How to Stack Every Solar & Battery Rebate in 2026

Here’s the thing most people don’t realise when they’re staring at a quote: the solar rebate and the battery rebate are separate, and you can have both at once. Add the heat pump hot water discount and you’re stacking three federal incentives on a single all-electric upgrade. On a 6.6 kW solar, 21 kWh battery and heat pump package, that’s roughly $1,800 plus $4,586 plus around $800 coming off — about $7,186 before you’ve negotiated anything else.

None of it is a rebate you chase afterwards. All three are claimed at the point of sale, so the price you sign for already has the discounts baked in. Below is each incentive, who qualifies, how they combine, and a full worked example as a table. We confirm your exact figures at the quote — certificate prices and your system’s specifics move the numbers a little.

Can you really stack solar, battery and heat pump rebates?

Yes. They’re different schemes covering different equipment, so they don’t cancel each other out. The solar and heat pump rebates both run through the small-scale certificate scheme; the battery runs through the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program. One install, three separate discounts, all settled upfront by an accredited retailer.

We see this most on Adelaide homes going fully electric in one hit — panels, a battery and a heat pump swapped for an old gas or electric tank on the same job. Bundling the install also saves a second call-out and a second switchboard visit, which matters more than people expect.

The federal solar STC rebate

This is the original one, and it’s been quietly discounting Australian solar for years. It pays out as small-scale technology certificates based on your system size and postcode, and an accredited installer turns that into an upfront discount.

• Roughly $1,800 off a 6.6 kW system, varying with your postcode and the certificate price on the day (around $37 per certificate).
• Claimed at point of sale — you assign the certificates to us and we deduct the value from your price.
• Eligibility: a CEC-approved system installed by an SAA-accredited installer, using approved panels and inverter.

It’s not unique to South Australia. The scheme is national, and the exact dollar figure shifts by postcode zone — the Clean Energy Regulator administers the certificates behind it. We confirm your exact figure at the quote.

The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program

This is the battery rebate, and it’s the biggest single line item of the three. After the 1 May 2026 step-down it pays roughly $252 per usable kWh on the first 14 kWh, then about $151/kWh to 28 kWh, then about $38/kWh to 50 kWh, and nothing beyond. That lands near 30% off the upfront battery cost.

• 21 kWh battery: about $4,586 off — the most common single-home size.
• 14 kWh: about $3,528 off; 28 kWh: about $5,645 off.
• Eligibility: a 5–100 kWh battery paired with new or existing solar, CEC-accredited install, one per address.

It’s claimed at the point of sale like the solar discount. The rate steps down again on 1 January 2027, so the current figure is the most generous it’ll be. We pull the program apart in full in our Cheaper Home Batteries Program explainer.

The federal heat pump hot water STC rebate

Swapping your hot water to a heat pump earns its own certificates, separate from the solar ones. Heat pump hot water uses roughly a quarter of the electricity of an old electric storage tank, and the scheme rewards that efficiency.

• Roughly $600–$1,000 off, depending on your postcode and the unit size.
• Claimed at point of sale — deducted from the install price upfront.
• Eligibility: an eligible AS/NZS 4234-certified unit, professionally installed, usually replacing an electric or gas system.

An Emerald heat pump runs on a solar-compatible timer, so you can heat the tank in the 10am–3pm window on your own panels and the hot water is close to free. We confirm your exact figure at the quote.

What about state schemes and interest-free loans?

This is where we’ll be honest rather than overpromise. State programs change often, open and close, and vary by where you live — so we won’t quote a specific state figure that might be stale by the time you read this. A couple of general points hold true:

• The old SA Home Battery Scheme is closed (since 2022). Don’t count on it — the federal battery rebate is the live one.
• Interest-free and low-rate finance comes and goes by state and lender. eHomes offers Brighte finance so you can spread the net cost regardless, which for many households matters more than a specific loan scheme.

If a current state add-on applies to your address, we’ll flag it on your quote. We’d rather under-promise here and surprise you on the day than bake in a number that evaporates. The federal trio above is the dependable core.

A full worked example: stacking all three

Let’s put it together on a real-world all-electric package — 6.6 kW solar, a 21 kWh Fox ESS battery and an Emerald heat pump — for an Adelaide home. These are the rebate amounts coming off, not the final price:

That’s a meaningful chunk off a whole-home electrification, settled upfront, before any package or seasonal pricing. The exact total shifts with postcode, certificate prices and your battery’s certified capacity, so treat $7,186 as a worked illustration — we confirm your exact figures at the quote.

The running savings stack too. That same home typically drops from around $720 a quarter to roughly $90 on solar plus battery, and the heat pump cuts hot water running costs by about 75% versus an old electric tank. Our Adelaide solar and battery guide runs the full bill maths.

Which order should I install in to capture everything?

Ideally, together. Doing solar, battery and heat pump on one job means one accredited install, one switchboard visit and one set of paperwork — and every rebate captured cleanly. But you don’t have to. If your budget says solar first, that’s fine: the battery rebate still applies later because it works with existing solar, and the heat pump discount stands alone whenever you swap the tank.

A common Reynella pattern: panels went up years ago, the homeowner adds a battery now to stop exporting at 5–8c and rebuying at 30–50c, and replaces a dying electric tank with a heat pump in the same visit. Two of the three rebates captured in one go, on top of solar they already had. See the full breakdown of options on our rebates and finance page.

Want every rebate you qualify for, on one quote?

Send us your postcode and a recent power bill and we’ll map every incentive your home qualifies for — solar, battery and heat pump — with the discounts already deducted and an honest payback figure. Grab a free quote, or see the full picture on our rebates and finance page.