Households want bigger solar systems as they eye battery storage and EVs

More households are looking to install solar, or increase the size of their existing systems as interest in home batteries and particularly electric vehicles continues to grow in the light of rising fuel and electricity prices.

The latest edition of the Queensland Household Energy Survey, carried out by Queensland’s electricity companies Ergon Energy Network, Energex, and Powerlink Queensland, interviewed 4,301 people to guage insights and trends in energy behaviours and attitudes across the state.

Technologies that were once seen as novel when the survey first started in 2009 have become the norm, and as households continue to the feel the impact of cost-of-living pressures, these technologies are increasingly stepping into the gap to save households money.

The number of households indicating they own an electric vehicle (EV) increased in 2026, from 10 per cent in 2025 to 15 per cent in the latest survey.

Two thirds of participants who do not already own an EV and are currently considering purchasing a new vehicle in the next three years are considering purchasing either an EV or hybrid. This is a marked increase from 2025, when the same question yielded only a 58 per cent response rate.

South-East Queensland has the highest rate of EV ownership in the state with 16 per cent, while ownership is higher among 35–54-year-olds across the state at 22 per cent. That age group has the highest percentage of people considering an EV, at 71 per cent.

Households indicating they own solar PV systems remained steady at 47 per cent (up from 46 per cent in 2025), although intention to upgrade a current system or purchase a new one increased from 26 per cent to 34 per cent.

Similarly, battery storage ownership among solar PV owners saw a significant increase in the last year, umping from 21 per cent in 2025 to 35 per cent in 2026, aligning with interest in the Australian Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program.

The intention to purchase battery storage softened somewhat, though this is somewhat reflective of the large number of people who have purchased battery systems in the past 12 months.

The full report can be viewed in full at QHES.com.au.