Before adding a battery, check what your old solar system earns.

Does the 44c payment appear on your account?

South Australia’s legacy distributor tariff is separate from a retailer’s feed-in offer. Eligible systems can retain the 44c/kWh payment until 30 June 2028. Installing battery storage ends that entitlement; other alterations can also affect it. Check your system’s approval history with SA Power Networks before authorising work. Read the SA Government’s eligibility and alteration rules.

Use a recent bill to distinguish the distributor credit from the retailer credit. If the bill combines them, ask for the components. A total feed-in rate alone does not tell you which part would disappear after an upgrade.

Put the credit you would lose beside the saving you expect

Here is an illustration, not a household forecast: suppose 2,000 exported kWh qualify for the distributor payment over a comparison period. The distributor component is 2,000 × $0.44 = $880. Use eligible units after any scheme limits, rather than assuming every exported unit qualifies.

That $880 is a cost of giving up the entitlement over that period. It is not the net cost of a battery. To compare options, also account for avoided electricity purchases, remaining retailer export income, equipment costs and any maintenance difference. Keep the dates identical on both sides.

A proposal that compares a new battery against a low modern feed-in rate may miss the starting position of a legacy household. Ask for your current arrangement to be modelled first. If the installer cannot reproduce its bill credits, the upgrade comparison is not ready.

Ask for three dated options

• Keep the present system

  Record its condition, expected repair work and credits while eligibility continues. Do not assume an ageing inverter will run indefinitely without expense.

• Upgrade now

  Show the new equipment cost and the date existing credits cease. Include any backup benefit separately from the electricity-bill calculation.

• Reassess after June 2028

  Separate the period before scheme expiry from the period after it. Future equipment prices, incentives and retail tariffs are unknown; use stated scenarios rather than pretending today’s quote will still apply.

This framework does not mean everyone should wait. A failed system, a need for backup or a change in household demand can change the decision. It makes the timing trade-off visible instead of burying it in one payback figure.

A larger export limit is not a guaranteed income

For new inverter installations, SA Power Networks describes fixed exports of 0 or 1.5kW depending on location, or Flexible Exports of up to 10kW per phase. Flexible operation needs compatible equipment and an internet connection. The permitted level varies; the maximum is not a promise that your home can export at that rate. Check SA Power Networks’ current options.

Keep three figures separate in the quote: the export limit in kW, the predicted exported energy in kWh and the retailer payment per kWh. Multiplying an upper power limit by daylight hours is not an energy forecast. Ask how the estimate handles restricted exports and what happens when the internet connection fails.

Historical export limits can help frame questions, but SA Power Networks says they are not a reliable indicator of future capacity. Request a lower-export scenario alongside the main estimate, then compare how much the result changes.

Make the tariff check part of the job brief

If you receive the legacy payment, write “confirm effect on distributor feed-in eligibility before work” into the brief. Attach the relevant bill and approval record when dealing directly with your chosen installer. Keep written confirmation with the quote.

For households without that entitlement, the existing-solar battery assessment is the more direct starting point. Already know the work you want? Prepare a quote request and check participating installer availability.

Solvetted may receive a referral fee. This guide uses published rules and an illustrative calculation; it is not based on an inspected property or measured installation results. Confirm account eligibility and connection conditions before committing to work.