An astonishing 24 per cent of the 8.4 million private homes in Australia now have a solar system. That’s about 2 million solar installations across the country. While initially "going solar" was about helping the environment, today it’s about something a lot closer to the hip pockets of ordinary Aussies.

For some time, energy supplies in Australia have suffered from our addiction to high electrical consumption. On a hot day, when we get home from work and we all switch on the air con and flick on the TV at the same time, demand for power soars. Electricity companies counter this by building infrastructure to cope with this peak demand, which is then factored into their prices.

But as prices go up, more people are switching to solar. And then there are fewer consumers to pay for the infrastructure. So the price goes up. And so it goes.

Installing solar power is reasonably simple, but it can seem highly technical to the average person. Factor in the RET, rebates, feed-in tariffs, grids, batteries, inverters – Forget it.

But it doesn’t have to be hard. This is our guide to making solar simple.

Solar hot water

A Solar hot water system differs from solar power. While the latter creates its own electricity, a solar hot water system simply heats up water using the warmth of the sun, and then stores that energy in an insulated tank until it’s needed. It’s a great alternative to an expensive electric hot water system. But if you are planning on getting solar power as well, check you have the roof space for both sets of panels.

Want to know more? Talk to a hot water system expert – you can find one here.

Solar panels – how do they work?

Solar panels (also called photovoltaic or PV panels) capture energy from the sun and turn it into DC power. It’s why panels are usually mounted on the side of your roof that has the most sun exposure (usually the north or west). An inverter then changes this solar DC power into AC power, which you can use in your home or business.

Can I use the energy I create at night?

This is the big challenge. If you don’t have battery storage, any electricity your panels create is used instantly in your home or business. A meter will measure how much power you use. Any energy you don’t need is exported to the electricity grid, for which you get a feed-in tariff. Every state has different feed-in-tariffs – this table outlines the current rate state-by-state.

You’ll need to apply to your electricity supplier to receive the feed-in tariff.

Our solar panels don’t work at night or on cloudy days, so we need to use electricity from the grid to power our homes at these times. While the cost of drawing down power from the grid is offset by the return you are getting from the feed-in tariff, it’s not ideal. In a perfect world, you’d save the power you generate during the day to use at peak times and at night. This is where batteries come in.

Batteries

Batteries are the holy grail of solar power. Because they store the energy your panels create, you can use your homemade energy 24/7. If your battery storage is big enough you could even go "off-grid" and be totally independent of major electricity suppliers. Find out more about your battery options here.

Are there any rebates?

Initially there were loads of financial incentives to encourage households to buy solar power systems.However, most rebates and high-feed-in tariffs have now been wound back. As of July 2015, the Federal Government offers an incentive to install solar power in the shape of Small-Scale Technology Certificates (STCs). Your system is entitled to STCs based on the amount of electricity they produce in their lifetime. Some systems are also entitled to solar credits, which multiplies the number of STCs you receive. With an STC priced between $15 and $40 you could be looking at a discount of up to $2500 for your system, so it’s worth doing the legwork and finding an installer to help you through the process. You can read more about STCs here.

Payback

It’s important to work out how long it will take your solar system to pay back your initial investment – this will determine how much you are able to invest in the first place. Don’t just look at price – consider the size of your system; your energy consumption patterns; how you’ve paid for your system; the feed-in tariff you are eligible for; and even weather patterns over time.

Want to find out more? Talk to an expert in solar power today.

Don’t know what questions to ask? Read more of our handy guides to solar energy here.