How to Get Solar as an Apartment Owner: Your Options Explained

Are you thinking about solar power for your Australian apartment? Discover your options for multi-unit solar and shared solar buildings. Learn more with Energy Matters.
solar apartments Australia

Over 2.2 million Australians live in apartments, units or flats. If you live in an apartment, you may believe that solar isn’t a feasible option for you. Not only are you limited by roof space but apartment living often means sharing amenities with other residents on your lot – and that usually includes the roof. These complexities and other constraints related to technology and strata laws have meant that, statistically, apartment solar is a significant gap in the market.

Understanding the challenges of solar apartments in Australia

Apartment buildings have several constraints when it comes to solar installations:

  1. Limited roof space: The rooftop may need more room for individual panels for every unit.
  2. Shared ownership: Decisions regarding solar installations require approval from the strata or corporate body.
  3. Varying energy needs: Each unit may have different energy consumption patterns, complicating system design and distribution.

These challenges necessitate creative approaches like shared solar buildings or community energy systems.

Your solar options as an apartment owner

So, how can you reap the benefits of solar as an apartment owner?

The good news is, there are now several options available that make solar a possibility for apartment dwellers in Australia – even if not in the conventional sense. Here are the options to consider if you’re interested in going solar as an apartment owner.

1. Solar sharing

When you live in an apartment, decisions about the property – including whether to install solar – are often made by a collective group, your strata or body corporate. This can be difficult territory to wade through since not everyone has the budget or desire to invest in solar. In most states, more than 50 per cent of owners, including landlords, need to agree before any changes can be made to the property.

It’s not uncommon for apartment complexes to use solar to power common areas and amenities like car parks and lifts, but it’s much more complicated for apartment owners to have access to solar for personal use. Apartment owners can seek out an individual system but still need approval from the owner’s corporation to license or lease a common area for individual use. If multiple owners are interested in their own system, you’ve got the additional complexity of limited roof space and the need for individual cabling.

Fortunately, there is an emerging solution to these problems – solar sharing gateways. This means that a single solar system, with the help of a solar splitter, can be shared between multiple residents. Participants split the cost of the system and enjoy the benefits of a greatly reduced electricity bill.

In Melbourne, Allume Energy has created a solar-sharing platform called the Solshare. It’s marketed as an industry-first technology to ensure that apartment dwellers can benefit from solar energy in the same way a resident of a free-standing house can. The SolShare’s sharing algorithm responds to each owner’s usage, which directs the solar to where it’s needed to maximise consumption and savings. This means that owners will receive their portion of solar energy when they need to use it and when they will save the most money.

Not all residents need to participate – the solar is directed from the single system on the rooftop only to those apartments which are connected to the SolShare behind their meter. This might still pose a problem as the roof is a common zone, but it certainly simplifies the process of going solar as an apartment owner.

Solar sharing platforms such as Solshare are working with property developers to introduce the technology at new apartments before buyers are in the picture. This would resolve the buy-in issues that often block solar installation in apartments.

Currently, the SolShare platform is limited to low-rise apartment dwellings, as high-rise apartments typically have too small a roof space to accommodate a system large enough to service all owners.

2. Community solar projects

Community solar is another innovative way for apartment owners to access renewable energy without installing solar panels. Residents buy or lease shares in a larger solar farm, with the generated energy credited to their electricity bills.

Advantages:

  • No need for rooftop access.
  • Scalable according to individual energy needs.
  • Encourages collective action for sustainability.

Community solar Australia projects are gaining traction as they democratise access to solar energy, even for renters and apartment owners.

Community solar gardens

If strata laws or logistical constraints (i.e. living in a high-rise building) make it too difficult to install your own solar system or participate in solar sharing, one of the best options you can consider is participating in a community solar garden.

A solar garden is a large-scale, grid-connected solar installation that allows multiple dwellings to share in the financial benefits of solar energy without having to put panels on their own roof.

Solar gardens are built on land near existing electricity grid infrastructure with good sun exposure. The solar garden then generates clean, renewable electricity and feeds it into the utility grid, displacing fossil fuels. Solar gardeners purchase a “plot” in these solar gardens and, depending on how much energy their plot generates, will receive credits that offset the cost of their electricity bill.

Community Solar Gardens

Not all community solar gardens are set up the same way, but the most common model is for the solar garden to be owned and operated by a third-party company as opposed to your utility company. This company installs, maintains and operates the solar panels on behalf of the community solar gardeners.

A community solar garden can’t feed into your apartment directly; instead, it feeds into the main electricity grid. When you become a solar gardener, you are essentially buying “upstream” from the utility company.

When a solar gardener subscribes to the energy created in the solar garden, it offsets the brown power they use at home via virtual net metering (VNM – also known as aggregated net metering). The utility recognises each subscriber as providing clean power to the grid which entitles them to credits on their electricity bill based on how much energy their plot generates.

For example, if a subscriber owns 10% of the panels, then they would be credited 10% of the production in that particular community solar garden. These credits offset the cost of their electricity bill, and in some cases, may cover it entirely.

GreenPower

If your motivation to use a renewable energy source such as solar is based on environmental rather than financial reasons, then one option is the government-led GreenPower initiative.

Under this initiative, retailers agree to offset some or all of customers’ power usage by purchasing electricity through accredited renewable generators. 

Unfortunately, the cost of GreenPower is passed onto the consumer – meaning you will have to pay a little more than you would for standard electricity (around 5-10 cents more per kWh). For this reason, it’s worth considering switching to a greener provider instead, as you may find you get a better deal overall while also supporting long-term investments in renewable energy.

3. Bonus: Solar windows

In the not-too-distant future, Australians living in high-rise apartments could access solar generated from the windows of their building.

Semi-transparent solar cells that can be incorporated into window glass can transform windows into active power generators, potentially revolutionising building design.

A team of researchers from Exciton Science and Monash University have successfully produced these “solar windows” and are now working on technologies to increase their efficiency.

The researchers are conducting a study of Central Melbourne – the first of its kind anywhere in the world – to model the viability and impact of window-integrated photovoltaics, alongside other solar technologies, at a city scale.

Modelling revealed that window-integrated solar technology was shown to suffer less of a reduction in efficiency during winter months relative to rooftop solar, delivering more consistent year-round benefits and value.

While the technology is still in its early stages of development, it holds great promise for the future of solar power in high-rise apartment buildings.

4. Solar apartments with individual systems

Sometimes, apartment owners can install solar panels for their units. This is viable if you have exclusive access to a portion of the roof, such as in a penthouse or top-floor apartment.

Steps to get started:

  1. Seek approval: Propose the installation plan to your corporate body.
  2. Choose the right solar installer: Work with a licensed installer familiar with apartment-specific solar setups.
  3. Opt for battery storage: A solar battery storage system ensures you can store excess energy for later use, maximising efficiency.

Use Energy Matters’ easy-to-use solar power and battery storage calculator to determine the size of your solar system with storage! Our solar calculator will generate performance information and potential savings. 

We can send this information to 3 of our pre-vetted and trusted local installers in your area to receive obligation-free solar quotes.

solar power and battery storage calculator

5. Virtual Power Plants (VPPs)

Aggregating solar power: VPPs allow apartment owners to pool their solar energy generation and sell excess power back to the grid. This can provide additional income and contribute to a more sustainable energy future.

Are you looking to save extra money with your Sungrow, GoodWe, or Tesla Powerwall 2 solar battery installed? Origin and Energy Matters have teamed up to provide customers with an additional way to save and make money!

Join Origin Loop VPP as an Origin electricity customer and earn a $200 bonus! Earn $1/kWh during peak demand by letting them draw on your battery-stored solar energy.

Benefits of solar for apartments in Australia

Embracing solar power in multi-unit dwellings offers numerous advantages:

Environmental impact

  • Reduces the carbon footprint of the entire building.
  • Promotes the use of renewable energy sources.

Financial savings

  • Lowers electricity bills for individual residents and common areas.
  • Increases property value by making apartments more attractive to buyers and renters.

Energy independence

  • Protects against rising energy costs.
  • Encourages self-sufficient, sustainable living.

The bottom line…

While going solar as an apartment owner is rarely simple, it’s important to remember that there are options available to you, and the long-term environmental and financial benefits are likely worth the hassle. Solar sharing platforms and community solar gardens are both viable choices – it’s simply a matter of finding the right solution for your needs. And with new technologies like solar windows on the horizon, the future of solar power in apartments looks bright indeed.

Take the first step toward solar today with Energy Matters. Contact Energy Matters, and we will guide you every step of the way. Our team of solar experts can help you get up to 3 FREE solar quotes, with no obligation from pre-qualified and vetted solar firms in your area.

Get a quick solar quote, or contact us today toll free on 1800 EMATTERS or email our friendly team for expert, obligation-free advice!

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