What plug-in solar costs, and what it saves
A kit is expected to cost about as much as a mid-range fridge, and it pays its way slowly, through the daytime power you no longer buy.
Not yet, expected around mid-2027, no date set (the tracker), so there are no New Zealand prices yet. This page puts together what we do know: overseas prices, what the first NZ seller is aiming for, and what a kit would save here, worked out with our payback calculator.
Plug-in kits are not legal to connect in New Zealand yet. When they are, follow the new standard and the maker's instructions, and ask a registered electrician if you are unsure about your wiring.
The price of a kit
MyMiniSolar, an NZ start-up taking a waitlist, is aiming for about $1,100 for its smallest system (MyMiniSolar). Labour's SolarSaver page uses about $1,500 for two panels saving $300 to $400 a year (Labour), the same figure MySolarQuotes gives for an 800 W kit (MySolarQuotes). Overseas kits are cheaper because the market is big and, in Germany, small solar carries no VAT. The kit list has every price with its date.
What it saves, city by city
With a 800 W kit tilted north, 70% of its power used at home and 35c a kWh, a kit saves $235 to $279 a year and pays back in 5.4 to 6.4 years.
| City | kWh a year, tilted | Saved a year | Payback, tilted | Payback on a railing | Average bill c/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland2,121.8 sunshine hours a year | 1,095 | $268 | 5.6 yrs | 8.7 yrs | 41.3Vector Auckland |
| Hamilton2,033.8 sunshine hours a year | 1,070 | $262 | 5.7 yrs | 8.8 yrs | 39.8WEL Networks |
| Tauranga2,401.5 sunshine hours a year | 1,138 | $279 | 5.4 yrs | 8.3 yrs | 45.0Powerco Tauranga |
| Wellington2,094.1 sunshine hours a year | 1,080 | $265 | 5.7 yrs | 8.6 yrs | 37.2Wellington Electricity |
| Nelson2,497.1 sunshine hours a year | 1,128 | $276 | 5.4 yrs | 7.9 yrs | 38.4Nelson Electricity |
| Christchurch2,128.4 sunshine hours a year | 1,066 | $261 | 5.7 yrs | 8.2 yrs | 38.6Orion |
| Dunedin1,775.5 sunshine hours a year | 961 | $235 | 6.4 yrs | 8.9 yrs | 42.5Aurora Dunedin |
| Invercargill1,764.6 sunshine hours a year | 976 | $239 | 6.3 yrs | 8.7 yrs | 39.0Electricity Invercargill |
Sun from PVGIS and NIWA, read 21 October 2026; bills from MBIE's survey of 15 August 2026, whole bill over 8,000 kWh a year, incl. GST.
An estimate from the stated assumptions, not financial advice. Your roof, shade, bill and habits change the answer.
What changes the answer most
- Your power price. It moves payback more than the city does: every 5c a kWh is worth about a seventh of the saving.
- How it hangs. Flat on a railing makes 64 to 72% of what the same panels make tilted toward the sun, though it does better in June, when the sun is low.
- Who is home. Power used as it is made is worth your full rate; power sent back is worth nothing until someone pays for it.
- Shade. A railing in shade for half the day halves the answer. No calculator knows your balcony.
Questions people ask
How much will plug-in solar cost in NZ?
Nobody sells it here yet. MyMiniSolar is aiming for about $1,100 for its smallest system, and Labour's policy page uses $1,500 for a two-panel kit. In the UK and Germany a two-panel kit without a battery costs about NZ$610 to NZ$2,000 at today's exchange rates, before shipping and GST.
How much would a plug-in kit save on my power bill?
With our default assumptions an 800 W kit saves about $235 to $279 a year across eight cities, depending on the sun and how much of its power you use at home. Try your own numbers in the payback calculator.
How long does a plug-in kit take to pay for itself?
About 5.4 years in Tauranga to 6.4 years in Dunedin with a $1,500, 800 W kit tilted toward the sun. Hung flat on a railing it takes longer.
Is a plug-in kit worth it if I am out all day?
Less so. Most of a kit's power is worth something only if it is used as it is made, so a home that is empty all day with little running uses less of it. Set the self-use share lower in the calculator to see the difference.
Get one email the day it is legal
We watch the Ministry for Regulation, the Electricity Authority and the Beehive every week. When plug-in solar is legal, or the standard it needs is published, we write once with what changed and which kits qualify.
More guides
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What plug-in solar is
One or two panels, a small inverter and a cable to a normal socket.
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Why it is banned now
A 2012 prohibition notice and one clause in AS/NZS 4777.1.
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Plug-in batteries
What a battery adds, what it costs, and what the rules say so far.
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Renters and body corporates
Why this matters most to people who can't put panels on a roof.
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Plug-in or rooftop
Size, price, payback and who each one suits.
Sources
- MyMiniSolar, MyMiniSolar.
- SolarSaver, Labour Party.
- What's all the hype about plug-in solar (aka balcony solar)?, MySolarQuotes, 17 August 2026.
- PVGIS 5.3, PVGIS-ERA5 database (2005-2023), European Commission Joint Research Centre.
- Climate normals 1991-2020: sunshine hours and daily global radiation, NIWA.
- Quarterly Survey of Domestic Electricity Prices, 15 August 2026, MBIE, 15 August 2026.
- Stecker-Solar-Simulator, HTW Berlin.