Interest Rates are up. Here's how Solar Installers Can Still Win the Job
On 29 September the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.60%. It's the fourth rise this year and the highest rate since 2011, according to CommBank. The RBA also left the door open to more, saying it will keep acting "including increasing the cash rate target further if needed."
If you install solar and batteries, you're probably already hearing it. Customers say "we'll wait and see" and quotes take longer to come back. It's easy to assume demand has dried up. It hasn't. It has changed shape.
The demand is still there
Households trying to cut a bill they can control. People are feeling the pressure of higher mortgage repayments and rising household costs. They can't change their interest rate, but they can look for ways to reduce the power bill.
The battery rebate is still there, but it's shrinking. More than 500,000 batteries have now been installed under the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, the Government announced in August. The discount was restructured from 1 May and is stepping down over time. Waiting out the rate cycle now has a price.
Existing solar owners adding storage. Many already own their system outright, and a significant proportion of rebate customers are adding or upgrading solar at the same time, pv magazine reports.
The suburbs and the regions. More than three quarters of rebate installs have been outside the inner city. Energy Minister Chris Bowen called it "a story of the outer suburbs and the regions". The demand isn't confined to Australia's capital cities.
The catch: careful buyers, more competition
When money gets tighter, customers don't necessarily stop buying. They become harder to win.
They also have more installers to choose from. The number of accredited battery installers has doubled to 8,846 since the rebate began, according to the Government's August update. Fewer jobs are being chased by more businesses.
That makes responsiveness a competitive advantage.
And careful buyers don't just compare prices. They compare the experience.
Was the installer easy to reach? Did they answer the questions they had? Did they call when they said they would? Did the quote arrive promptly? Did anyone follow up?
When the difference between three installers is a few hundred dollars, the business that feels easiest and safest to deal with can have a real advantage.
The part you can control
You can't set interest rates or rebate levels. You can control what happens when a careful buyer picks up the phone.
Picture a homeowner who has finally decided a battery makes sense. They ring three installers. One goes to voicemail, one calls back tomorrow, and one answers straight away and books a site visit for Thursday. The difference? the customer gets an answer when they're ready to engage, rather than being asked to wait
And there's another problem with missed calls - trust. If a homeowner is trying to spend thousands of dollars with you and can't get through, they may start wondering how responsive you'll be after the installation. In a competitive market, being easy to reach isn't just convenient, it can make you look more reliable.
One missed call isn't necessarily one missed conversation. It can be one missed customer.
A homeowner who is researching their options may not leave a voicemail, wait until tomorrow, or call back three times. If they can't get an answer, they may simply move on to the next installer on their list.
That isn't just a hunch. A Harvard Business Review study of 1.25 million sales leads found that businesses contacting a customer within an hour were nearly seven times more likely to have a real conversation with them than businesses that waited even one more hour. A 2026 mystery-shopper study of 31 US home services brands by Pied Piper found the same thing: customers usually contact several companies, and they often book someone else before a slow business notices it missed them.
In a soft market, responsiveness becomes a competitive advantage. The businesses that make it easy for customers to move forward do four things well:
Answer every call, including on the roof, after hours and on weekends.
Answer common questions, so customers aren't waiting for a callback just to get basic information.
Book appointments quickly, while the customer is motivated.
Follow up on quotes, because a careful buyer often just needs a nudge.
Not every call needs to reach the installer. Sometimes the customer just wants to know whether you service their area, what happens next, whether you install batteries, or when someone can come out.
Those conversations still matter. They're opportunities to keep the customer moving towards a quote - rather than giving them a reason to call someone else.
You don't need to stop working to do all of this yourself. You need a system that makes sure it happens
The bottom line
Higher rates don't necessarily stop people buying. They make people choosier. The work is still out there. But when customers are comparing three or four installers, the businesses that are easiest to reach and easiest to deal with have an advantage.
You can't control the RBA. You can't control the rebate. You can't control how many competitors are chasing the same customer.
But you can control what happens when your phone rings.
If calls are slipping through while you're on the tools, Nexus Agency can help. Our AI receptionist answers every call, handles common questions, books appointments and follow up leads - so you can keep working. Get in touch to see how it works.
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