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Figures as at 25 September 2026.
Interest-free solar loans are not all the same product. The quote rarely says which one you are being offered, and only one of them costs nothing beyond the price of the system. The WA Residential Battery Scheme's no-interest loan is funded by the state and has one fee, charged only if you fall behind. Brighte, humm and Plenti supply a different product through installers: a "0% interest payment plan", a buy now pay later contract with no interest, account fees on your side and a merchant fee on the installer's side, the provider's charge for the sale. Since 10 June 2025 most of those plans have been low cost credit contracts under the credit law: no interest, fees capped by regulation, and a lighter affordability check than a personal loan. A green loan is the third option: an ordinary personal loan restricted to energy upgrades, with a published interest rate, fees and a comparison rate, the rate with most of the fees folded in.
Paying cash, and stacking a loan with the rebates, are covered in solar battery financing in Perth.
Each is a credit contract under the same Act.
| Retailer interest-free payment plan | WA Residential Battery Scheme loan | Green loan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A buy now pay later contract with the installer's finance provider; most are low cost credit contracts | A 0% loan funded by the WA Government, administered and lent by Plenti | A personal loan from a bank or specialist lender, restricted to energy upgrades |
| Who regulates it | ASIC under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act since 10 June 2025; the installer's conduct under the New Energy Tech Consumer Code if it is a signatory | ASIC for the loan contract, since Plenti lends under a credit licence; Energy Policy WA sets the scheme rules | ASIC, under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act and the National Credit Code |
| Who checks you can afford it | The provider, under a reduced version of the responsible lending rules | Plenti, against your tax return and a household income cap | The lender, under the full responsible lending rules |
| Interest | None for the term on a low cost credit contract; some products are interest-free only for a promotional period, then charge a standard rate | None, fixed for the whole term | An advertised rate and a comparison rate; the comparison rate is the one to compare |
| Fees | Establishment and weekly or monthly account fees, capped by regulation at $200 in the first year and $125 in each later year, with late fees capped separately | None, except $10 for each week a repayment is in arrears, capped at $120 in any 12 months | Establishment and monthly fees vary by lender; the comparison rate includes most of them |
| Where the provider's cost sits | In a merchant fee charged to the installer, which most providers do not let the installer pass on as a surcharge | Nowhere on your bill; the state funds it | In the interest rate |
| Missed repayment | A late fee, a formal default notice, and the miss can be reported to your credit file | $10 a week, capped at $120 a year | Interest keeps accruing, default fees under the contract, a formal default notice |
| Paying out early | Usually no fee; check the contract | No fee | Varies by lender; some charge an early repayment fee |
| What the quote must show you | If the installer is a code signatory: the provider's name, the total cost under the plan beside the outright price on the same day, and the fees | A quote from an accredited vendor, with discounts shown separately from the government rebates | Any advertisement that quotes a rate must show the comparison rate no less prominently |
| Ask the installer for | The cash price for the same system, in writing, beside the financed price | Whether the loan covers the panels and inverter in the package, and the term | The cash price, to set the lender's comparison rate against the plan's total cost |
Yes. The scheme lends $2,001 to $10,000 over 3 to 10 years at 0%, fixed for the whole term. No establishment fee, no account fee, no early repayment fee, no security. The one charge is a late fee of $10 for each week a repayment is in arrears, capped at $120 in any 12-month period from settlement.
Plenti administers the loan and lends the money under its own credit licence. It checks household gross income against a $210,000 cap using the most recent tax return, and pays the approved funds to the accredited installer once the installation is signed off. The loan can cover the battery, a new or upgraded inverter, and solar panels bought with the battery in one package. The loan plus the rebate cannot exceed what the system cost.
The conditions come from the scheme: a Synergy account, a battery on the Synergy Supported Solutions List, enrolment in a virtual power plant such as Synergy Battery Rewards, and an accredited vendor lodging the application. The WA rebate eligibility checklist walks through each one, and how to apply for the WA battery rebate covers the paperwork.
This is the product an installer's "interest-free" line can be confused with. Ask which one the quote means.
Partly in your account fees and partly in a fee the installer pays. Brighte's 0% Interest Payment Plan charges a $75 establishment fee and $2.30 a week in account keeping, with a $4.99 late fee capped at $49.90 a year. Over five years that is $75 plus 260 weeks at $2.30, or $673, before any late fee. humm's establishment and monthly fees vary by retailer; a missed payment costs $20. Plenti's Zero Interest Payment Plan charges a monthly fee that its product page does not put a figure on. Zip Money works differently: interest-free only for a promotional period, then 25.9% a year on the balance, plus a $9.95 monthly account fee while anything is owing.
On the installer's side, the merchant fee. A buy now pay later provider pays the installer the value of the sale less a service fee. The 2024 law that brought these plans under credit regulation was written on that basis. The Reserve Bank put the average at about 3.5% of the purchase value in 2024, well above the cost of a card transaction, and noted that most providers do not let the merchant pass it on as a surcharge. None of the providers named above publishes the rate it charges installers, and that average comes from everyday retail purchases, while a plan that runs five or 10 years is priced on its own terms. Treat 3.5% as the retail average.
No regulator states that every installer adds the fee to the price, and an installer can absorb it or price every system the same whether you pay cash or finance. The New Energy Tech Consumer Code requires a signatory retailer to be clear about any additional cost for finance when that cost is being recovered in the overall price. Whether any of the fee is in your price shows up in one comparison: the cash price beside the financed price.
Between nothing and about $2,736 above the cash price, on the terms published on 25 September 2026. Take $8,000 left to pay after the rebates, repaid over five years.
| 0% payment plan, Brighte fee schedule | WA scheme loan | Green loan, Plenti from 9.99% p.a. (comparison rate 11.20% p.a.) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repayment | About $143 a month, with the $75 establishment fee on the first repayment | $133 a month | About $179 a month including the $8.99 monthly fee |
| Fees you pay over the term | $673 | $0 | $539 |
| Interest | $0 | $0 | About $2,196 |
| Cost above the cash price | $673 on your side, plus whatever share of the merchant fee sits in the price | $0 | About $2,736 |
At the lowest rate Plenti publishes, the 0% plan costs a quarter of the green loan even after its fees, provided the financed price is the cash price. Every 1% of merchant fee that reaches the price adds $80 on an $8,000 system, so the plan's cost rises with a figure the quote does not show. CommBank published a 4.24% p.a. rate on 25 September 2026 for its eligible home loan customers taking an unsecured fixed rate loan for energy-efficient purchases, with a 4.24% comparison rate and no establishment or service fees. At that rate the same $8,000 costs about $890 in interest, close to the plan's account fees before any merchant fee is counted. Other amounts and terms can be modelled on the battery financing calculator.
A comparison rate, in any advertisement that quotes an interest rate. The National Credit Code makes it compulsory there. It has to be labelled, shown no less prominently than the rate or the repayment figure beside it, and carry a warning about its accuracy. Fees that depend on something happening, such as a late fee, are left out of it. A "from" rate is the lowest a lender offers. Your rate is set after the lender assesses you and appears on the loan offer with its own comparison rate.
The lender also runs the full responsible lending process: ask about your requirements and finances, verify them, and assess whether the loan is unsuitable. Several lenders discount their green loans through the Household Energy Upgrades Fund, a Clean Energy Finance Corporation program that named Brighte, CommBank, ING, Plenti and Westpac among its current programs on 25 September 2026. The corporation does not lend, and the discount comes off each lender's standard product.
Miss a repayment and interest keeps accruing, the contract's default fees apply, and the lender must send a formal default notice before enforcing. Plenti lists no early payout fee; some other lenders charge one, so check the offer document.
If the installer is a signatory to the New Energy Tech Consumer Code, a set of written disclosures before you sign. The plan has to be offered through a provider that either holds a credit licence with the plan regulated under the National Credit Code, or has had its contract and internal policies approved by the code administrator, and its term cannot be longer than the expected life of the product. Before you sign, the retailer names the provider, states that the plan is a voluntary finance option, and shows the total cost under the plan against the cost of buying the same system outright that day. It also has to hand over the credit law's fee disclosures and point complaints to the provider.
The administrator's approved list, as at 24 September 2026, named Plenti's Zero-Interest Payment Plan, BrightePay, an AGL EV-charger plan and two Intellihub subscription agreements. A provider that holds a credit licence, such as humm or Zip, meets the code's first test if its plan is regulated under the National Credit Code. The code is being updated, with a new version from 1 December 2026, so check which version your installer signed.
Under the credit law itself, the contract for a low cost credit contract must state that no interest is payable and set out the frequency, amount and number of repayments and the total. The provider must send a default notice the first time a repayment is missed. The fee caps apply across every plan you hold with the same provider.
Start with the cash price for the identical system, in writing, beside the financed price; a code signatory has to give you the outright price, and any installer can. Then, also in writing:
Then compare the total paid over the term against the cash price, product by product. The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program discount steps down on 1 January 2027 by installation date, covered in rebate timelines and the January step-down, so both the price and the finance can move if the install slips into the new year.
Is an interest-free solar payment plan really free? No. There is no interest on a low cost credit contract, but there are account fees, capped at $200 in the first year and $125 in each later year, and the provider charges the installer a merchant fee that can be recovered in the price. Only the WA scheme loan is 0% with the state carrying the cost.
Is the WA scheme loan the same as an installer's interest-free plan? They are different products. The scheme loan is $2,001 to $10,000 over 3 to 10 years at 0%, lodged by an accredited vendor and lent by Plenti, with no fee except $10 a week in arrears. An installer's interest-free plan is a buy now pay later contract with a provider such as Brighte, humm or Plenti, with account fees and a merchant fee on the installer's side. Check which of the two the quote refers to before comparing costs.
Does a 0% plan or a green loan affect my credit report? Either one is a credit contract. Applying can trigger a credit check, and a late or missed repayment on either can be reported and lower your credit score. The scheme loan counts too: Plenti assesses it on your income.
Can I pay a plan or a loan out early? Brighte, humm and the scheme loan list no early payout fee, and Plenti's payment plan typically charges none. Green loans vary: Plenti charges $0 and some banks charge a fee. Check the contract before you sign.
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