SolarSaver, the Home Energy Fund and plug-in kits
Every main party backs legal plug-in solar. Where they differ is help with the cost, and none of it exists yet: these are election promises for 7 November.
Not yet legal in New Zealand: expected around mid-2027, no date set. The tracker has every step, and the payback calculator works out what a kit would save you.
| Party | Plug-in solar | Help with the cost |
|---|---|---|
| LabourSolarSaver, 8 July 2026 | Change the rules so renters can use plug-in panels. | Subsidies of up to $3,000 for low- and middle-income households, renters included; $160m over four years, running within 12 months of taking office (policy page). |
| National15 October 2026 | Plug-in panels "off the shelf" within six months of re-election. | A Home Energy Fund of low-interest loans repaid through rates, for rooftop solar, batteries, heat pumps and insulation (policy). Nothing specific for plug-in kits. |
| Greens20 July 2026 | Urgently legalise plug-in solar, and a renters' right to solar. | Zero-interest clean energy loans (policy page). |
What a subsidy would mean for a kit
Labour's page says a two-panel kit costs about $1,500 and saves $300 to $400 a year, and that its subsidy could cover a plug-in system. A kit that costs nothing pays back from the first day. Without a subsidy, our payback calculator puts a $1,500 kit at 5.4 to 6.4 years depending on the city.
Income limits for SolarSaver haven't been published, and nor has how a rates-repaid loan would work for someone who rents.
What exists today
No government grant for household solar. EECA's Warmer Kiwi Homes pays toward insulation and heating for owner-occupiers of homes built before 2008, not solar (EECA).
After the election
Official results are declared on 27 November (Electoral Commission). We will update this page then with what the next government has said it will do, and add any scheme the day it opens.
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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Cost and savings
Kit prices overseas, what NZ sellers expect to charge, and payback by city.
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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
- Labour to make power bills more affordable with SolarSaver, Labour Party, 8 July 2026.
- SolarSaver, Labour Party.
- Plug-in solar for Kiwi homes next year, National Party, 15 October 2026.
- Home Energy Fund, National Party, 25 June 2026.
- Green Party launches plan to cut power bills, Green Party, 20 July 2026.
- Power for all of us, Green Party.
- Warmer Kiwi Homes, EECA.
- Key dates for the 2026 General Election, Electoral Commission, 21 January 2026.