Are you thinking about purchasing solar panels and batteries using an ACT Sustainable Household Scheme (SHS) loan? Here’s something important you should know.
The SHS supports Canberra households to reduce their energy consumption and costs, contributing to the territory’s goal of moving to net-zero emissions by 2045. The program provides interest-free loans to eligible participants for a range of equipment and improvements, including:
A household can borrow a maximum total amount of $15,000 over the life of the program. For example, you could have solar panels installed first and apply for another loan for a reverse cycle air conditioning system later.
The minimum loan application is $2,000. Participants have up to 10 years to repay the loan. Since there is no interest, there are no upfront costs or fees. But there are plenty of terms and conditions – this is Canberra, after all.
Clearing up solar and battery loan confusion
The criteria for most categories includes the “unimproved value” (UV) of the property (property aspect) on which the items will be installed. The UV value of a property can be found by visiting Access Canberra and entering the address.
The UV blankets vary depending on the product category.
For rooftop solar products (Category A), the property’s UV exposure must be at or below $450,000 in each year beginning in 2022. This November 2024 ACT Government guidance also classifies household battery storage systems as Category A (page 2). However, further down in the guide it states that the UV suitability for Category B and D products *and* solar batteries is $750,000 less (page 5).
No wonder people are confused. And it’s not uncommon for a solar power system and home batteries to be installed at the same time, which can reduce overall costs. But what happens in this scenario in terms of SHS eligibility?
Jono from SQ contacted the Sustainable Household Scheme team about the situation using the example of a $20,000 solar and battery system, with the solar aspect costing $8,000 and the battery costing $12,000. The answer:
“In your example of a $20,000 system consisting of $8,000 of solar and $12,000 of battery, the household can apply for a $15,000 credit if they qualify for both solar and batteries comes (UV at or below $450,000). If the household was only eligible for the battery (UV over $450,000 but no more than $750,000), they can only apply for a $12,000 credit for the battery.”
And what happens if an installer doesn’t break down the quote to break down the solar and battery aspects? Jono was told that the lender (Brighte) is reviewing all applications for such schemes and may ask providers for further information.
So there you have it. In addition to the guide above, you can also view other terms and conditions on the Sustainable Household Scheme website to see if they may apply to you.
According to the ACT Government, thousands of Canberra homeowners have taken part in the program since its launch in 2021. An additional $80 million will be invested in the initiative, on top of the $200 million already committed by the ACT Government.
Footnotes
- Originally the UV cap for Category A products was $750,000. ↩
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