Balmain: a tidy 3.3kW solar install, battery-ready

The brief

Like many Inner-West terraces, this Balmain home had a compact roof and a skylight to work around. The owner wanted to start cutting their daytime grid use now and keep the option to add a battery later.

What we installed

We fitted seven high-output 465W Canadian Solar panels — neatly laid out around the existing skylight — to a 5kW hybrid inverter. Sized to the roof, the system covers much of the home's daytime load, and the hybrid inverter is battery-ready so storage can be added later without replacing the core gear.

The result

• System size: 3.255 kW from 7 high-output 465W panels
• Daytime power: Generates around the home's daytime use, cutting grid imports
• Feed-in: Surplus solar exported for a feed-in credit
• Upgrade path: 5 kW hybrid inverter is battery-ready for storage later

Figures are from this project's design proposal; actual results vary by household usage and tariff.