The case for plug-in solar and batteries has never been clearer – and renters deserve it

For renters watching rooftop solar spread across the neighbourhood, Australia’s energy transition can feel frustratingly distant. The case for legalising plug-in solar and batteries is now clear: portable energy devices could help households use cheaper midday electricity and reduce what they buy from the grid. 

The sunshine is freely available. Control of a suitable rooftop is not.

Portable energy devices could narrow that divide. An approved solar kit connected through a household socket could reduce electricity purchases using equipment residents own and take when they move.

Portable batteries could also shift cheap or free midday electricity into the evening. The framework should support solar alone, storage where permitted, or a managed combination – not depend on one tariff or technology.

Australia is now considering pathways for plug-in solar. That is welcome, but legalisation alone will not deliver access. The danger is another energy product that technically exists yet remains too costly, restrictive or impractical for the people it is meant to help.

The test is simple: can a renter buy a certified product, place it safely in a private balcony, courtyard or yard, plug it in and use it without an electrician, network application or landlord’s permission?

That requires a clear no-modification category. A qualifying system should be freestanding and removable, with no drilling, façade attachment, fixed wiring, switchboard work or use of common property. Landlords would control alterations to their property, but not a compliant portable appliance used safely within the rented premises.

Electrical legalisation alone will not secure that outcome. Britain now permits certified plug-in solar, but official advice still tells consumers to check whether landlord or building-owner permission is required. Australia should go further by aligning electrical, energy, tenancy and strata rules from the beginning.

Germany demonstrates both the potential and the importance of complementary rules. Its federal energy registry reported about 1.46 million registered plug-in solar systems by July 2026, while legal reforms constrain landlords and owners’ associations from rejecting them without adequate grounds.

Australia should learn from that experience without assuming German electrical systems or housing laws can simply be copied.

Safety questions are real.

A removable generator must stop safely when the grid fails or it is unplugged, interact safely with Australian protective devices, and avoid unsuitable connections, circuit overloading, fire and insecure mounting.

Britain found that a defined low-power category could be consumer-installed without mandatory dedicated circuits or professional installation, although safety organisations still caution that some older protective devices may be unsuitable.

Australia should conduct equivalent testing using Australian plugs, socket circuits, switchboards and legacy safety switches.

The goal should be a product standard ordinary people can trust. Consumers should see an approval mark, complete a short suitability check and plug in. Professional assessment should apply only where that check identifies an unsafe or uncertain installation – not universally, destroying the economics for renters.

Rental homes should already meet enforceable minimum standards for electrical safety, secure doors and windows, weatherproofing, and landlord-supplied fixtures and appliances.

Governments should strengthen energy-performance requirements too, including insulation, shading, draught-proofing and efficient electric heating, cooling and hot water. These are baseline housing obligations; plug-in solar is additional consumer agency, not a substitute.

A tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment protects undisturbed occupation, while safety, repair, security and minimum-condition duties arise through related but separate laws.

Where a property fails legally required standards, the owner – not the renter – should remedy it. At the same time, a new plug-in-solar category should not impose unnecessary upgrades that make the product unusable across much of the rental market.

Nor should a policy promoted for renters be designed without them. Tenant and consumer organisations should help shape standards, warranties, complaints, recalls and relocation arrangements, including the needs of people on short leases, apartment residents, social-housing tenants and frequent movers.

Portability does not guarantee value. Orientation, shade, available outdoor space and the next home can all change output. Approved products should provide conservative performance information, clear total costs, useful warranties and repair options – without exaggerated savings claims. Self-supply should be available, not misrepresented as suitable for every renter or dwelling.

Clear rules will also be needed for connecting these systems, including suitable cables, weather protection, safeguards against overloaded power boards and limits on multiple generators sharing a connection. Where necessary, built-in controls should prevent operation outside those limits.

Further, your product warranty registration with the retailer or manufacturer should usefully be shared with and inform the network operator (if needed – data is important) instead of precipitating yet another form to the bureaucracy.

Solar-only products should provide the cheapest entry point. Australia should also develop a parallel pathway for integrated solar-and-battery appliances rather than assuming batteries are covered by overseas solar-only rules.

Storage can increase self-consumption while a certified controller limits AC output and any export. Consumers should not be forced to buy a battery, but safe innovation should not be blocked.

Homeowners should benefit too. A small modular self-supply system should not face the same process as a multi-kilowatt rooftop generator seeking material exports. Networks should manage power quality and significant exports – not impose onerous approval on a certified low-power appliance used mainly to reduce household imports.

The opportunity is larger than legalising a panel or battery. It is to establish a new category of safe, portable self-supply appliance – one renters can actually use, homeowners can choose, networks can accommodate and manufacturers can improve.

Landlords should control alterations. Networks should manage material exports. Property owners should meet baseline housing obligations. Consumers should be free to make, store and use their own electricity safely.

Prof Ray Wills is Managing Director at Future Smart Strategies and Adjunct Professor at The University of Western Australia.

Kevin Davies is a Director and electrical engineer at Sunvertec, a renewable energy company.

Howard Buckley is Chief Executive Officer at Future Smart Strategies.