Can You Really Go Off-Grid With Solar?

The short answer: Yes, you can go properly off-grid. But slapping a battery on a normal solar system does not do it, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

What “off-grid” actually means

Off-grid means no connection to the poles and wires at all. Your solar panels, battery and inverter do everything, every day, including the long wet week in February when the sky looks like wet cement. Grid-connected with a battery is a different animal. It cuts your bill, but when the grid drops out you may still lose power unless your equipment is set up for backup.

What you need

• Enough panels to run the house and charge the battery in poor weather.
• A battery big enough to get you through the night and a few grim days.
• An inverter sized for your biggest loads running at once (the pool pump, the aircon and the welder do not care about your feelings).
• Often a backup generator for the worst stretches.

Where off-grid makes sense

Mostly where the grid is a long way off. If you are out past Longreach, near Alpha or up the back of Mount Isa, the cost of connecting to the network can be eye-watering, and a stand-alone system can win on cost alone. In town, staying connected and cutting the bill is usually the smarter play. Our off-grid guide and off-grid systems page go deeper.

Does it differ by state?

The physics does not change at the border. The rules do. Connection costs, network rules and battery incentives vary between QLD, NSW, WA and Tasmania, and some state battery schemes only apply to grid-connected homes. Check current terms before you count on any rebate.

The honest trade-off

Off-grid means you live within what the system can make. You will think about when you run the dryer. Some folks love that. Others discover they miss the grid by the second cloudy week. Neither is wrong, but know which one you are.

If you want the grid-connected version of this question, read do solar panels work at night and how solar batteries work.

So, should you?

Send us your power bill and a few details about your place. We will tell you straight whether off-grid stacks up, or whether staying connected gets you most of the way for a lot less money.

General information only, current at November 2026. Prices, rebates and tariffs change, so check current terms before you buy.