Eastern Melbourne’s unit dwellers have been locked out of cheap energy for years. That’s starting to change.

Kew apartment owners Lou and Vicki Gualano originally thought solar panels couldn’t be installed on their apartment building because they lived with nine other residents. They were wrong.

Their low-rise block, in Kew, now has about 40 rooftop solar panels powering 10 dwellings and shared facilities, with the couple’s average monthly power bill $50 to $60 less than before.

🔌 Untapped potential: Around 2 million Australians live in low to medium-rise apartments.

• In Boroondara alone, about 83,400 people live in medium-density housing, nearly half of the area’s housing stock.

But people living in apartments have historically faced complex and expensive barriers to accessing solar, with owners often having to secure a 75 percent consensus within the owners corporation.

🏡 What’s the issue? Smart Energy Council chief strategy officer Nigel Morris said renters were more vulnerable to living with wasteful energy systems, as landlords often rejected requests for even small or portable systems.

• “As a tenant, you are more exposed to energy inefficiencies than an owner,” Morris said. “When I move into a home, I don't get to decide what type of hot water system or air conditioner I have. These decisions are made for me by the owner of the property.”

💡 What’s being done? To address these issues, Abbotsford-based company Allume Energy developed a shared solar system in 2019 called SolShare.

• The system allows electricity generated from rooftop solar panels to be distributed across multiple apartments based on demand, responding in real time to usage patterns so households get a share of solar power when they need it most.

• More than 10,000 apartments are now connected to SolShare across the globe, including about 2,800 in Victoria, with nearly half in rental properties.

☀️ How does it work? Allume’s chief executive Cameron Knox said the system adjusts constantly.

• “If I switch my kettle on and you go out to walk the dog, Solshare is going to send me more of my solar allocation,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.

Knox said Allume’s goal was to scale rapidly, with the aim to service 50,000 apartments within the next three years.

• “The key way that we can close the gap is providing more benefits to owners corporations,” said Knox. “Apartments are the last bastion.”

🪙 Local benefits: For the Gualano family, the system has already delivered strong results after only about 18 months.

• “It’s a good feeling knowing that you're utilising solar energy and making the best use of the sun,” said Vicki. “In the heat of the day, we can use air conditioning with minimal cost.”

✂️ Sharing the burden: Lou said the total cost of the solar panels and the SolShare network was relatively low for all residents, with the couple paying about $1,000 at the higher end down to about $400 for smaller apartments.

• 🗣️ “It wasn't terribly expensive for us,” Lou told the Eastern Melburnian.

🔐 Renters locked out: However, not all residents have the same access opportunities to solar.

• Malvern East renter Paula has rented a unit built in the 1930s for 11 years, but says the building is poorly insulated and becomes extremely hot in summer.

• Paula said while she believes a solar system could significantly reduce her bills, renters who are struggling financially have limited options.

• 🗣️“To be totally sustainable with an electric car and solar, you really need to be well off,” Paula told the Eastern Melburnian.

💰 Step by step: One solution to this cost issue is extra incentives for owners corporations to reduce their out-of-pocket expenses on a system.

• The State Government has extended applications for its Solar for Apartments program – which offers rebates of up to $2,800 per apartment or $140,000 per property – to June 30, 2027.

• New rental energy standards will also be phased in from March 2027, requiring inefficient hot water systems to be replaced with electric alternatives when they reach the end of their life and mandating insulation if a property has none at the start of a lease.

⏭️ What’s next? Not-for-profit advocacy group Solar Citizens chief executive Heidi Lee Douglas said progress was still too slow and dependent on individual landlord decisions, arguing instead for system-wide reform.

• “Two-thirds of renters live in houses that could support solar, but they’re stuck because landlords are not currently making that investment,” said Douglas.