Net metering means your home uses rooftop solar first and only exports what is left — while importing from the grid when solar is short. It is the default settlement model for almost all new Australian residential PV. Understanding net metering stops confusion with legacy gross-metering FiT stories and clarifies why self-consumption drives payback in 2026.
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Panels feed the inverter; the inverter supplies house loads; surplus pushes through the meter as export credited at your FiT; shortfalls draw imports at your retail rate. You are not “selling all power and buying it back” under standard net arrangements.
Avoiding a 30c import usually beats earning a 5c FiT on the same kWh. That asymmetry is why load shifting, hot-water timers and batteries matter more than chasing maximum export on constrained DNSPs.
Modern meters record import and export in intervals. Your bill shows both. After commissioning, reconcile inverter app totals with retailer data for a month — mismatches can signal CT orientation issues or plan setup errors.
Net metering describes settlement, not a right to unlimited export. Your DNSP may throttle export while still allowing full self-consumption. Design around the written limit.
A hybrid system charges from surplus PV (and sometimes from the grid on cheap tariffs) then discharges to cut evening imports. Federal Cheaper Home Batteries support (~$372/kWh usable) improves the upfront maths; net metering remains the underlying meter logic.
Ask CEC-accredited installers via MrSolar to estimate self-consumption percentage, not only annual kWh generated. Two identical 6.6kW systems can produce different bill outcomes if one home is empty at noon and the other runs a home office.
Size solar for self-consumption under net metering — compare CEC-accredited quotes on MrSolar.
Written and reviewed by Daniel (Marketplace lead, Epic Unicorn Pty Ltd). We build pages from Australian solar datasets and regulatory references, then map you to CEC-accredited installers only.
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