Federal Solar Hot Water Rebate cancelled!

The Australian Government announced last week that the Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme that provided rebates for installing solar hot water and heat pump hot water systems would be closed immediately.
So any systems installed, ordered with a deposit or purchased after 28th February 2012 will not be eligible.

What does this mean if you are considering a new hot water system?

It is well known that solar hot water systems and heat pump hot water systems are not only more efficient than their counterparts but are also much better for the environment. This is due mainly to the fact that they require a lot fewer resources (electricity and gas) to generate hot water. These resources (particularly electricity) are a major source of carbon emissions. Unfortunately, these systems are more expensive to buy and install (in solar’s case)
compared to the gas and electric systems. This additional cost meant that many households had trouble budgeting for the extra cost when installing or replacing an old system.

As hot water is one of the largest sources of household carbon pollution, the government introduced the rebate to help offset the initial extra cost and therefore encourage more households to replace old systems with solar and heat pumps. This rebate was worth $1000 for Solar and $600 for heat pumps. So essentially it means that it will now cost you an additional $600 or $1000 to install a heat pump or solar hot water system respectively.

Are there any rebates still available?

The short answer is yes. At this stage, there are still 2 rebates or credits for installing solar or heat pump systems. These are:

• Small-Scale Technology Credits – these are credits that are allocated depending on how efficient the system is (eg. how many electricity hours it replaces).
  These are handled by Fallon Solutions on your behalf and are lodged after installation.
• Queensland Government Solar Hot Water Rebate – this is available for both solar and heat Pumps. It is a flat $600 rebate (or $1000 if you are a pensioner or low-income earner).

So is it still worth installing a solar or heat pump hot water system?

We believe yes. The lower cost of running these hot water systems will eventually recover the additional cost of installing them at the beginning. You will just need to find a bit more money at the start. Furthermore, you will be doing something for the environment by reducing your carbon footprint;
which has to be a good thing.

Contact Fallon Solutions on 1300 762 260 or fill in a hot water enquiry form to find out more.