Going away with solar and a battery: what happens to your bill
Verified 17 October 2026
A few weeks away over summer leaves your home using very little power while your panels keep working. Here is what that does to your bill and what to check before you go. This guide is about your plan and your bill. For how to set your battery while you are away, ask your installer or check your battery app.
What keeps running on your bill
- The supply charge. It pays for being connected, even if you use no power. It keeps adding up while you are away.
- The usage charge falls. That part of the bill depends on how much power you use, so an empty house adds very little.
What your solar and battery do
- The battery usually fills first. With nobody home, your panels still make power. A battery stores what the house doesn't use. Once it is full, the extra usually goes out to the grid.
- Exports earn a credit only if your plan has a feed-in rate. The credit shows on your bill. Feed-in rates are usually much lower than the rate you pay to buy power.
- An export limit can waste some. If your connection has an export limit, solar above that limit is lost and earns no credit.
- A virtual power plant (VPP) may still use your battery. If you joined one, the operator controls your battery for some or all of the time. Joining needs an ongoing internet connection, so check with your installer before you switch off your home internet.
Check before you leave
- Conditional discounts. A pay-on-time discount only applies if you pay on time. If a bill will land while you are away, pay it early or ask your retailer about automatic payment.
- Benefit periods. A discount that lasts for a set time, such as the first 12 months, ends on its end date. Check when yours does.
The bill after you get back
The bill that covers your trip is not a normal month. You will buy far less power than usual and may send more out. Don't judge your battery or your plan from it. When you check a plan, start from a bill that looks like normal life at home. PowerLens reads the usage and billing period from your bill, and you can add more bills to cover more of your year. Your report says which bills it used.
Not sure whether your plan still suits you? Here is how to tell. Or start with a recent bill. PowerLens says Stay or Switch. Stay is free in full. If it says Switch, you pay once to see the plan's name. For time-based plans you can add your meter data file (NEM12), the detailed usage record from your smart meter, later. It's free.