Switching to solar, a battery or all-electric appliances might feel like a no-brainer—until you look at the price tag. Even though you’ll usually save more in the long run, the up-front costs can be a significant barrier for many households.
This article will give a run-down of all the different ways to fund your installation – including some that you’ve never heard of.
1. Paying cash
If you can pay in full, great! You become more energy independent, and are more protected against rising energy costs.
Putting aside the environment for a moment, electrifying your home is one of the best financial investments you can make.
2. Green loans
What’s a green loan, exactly?
It’s a regular loan with one non-negotiable caveat: the money must fund something that cuts carbon.
The word “loan” is scary, and many people dismiss it straight away. But before you do, it’s at least worth understanding why it’s so common.
The Australian Financial Review has said that “The savings on the average electricity bill from installing rooftop solar, batteries and heat pumps are now so attractive that it is economically irrational not to go for it, especially when financed with discounted lending rates.”
Firstly, electrifying your home drastically cuts your energy bills. This is done through these technologies:
- Rooftop solar
- Home batteries
- Heat-pump hot-water systems
- Reverse-cycle air-conditioning
- Induction cooktops
- EVs & EV chargers
According to research from Rewiring Australia, even if you fully finance electrification upgrades at a 5.5% interest rate, you are still saving over $1600 a year. As you’ll see shortly, interest rates are likely to be much lower.
Source: Rewiring Australia
Why do green loans exist?
Electrification upgrades lowers household emissions and bills. But what’s in it for them?
Scope 3 emissions
Banks have to report on what’s known as Scope 3 emissions. These are all the indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in a company’s value chain, both upstream and downstream.
For a bank, these include the emissions of every household in their mortgage portfolio. So by helping you reduce your emissions, their reporting looks better.
They get access to even cheaper finance
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is an Australian government-owned “green bank” that invests in clean energy projects and technologies to help the country reach its net-zero emissions goal.
It doesn’t lend money directly to the public but instead provides financing to other banks and lenders. These banks & lenders then can then offer green loans to their customers are more attractive rates.
Note: Some banks & lenders use CEFC funding but not all.
Sustainability goals
They get a warm fuzzy feeling – and they can report to their board and shareholders that they’re doing their bit for the planet. It’s also great PR.
Some banks have taken it a step further and will give you a discounted rate on your entire home loan once you’ve completed certain upgrades.
Because of all these reasons, banks like green loans. Many lenders knock a chunk off the interest rate and scrap the usual establishment fee.
Green loan option 1: Installer finance
Many installers offer a “no-interest” or “0% interest” payment plan at checkout. Of course, everybody knows that there’s no such thing.
Here’s the catch: your installer needs to pay the lender (commonly Brighte and Plenti) a hefty fee to offer this product to you, and this fee can often find its way straight back into your quote.
For example, your $10,000 solar and battery system with installer finance will cost closer to $12,000. This means that even if you can pay off your loan early, you’re still paying the full cost for finance.
Here’s how to check the real cost: Ask your installer for two quotes:
- Ask for their best ‘Cash price’
- Ask for their 0% interest plan price
…and compare the totals.
Historically, the benefit was more convenience. However, Australia’s buy-now-pay-later regulations changed in June 2025, bringing the process involved on par with a normal loan application, so there is less benefit to this approach now.
Green loan option 2: Finding your own green finance from a bank
The first benefit is that you are paying less compared to Installer finance.
Here’s an example (5-year payment term, figures from July 2025)
| Installer finance | Example green loans from bank | |||||
| Bank | N/A | ING | CBA | Westpac | Gateway Bank | Community First Bank |
| Interest rate | 0% | 3.74%p.a. | 3.99%p.a. | 3.99%p.a.. | 6.44%p.a. | 6.54%p.a. |
| Home loan required | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Purchase price | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Fee charged to installer | $2,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total upfront cost to customers | $12,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Upfront fee | $75 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $149 | $249 |
| Annual fee | $120 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $120 |
| Monthly payment | $211 | $182 | $184 | $184 | $198 | $210 |
| Total paid over 5 years | $12,675 | $10,920 | $11,047 | $11,047 | $11,898 | $12,643 |
The second benefit is that you have the flexibility to pay off your loan sooner, without incurring the full cost for finance. This flexibility doesn’t exist in 0% interest options, as all the fees are charged upfront.
Using the example above, if you were to repay the CBA Green Loan in two years – you’d pay a total of $10,656,12 – saving $390.88 when compared with paying it over the full 5 year term.
Some banks, including ING are going a step further and offering cashback to customers making the switch. They are currently offering $500 for existing customers and $1,500 for new customers who are installing eligible energy efficient home upgrades*.
If you have a quote already and you’d like to know if your bank is offering a green loan that you may be eligible for, 28Watt have a free tool here.
Green loan option 3: Rolling upgrades into your home loan
Some banks let you add up to $50k of home energy efficiency upgrades onto your existing mortgage at a discounted rate.
This is the preferred option of banks like CBA, Westpac, ING, and Suncorp. These loans are usually set up as a separate ‘sub-account’ to your home loan to ensure they can be charged at the reduced interest rate, and will also have a reduced term (up to 10 years). Some banks will require you to pay back the amount within the term that the reduced interest rate applies, and others will simply revert the balance to your home loan rate once the discounted period has ended.
This option is the most effective for short-term cash flow, but the interest is dragged out over a longer period. But – if you’re savvy and use all those energy bill savings towards paying your home loan down sooner, you could chop years off the term.
Rent out your roof
I bet you didn’t know this one was possible.
There is one provider we are aware of, NRN, that allows you to install solar on your property without buying and owning it.
Instead of you buying and owning the system, NRN works with its investors to fund the installation on your property. You then sign up to a special energy plan with one of NRN’s partner electricity retailers.
This plan includes a discounted rate for the solar power and battery storage you use from the system on your roof. You will still need to buy power from the grid when your solar and battery system can’t meet your needs.
- You’ll be paying 18 cents per kWh for your solar, which is about half of what you would be paying on a regular electricity plan.
- There is also a fixed daily fee.
NRN handles all the maintenance and monitoring of the system, so you don’t have to worry about repairs or performance issues.
How does it compare to owning your own system?
- Owning your own solar – save up to 50% off your electricity bills
- Owning your own solar & battery – save up to 100% off your electricity bills
- Renting solar & battery from NRN – save 20% – 40% off your energy bills
The bottom line is that you’re not paying for the equipment, but for the cheaper, cleaner energy it produces. As a result, your bills will be lower, but not as low as if you owned your own system.
Choosing NRN could be a good option if the high upfront cost of solar and batteries is a barrier for you, or if you’re a renter who previously couldn’t access these technologies.
Summary
Here are your options for paying for solar & energy efficient upgrades.
| How to pay | Up-front cost | Ongoing cost | When it shines | Watch-outs |
| Cash, debit, bank transfer | Full price today | None | Lowest lifetime cost | You need the cash right now. |
| Green loan from bank | $0 today | Low interest-rate repayments | Lowest cost financeSpread cost sensibly | Product list & installer must meet each lender’s rules. |
| Installer “0 % interest” plan | 15%-35% added upfront | Upfront + weekly fees | Quick approvals or not-so-great credit | The 0 % headline hides extra charges – always ask for a cash quote too. |
| Add it to your home loan | $0 today | Home-loan rate, 20-30 yrs | Big upgrades, smallest monthly hit | Interest runs for decades unless you pay extra. |
| Rent solar | $0 forever | Daily fee | When cost is too big of a barrier. Renters & investors | You don’t own your own solar, and you will get much less of the benefit. |
Where to from here?
Installer finance
- Talk to your installer. They usually have arrangements in place with finance providers like Brighte and Plenti
Green loan
You can talk to the bank directly. Some major banks that provide green loans include:
- CBA
- Westpac
- ING
- RACQ
- Suncorp
- Gateway Bank
- Community First Bank.
Alternatively, you can talk to 28Watt. They provide free, no-obligation comparisons to help you find the cheapest way to finance your home energy upgrades. If you have a home loan, they can also let you know if your home energy upgrades qualify you for a better home loan rate from a green home loan provider.
28Watt has a free online tool that can give you an instant cost comparison for green loans from banks. No credit score impact.
Click here to get an instant cost comparison
While the service is free to you, they may receive a commission from the lender if you successfully apply for a product.
Rent Solar
Check out NRN. ZapCat is not affiliated with them in any way.
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ZapCat is fully independent, and receives no fees or commissions from any installers or finance providers.
Thank you to 28Watt for all their assistance with this article, and Rewiring Australia for their research on electrification.