Solar Panels for Apartments & Strata Properties in Queensland
Apartment buildings and strata complexes have the roof space for solar but a different set of rules. How the three approaches work, and how body corporate approval actually runs.
Why Apartment Solar Works Differently
On a house, the roof, the meter and the electricity bill all belong to the same person. In a strata scheme they usually do not. The roof is common property owned collectively, the common areas have their own meter paid through levies, and each apartment has a separate account with its own retailer.
That means the first question is not which panels to use, but which electricity account the solar is meant to offset. Getting that decision right determines the system size, the metering arrangement and who approves the work.
Three Ways to Put Solar on a Strata Property
Most Queensland strata schemes fall into one of three arrangements. Which suits your building depends on roof area, meter layout and what the committee wants to achieve.
Common Property Power
The most straightforward option. Solar offsets the common area meter that runs lifts, corridor and carpark lighting, ventilation, pumps and pool equipment. Savings flow directly to reduced body corporate levies, so every owner benefits without touching individual accounts.
Shared Solar Across Apartments
A central rooftop array feeds an allocation system that distributes generation across individual apartment meters. More complex to set up, and it needs agreement on how the generation is shared, but it puts solar within reach of residents who have no roof of their own.
Individual Townhouse Systems
Townhouses, duplexes and low-rise complexes where each dwelling has its own defined roof area can take a conventional rooftop system per home, wired to that unit’s own meter. Closest to a standard residential installation.
Getting Body Corporate Approval
Because the roof is common property, a solar installation almost always needs body corporate approval. We prepare the documentation committees actually need to make that decision, rather than a sales quote.
Site Feasibility
Roof area, orientation, shading, switchboard capacity and cable routes assessed on site.
Written Proposal
System design, expected generation and payback modelling, in a format suitable for tabling at a meeting.
Approval and Connection
Once the motion passes, we prepare and lodge the Energex connection application.
Scheduled Installation
Work planned around resident access to common areas, with notice given in advance.
Metering, Embedded Networks and Grid Connection
Metering is what separates a straightforward strata solar project from a complicated one. Buildings on a standard arrangement have one common property meter plus an individual meter per apartment. Buildings on an embedded network buy electricity in bulk through a single parent meter and on-sell to residents, which changes how solar generation is credited.
We confirm the arrangement before designing anything, because it determines both the system size and the connection application.
- Standard metering – solar offsets the common property account, surplus exported under the applicable feed-in arrangement
- Embedded network – generation is credited through the parent meter and passed to residents by the network operator
- Export limits set by Energex, which vary by connection size and are confirmed before design
- Three-phase supply is common in apartment buildings and affects inverter selection
- Systems can be staged, with battery storage added later without replacing the inverter
Apartment and Strata Solar FAQs
Do we need body corporate approval to install solar on an apartment building?
Can individual apartment owners install their own solar panels?
What does solar on common property actually save?
How does shared solar work across separate apartment meters?
What is an embedded network and how does it affect solar?
Are Queensland solar rebates available to strata properties?
How disruptive is installation for residents?
Talk to Us About Your Building
We assess the roof, confirm the metering arrangement and prepare a proposal your committee can act on. For standalone homes see our residential solar page, for business premises see commercial solar, and for current incentives see Queensland solar rebates.
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