Installation & Accreditation

Yes. Any solar or battery system that connects to the grid must be approved by your local electricity network operator (called a DNSP) before it's installed. You can't install first and seek approval afterwards, every network in Australia works this way.

The network operator is a different company to your electricity retailer, and which one applies depends on your installation address, not who you buy electricity from. Your licensed installer manages this approval as part of connecting your system.

Your installer applies for network approval, not you and not Buzz Energy. They lodge the connection application with your local network operator before any installation work starts, using their accreditation and the technical details of your system.

Buzz Energy supplies the equipment and can help match you with an installer, but we don't lodge connection applications or hold connection agreements ourselves. That responsibility sits with the installer you engage, so it's worth confirming with them how they'll handle this step and how long it usually takes.

Yes. Once installed, your system needs to be registered on the national DER Register (Distributed Energy Resources Register), run by AEMO. This is separate from the network approval you get before installation and must happen within 20 days of your system being commissioned.

Your installer is responsible for this registration, using details provided by your network operator when the connection was approved. If you add more battery capacity later, that change also needs to be registered again as an update, not just the original install.

It depends on your state. In Victoria, an independent inspection by a Licensed Electrical Inspector is legally required before a new solar or battery system (or a battery capacity expansion) can be switched on, and the system must stay off until that sign-off happens. This can add some waiting time, so it's worth asking your installer about likely timeframes.

In every other state and territory, your licensed installer self-certifies the work with a compliance certificate, and the system can generally be switched on once installation is finished. Regulators still check a sample of installs afterwards.

Yes. Adding capacity to an existing battery system counts as new work, not a simple add-on, so it goes through the same approval steps as a fresh install. Your installer needs to lodge the capacity change with your network operator and then update the national DER Register.

In Victoria, adding battery capacity is also treated as prescribed electrical work, meaning an independent inspection is required before the expanded system can be switched back on. In other states, your installer self-certifies the work with the usual compliance certificate.

Buzz Energy is a retailer of solar, battery and EV charging equipment. We don't carry out installations ourselves, that's done by a licensed electrician or an accredited installer that you engage for the job.

If you don't already have an installer, we can help match you with one as part of putting together a complete order. Once you're working with an installer, they're your point of contact for the installation itself, including any network approvals, compliance certificates and inspections your job needs.

Any licensed electrician can install an off-grid (stand-alone) battery system, as long as the work is designed and installed to the relevant Australian Standards. You don't need an SAA (Solar Accreditation Australia) accredited installer just for the work to be done safely and legally.

SAA accreditation only comes into it if you want to claim STCs or a government rebate, since those schemes require an SAA accredited installer and Clean Energy Council approved products. A state safety inspection can still apply regardless, in Victoria for example, an independent inspection before switch-on is required even for off-grid systems.