2027 it drops every January and July until the scheme closes at the end of 2030. This is the full schedule. One point to be precise about, because it is widely misreported: the current rate runs all the way to 31 December 2026, and the next reduction takes effect on 1 January 2027.
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If you rent
The loan is only available to the person who owns the property, so a tenant cannot take one out. Two things are still open to you. Your landlord can borrow and upgrade the property, with your consent, which the program requires them to confirm. And the separate discount component of Home Energy Saver, opening later in 2026, will be available to renters to make upgrades with their landlord's permission. If you are renting and want the conversation with your landlord to go well, we are happy to put a quote together that you can hand them.
Using it with the federal battery discount
This is the single most valuable thing to understand about the scheme, and it is the part most households get wrong. Home Energy Saver is finance, not a rebate. It does not reduce the price of your system. It changes when you pay for it.
The program rules are explicit that rebates come off first: suppliers must ensure any relevant Commonwealth or NSW Government incentives are applied before the loan covers what is left. In practice the order looks like this.
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Two details on the battery discount that matter to the timing of your decision, and that most pages leave out.
It steps down every six months, in January and July, and the next reduction lands on 1 January 2027. And since 1 May 2026 it tapers with capacity: the first 14 kWh attracts the full rate, capacity between 14 and 28 kWh attracts about 60 per cent of it, and 28 to 50 kWh about 15 per cent. If you are considering a large battery, that taper changes the sums considerably, and it is worth having someone run them properly for your system rather than assuming the headline rate applies to the whole thing. We do that as part of every quote, and there is more detail on our Federal Battery Rebate page.
If your household earns under $80,000, read this first
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Home Energy Saver has a second component that has not opened yet: discounts of up to $4,000 for households on a combined income of $80,000 or less, and for eligible concession card holders. It is expected later in 2026. The NSW Government's own advice is that eligible households wanting both should apply for the discount first, then take a loan for the remaining amount. A discount is money you never repay. Getting the order wrong could mean borrowing up to $4,000 you did not need to borrow. |
We would rather tell you this and lose the sale this month than sell you finance you did not need. If you think you are in that bracket, say so when you call and we will help you work out whether to move now or wait, including whether the federal battery discount step-down on 1 January 2027 changes the sums the other way. Updates on the discount component are published on the NSW Government Home Energy Saver page.
Why the blue tick matters
The New Energy Tech Consumer Code is the industry's consumer protection standard, and its Approved Seller mark is the blue tick you will see on this program's paperwork. Approved Sellers commit to a code covering how they sell, what they must disclose before you sign, cooling-off rights, warranty handling and complaint resolution.
For Home Energy Saver it is not a nice-to-have. Solar, batteries and EV chargers can only be supplied under this program by a NETCC Approved Seller. On top of that, solar has to be designed and installed by installers accredited with Solar Accreditation Australia, batteries by an SAA-accredited battery installer, and the business has to hold the right electrical contractor licence and be separately accredited with the lender. If a business offering you a $15,000 interest-free deal cannot show you all of that, the finance will not settle and you will find out late.
We hold the lot: NETCC Approved Seller, SAA-accredited installers, accredited with Brighte, and a licensed electrical contractor in NSW (198555C). We have also been trading from the same address in Nimbin since 1987, which in an industry where companies appear and vanish inside a rebate cycle is worth something on its own.v
For Home Energy Saver it is not a nice-to-have. Solar, batteries and EV chargers can only be supplied under this program by a NETCC Approved Seller. On top of that, solar has to be designed and installed by installers accredited with Solar Accreditation Australia, batteries by an SAA-accredited battery installer, and the business has to hold the right electrical contractor licence and be separately accredited with the lender. If a business offering you a $15,000 interest-free deal cannot show you all of that, the finance will not settle and you will find out late.
We hold the lot: NETCC Approved Seller, SAA-accredited installers, accredited with Brighte, and a licensed electrical contractor in NSW (198555C). We have also been trading from the same address in Nimbin since 1987, which in an industry where companies appear and vanish inside a rebate cycle is worth something on its own.v
How it works with us, step by step
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Questions people actually ask
Is it really zero interest, or is the cost built into the price?
The interest rate is genuinely zero, funded by the NSW Government so the lender does not have to charge it. Our system prices are the same whether you pay cash or finance, and our quotes show the system price and the finance separately for exactly this reason: you should be able to check rather than trust.
Does taking the loan reduce my federal battery rebate?
No. They are separate programs and they stack. The federal battery discount comes off the price first, then you finance whatever is left. Using one does not reduce the other.
Can I get a battery if I do not have solar?
Not on its own. The program requires the battery to be installed at a site that also has a behind-the-meter solar system. If you have no solar today, the way through is to install solar and the battery as one job, which is eligible and is what most households in this position do anyway.
What if my system costs more than $15,000?
Very common, particularly for solar and battery together. You finance $15,000 of it and pay the balance directly. Worth knowing that $15,000 is the cap for the property in total, not per loan, so it cannot be topped up with a second Home Energy Saver loan later. That is a good reason to plan the whole upgrade before you draw on it, and we will happily map that out with you.
Will it affect my credit?
It is a regulated credit product, so the lender runs a credit assessment and the loan appears on your credit file like any other. Approval is the lender's decision. We can tell you the criteria before you apply, but we cannot influence the outcome.
Can I use it on an investment property?
Yes. Landlords are explicitly included, as long as you own the property, it is in NSW, and it is not social housing or short-stay accommodation. One condition catches landlords out: you have to confirm your tenant has consented to the upgrade. Your tenant cannot take out the loan themselves.
How long will the program last?
The NSW Government has committed $480 million to the loan component, aimed at more than 32,000 households, with a further $77 million for the discounts. No closing date has been announced, but funded schemes end when the funding is used. The federal battery discount alongside it has dates certain: it steps down every January and July, with the next reduction on 1 January 2027.
Can I combine the federal rebate with NSW incentives?
Yes. The federal scheme is designed to complement state programs. In New South Wales you can claim the federal rebate and the virtual power plant incentive on the same battery. The NSW upfront installation incentive has been suspended since 1 July 2025.
What battery size gets the best rebate value?
Per kilowatt hour, 14 kWh. It is the largest capacity that sits entirely in the full-rate tier. Above that the rate drops to 60 per cent, and above 28 kWh it drops to 15 per cent. Best rebate value and best system for your home are not always the same thing.
Does the rebate apply to off-grid systems?
The program is written around grid-connected systems, and off-grid eligibility depends on the specific configuration. Given how much off-grid work we do across the Northern Rivers, we will confirm exactly where your system sits before you commit to anything.
Do you service my area?
We work across the Northern Rivers and well beyond it, from Nimbin, Lismore and Byron out through the Tweed, Ballina, Casino, Kyogle and Grafton, and we take on off-grid and rural work that many installers will not touch. Give us your address and we will tell you straight away.