Grid guide
Export limits (consumer guide)
An export limit caps how much spare solar your home can send to the grid. Limits exist to protect local networks. A battery lets you keep the surplus instead of wasting it.
The three WA export limits
- Fixed (static) cap
- 1.5kW
- No internet link, or no retailer offtake
- Managed (ESM)
- 5kW
- Up to 5 kW in total, on single- or three-phase
- Dynamic (flexible)
- Changes with the grid
- Can go higher when the grid has room (VPP)
Your actual limit is the one approved on your connection offer.
Static vs dynamic limits
Static cap
One fixed number, all day. Some areas start you on a static cap at a low kW.
Dynamic limit
Changes with network conditions. Some areas allow it. If yours does, it can let you export more.
How a battery helps
Instead of losing solar above your limit, the battery soaks it up and you use it later, when power is worth more.
Midday solar surplusthenBattery absorbs itthenUsed in higher-value hours
Practical takeaways
Don't oversize solar only to clip it all day
Pair it with a right-sized battery instead.Check the approved export in your connection offer
That number, not a rule of thumb, is your real limit.If flexible limits are available, use them
Ask your installer to set your system up for them.
Export limit is not what you get paid
DEBS pays for exports only if your solar inverters add up to 5 kW or less. A 6.6 kW array on a 5 kVA inverter counts as 5 kW. A bigger inverter may still be allowed to export, but earns nothing for it.