Australia has one of the highest rates of rooftop solar adoption in the world – and it’s easy to see why.
With plenty of sunshine and electricity prices putting pressure on household budgets, millions of Australian homes are now using solar to reduce their reliance on the grid and lower their energy bills.
That’s great if you own a detached home with a roof of your own, but what if you live in an apartment? Can you still install solar panels on an apartment building – and, more importantly, can the solar actually benefit your own electricity bill?
The short answer is yes – but apartment solar works a little differently – and thanks to our world-first technology, SolShare, it’s becoming increasingly achievable.
If you own or rent an apartment and you've been told solar isn't an option, we're here to break down what's actually true. We'll cover how it works, how to get approval, the different options available, whether your building could be a good fit and the first practical step you can take today.
Wendy, a resident in a 5-unit building in Waverton NSW, has cut her energy bills by 60% since installing solar with SolShare. Read her case study here.
In most Australian strata-titled apartment buildings, the roof is considered common property. That means solar must be a shared decision made by the owners' corporation or body corporate, not something an individual apartment can install on its own.
If you own your apartment, you're already part of that decision. You can raise solar with your committee or put forward a motion at a strata meeting, although you'll usually need support from other owners before a project can go ahead.
If you rent, start by sharing the idea with your landlord or property manager. Your landlord will generally need to support the proposal before it can progress through the owners' corporation or body corporate.
The Australian Government's energy.gov.au guidance on solar for rentals and multi-occupancy properties sets out the same permission chain, and it's a useful reference to bring to a committee that hasn't looked at solar before.
All of this can make apartment solar sound more complicated than solar on a standalone home, but it certainly doesn't mean it's out of reach – it just means there's an extra step: getting the people who share the roof on board.
And that conversation is much easier when you can bring them real numbers, not just an idea. A building-specific feasibility breakdown showing the likely system, costs and savings gives your committee something tangible to consider. (PS: that's where we come in!)
Exactly what needs to be approved – and how many owners need to agree – depends on your state's strata legislation and your building's own rules. The good news is that some states have made it easier for owners corporations to approve sustainability upgrades, such as solar – NSW sustainability resolution reforms as an example.
Because the rules vary across Australia and can change over time, it's worth checking the requirements that apply to your building before putting forward a motion. Our state-by-state guide to getting your strata to vote for solar walks through the process in each jurisdiction.
In Australia, there are a few ways to set up solar in an apartment building, but only some solutions put the benefits of solar directly onto your electricity bill.
Knowing the difference can mean the difference between a project worth championing and one that only trims the common-area account.
| Model | What it powers | Who benefits | Where it fits |
| Shared solar using Allume's SolShare technology | Individual apartments and common areas, behind each apartment's own meter. | Every participating household, directly on their own energy bill. | Most multi-unit and multi-level buildings, from small blocks up to mid-sized buildings. |
| Common property only | Lifts, lobbies, corridors and car park lighting. | Owners collectively, through lower common-area costs and levies – nothing reaches an individual apartment bill. | Buildings with high common-area use, or as a modest first step. |
| Individual per-unit systems | One small system per apartment, connected to that apartment's individual meter |
Only households that own their portion of the shared roof, or have strata approval to install on the shared roof space individually. Because of the limited space, the system is usually undersized, and since it doesn't benefit from energy-sharing efficiencies, the result is typically only an average bill reduction of <20%. |
Realistically, only small, single-level blocks of roughly 5–8 units. |
Shared solar is the model that reaches the most apartments directly, and our SolShare technology is what makes it possible. SolShare connects one rooftop system to multiple apartments and distributes the solar behind each household's own meter, so everyone gets their fair share across each month. Residents keep their existing energy retailer and plan, and they can see what their apartment is generating and using in their personal SolCentre dashboard.
Resident using Allume's SolCentre Dashboard to view their apartment's solar energy usage.
The good news is that shared solar with SolShare can work across a wide range of apartment buildings.
For SolShare projects, low- and mid-rise buildings with roughly 6 to 60 apartments across one to eight floors sharing a usable rooftop are the sweet spot for our SolShare technology – but apartment count alone doesn't determine whether a project will work.
One of the biggest factors is roof space. Solar panels need clear, usable space that isn't heavily shaded or already occupied by things like air-conditioning equipment, lift infrastructure or other rooftop services. A rooftop system needs around 7 to 8 square metres per kilowatt of solar, and buildings typically land between 1.2 and 1.8 kilowatts per apartment – so a 20-apartment building might use somewhere around 170 to 190 square metres of clear, unshaded roof.
A few other details shape the cost, but aren't usually deal-breakers: roof condition and material type, older switchboards or meter panels that need upgrading and local electricity network requirements.
The good news – you don't need to work out the technical details yourself. That's the purpose of a feasibility assessment from us: to look at the building as a whole and determine what kind of system is practical, and the costs associated with any upgrades required.
Strata-titled apartment building with SolShare in Murrumbeena, VIC
The cost of an apartment solar system sits with the owners' corporation as a whole, not with individual apartments – and government grants now cover a meaningful share of it in several states.
There isn't one standard price for apartment solar because every building is different, and grants and/or rebates vary by state and local council area. That said, our estimates put the cost at roughly $1,400 to $2,000 per apartment (once rebates and grants are applied). Cost per apartment generally drops as buildings get bigger, with costs spread across more individuals and project costs funded through available grants and/or rebates, owners' corporation sinking funds, special levies, finance or a combination of these.
For a more detailed breakdown of what drives the price, see our guide to calculating the cost of shared solar for apartments. All savings figures are estimates – what your building actually saves depends on its system size, how much solar each household uses through the day, and your retail tariff.
Jakob's 42-unit apartment building in Geelong had 70-80 of the cost of their solar system covered by the VIC Solar for Apartments grant. Read more here.
Government support can significantly reduce the upfront cost of apartment solar.
Eligible solar systems receive federal support through Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) administered by the Clean Energy Regulator, which comes off the upfront price rather than arriving as a rebate later.
Some states, such as Victoria and NSW, offer programs specifically designed to help apartment buildings install solar and, increasingly, batteries, and, between them, they can cover a substantial share of a project's cost.
Funding amounts, eligibility requirements and closing dates change regularly, so it's worth checking what's currently available before presenting costs to your owners' corporation. Our feasibility assessment will always include any current funding options in calculations for your individual building and region.
For a breakdown of all currently available state and federal apartment solar and battery funding, review our ultimate guide to solar energy rebates for apartments.
The most useful next step is finding out what solar could actually look like for your building, and sharing something concrete for your committee to consider.
Start with the basics you can check yourself: use our shared solar cost calculator to get a rough idea of the costs and benefits you might expect for your building. If you're still researching, our complete guide to solar for apartments takes you through the full journey from the first conversation to installation.
From there, a free, no-obligation feasibility assessment from us can confirm the ideal system size, available roof space, electrical requirements, potential government support and estimated savings for residents.
Past experience tells us this is the most powerful tool for people living in apartments who are not yet confident enough to approach their committee – it provides concrete facts that solar sceptics can’t dispute.
Ready to join the over 12k apartment residents now enjoying cleaner, cheaper electricity with SolShare?