How to get more savings from existing solar in Perth: practical tips for 2026

The value of solar is determined by two factors: how much your system generates, and how much of that generation you use directly rather than export to the grid. In Perth, a kilowatt-hour self-consumed saves you 33.26c (the A1 tariff rate) — but the same kilowatt-hour exported earns only 2–10c under DEBS. The gap is 3–16× in favour of self-consumption.

Here's how to capture more of your solar generation at the higher rate.

Understand what you're currently exporting

Before optimising, know your baseline.

Check your monitoring platform: Log in to Fronius Solar.web, Sungrow iSolarCloud, SolarEdge, or Enphase Enlighten. Look for your self-consumption rate — the percentage of solar generation consumed by your household versus exported. A typical Perth household without battery storage achieves 30–50% self-consumption. The rest is exported.

Check your Synergy bill: DEBS customers can see their export volume on their Synergy bill. If your export is larger than your import, your system is significantly oversized for your current load pattern.

Tip 1: Shift flexible loads to solar hours (9am–3pm)

The simplest, zero-cost change: reschedule appliances to run during peak solar generation.

Appliances to shift:

• Dishwasher: If you run it after dinner, change to mid-morning. Use the delay-start timer.
• Washing machine: Same principle — run cycles during the day.
• Clothes dryer: Schedule to run 10am–2pm.
• Pool pump: Switch the timer from a fixed "off-peak" window to 9am–3pm. This alone can convert 2–4kWh/day from export to self-consumption.

Estimated saving from load shifting: If you currently export 6kWh/day at 2c (off-peak DEBS) and shift 3kWh of that to self-consumption instead:

• Before: 3kWh × $0.02 = $0.06 in DEBS credits
• After: 3kWh × $0.3326 = $1.00 in avoided import
• Daily saving: $0.94 → approximately $343/year

Tip 2: Reconfigure your hot water system timer

If you have an electric hot water system on a standard element (not heat pump), it's likely running on an off-peak timer — either a Synergy off-peak circuit (which runs 11pm–7am) or a general-purpose timer.

Off-peak hot water charging at night means you're buying grid electricity to heat water when your solar is generating nothing. Shifting the timer to run 10am–1pm captures solar generation directly.

How to reconfigure: The timer is in your switchboard or near the hot water unit. You or a licensed electrician can adjust the time window. If your hot water runs on a Synergy controlled load circuit (separate off-peak meter), you may need to change how the system is wired — ask an electrician whether it can be changed to a general-purpose circuit.

Caution: Standard electric elements heat quickly (1–2 hours to reheat a tank). A 160L system running at 3.6kW for 1.5 hours = 5.4kWh. Ensure your solar is consistently generating enough before shifting the timer.

Tip 3: Consider a solar diverter

A solar diverter (also called a solar relay or smart load controller) automatically redirects excess solar generation to a specific appliance — typically your hot water system — when your panels are generating more than you're consuming.

How it works:

• When your solar generation exceeds household load (e.g. 3kW generated, 1kW load = 2kW excess)
• The diverter activates the hot water element at the available surplus power (not full rate)
• No changes to how you use hot water — the diverter handles it automatically

Cost: Approx. $300–$600 installed.

Annual saving: Diverted hot water energy at 33c vs grid at night = approximately $200–$400/year depending on household size, effectively making this a 1–2 year payback on a standard electric hot water system.

Tip 4: Switch tariff to Midday Saver (if your usage suits it)

If you can run significant loads during 9am–3pm, Synergy's Midday Saver tariff charges only 8.85c/kWh during that window. This doesn't change what your solar self-consumes, but it dramatically reduces the cost of the grid electricity you import during the day.

Good fit for Midday Saver:

• Home during the day (retirees, WFH)
• Pool pump, hot water, and laundry can run during the day
• EV charging at home during the day

Poor fit:

• Nobody home 9am–3pm, so no loads can shift to that window
• Evening consumption is high (Midday Saver peak rate is higher than A1)

See our detailed Midday Saver vs A1 guide for the full calculation.

Tip 5: Reduce "baseload parasites" — standby power

The devices in your home that consume power continuously, day and night, reduce how much of your solar generation can be "self-consumed" — they absorb generation that would otherwise go to the grid, but they also continue drawing from the grid at night.

Common standby power loads:

• Multiple desktop computers, monitors, amplifiers left on
• Old plasma TVs on standby (50–80W)
• Gaming consoles in standby (2–10W each)
• ADSL/NBN routers and set-top boxes

Eliminating 200W of standby power = 4.8kWh/day = 1,750kWh/year. At 33.26c, that's $582/year — though most of this saving is in avoided import, not solar optimisation specifically.

Switch to smart power strips that cut standby power when the primary device (TV, monitor) is off.

Tip 6: Run your EV charging off solar (if applicable)

If you have an EV and charge at home, solar charging can be extraordinarily valuable. The Midday Saver tariff at 8.85c/kWh is cheap, but self-consumed solar at 33.26c saved (avoided import) is even better.

Configure your EV charger to solar-only or solar-prioritised charging:

• Most EV home chargers have a scheduling function
• Set the charging window to 9am–2pm for maximum solar capture
• A 7kW charger running 3 hours = 21kWh, which needs a 7+kW solar system to cover fully

For systems under 7kW, set the charger to a lower current (6A–10A = 1.4–2.3kW) to run longer at the solar generation rate rather than drawing heavily from the grid.

Tip 7: Consider adding battery storage

Battery storage is the most effective single step for improving self-consumption — it captures excess daytime solar that would otherwise be exported at 2c and makes it available for your evening load at 33c.

Simple sizing guide: Look at your Synergy bill for your typical DEBS export. If you export more than 3–4kWh/day on average, a battery sized to approximately your evening import (5–10kWh for most Perth households) will substantially increase your self-consumption rate.

Our battery storage guide covers the payback calculation in detail.

Tip 8: Monitor and investigate underperformance

If your system was generating more in a previous year and you haven't changed your load pattern, investigate before assuming degradation:

1. Check panel cleaning — soiling in Perth's summer months costs 3–7% of generation
2. Check for new shading — has a tree grown to shade panels that were unshaded at installation?
3. Review inverter error history — look for isolation faults or repeated MPPT errors
4. Compare string performance — if your inverter shows two MPPT strings, compare their outputs

A 10% underperformance that goes uninvestigated costs you $300–$400/year on a mid-sized system.

Most Perth solar households can increase their savings by $200–$600/year through load shifting, timer reconfiguration, and tariff optimisation — without any hardware changes. The battery step delivers the most significant jump in self-consumption but at a capital cost. Start with the zero-cost changes first.