Home batteries store solar power for use in the evening, when most households use the most power. They add cost, so we explain whether a battery makes sense for how your household uses power, and we can design a system that is battery-ready so one can be added later. Every option is priced in writing so you can compare.
Putting solar on a Northcote home: Point villas, 1950s state houses and new townhouses
Northcote Point has some of the oldest houses on the Shore, with villas from the 1880s still standing. On those roofs we check the iron and framing before proposing panels, and the old wiring inside often needs attention before an inverter can be connected. The Point faces the Waitematā, so mounting hardware is chosen for salt exposure. Its streets have been quiet since the Harbour Bridge approaches took away through traffic in 1959, but they are narrow, which matters for scaffold and deliveries.
The 1950s state houses in central Northcote are smaller, with modest roofs that suit a compact system sized to daytime use. Many still have an original fuse board with no spare space, so making room for the solar connection is usually part of the job. For rentals, solar is worth most when the tenant is home during the day to use what it produces.
The new townhouses from the regeneration that began in the late 2010s have modern boards but small, often shared roofs. Where the roof or the wall for an inverter is common property, body corporate approval comes first. Their limited roof area can cap system size, which makes sizing to actual use, rather than roof space, even more important. A townhouse inverter and its isolators also need a spot that does not block a shared path or garage, which we agree with the body corporate at the design stage.
Local tip: On Northcote Point, have the roof iron and fixings checked before you commit to panels, since reroofing later means lifting the whole array.
Solar Installation in Northcote: Local Conditions
North Shore homes often have large roof areas with good sun, and bayside suburbs need mounting hardware chosen with salt air in mind. We size each system to how your household actually uses power.
Townhouse roofs are small and sometimes shared, so a smaller system or careful layout may be needed.
Homes in Northcote
Northcote mixes 1880s villas on Northcote Point, 1950s state houses in the centre and new townhouses from the regeneration of the late 2010s and 2020s. The villas may still contain vulcanised Indian rubber (VIR) or tough rubber sheathed (TRS) cable, which goes brittle and should be replaced, not extended. The state houses often run on original fuse boards with little or no RCD protection, and rented homes need compliant smoke alarms. New townhouses have modern boards, but EV chargers and changes on shared property need body corporate approval.
Northcote Point became cut off from through traffic once the Harbour Bridge approaches were built in 1959.
Our electricians are in and around Tank Farm (Tuff Crater) and Onewa Road and the rest of Northcote most weeks. For everything else, see electricians in Northcote.
How We Handle Solar Installation in Northcote
You get a written design with the panel layout, inverter and any battery, plus a fixed, itemised price. We prepare the grid connection application to your lines company.
Pricing: a free quote and a fixed price agreed before we start. You get a written, itemised quote, and small jobs can be quoted from photos.
Solar Installation Jobs We Do in Northcote
- Solar for a new build
- Solar on a lifestyle block shed
- Switchboard work for a solar connection
- Battery-ready system design
- Battery added to an existing system
Solar Installation Northcote FAQs
Can a new Northcote townhouse with a small shared roof still get solar?
Sometimes. It depends on body corporate approval and whether the roof area gives a useful system size. We check both before quoting.
How much maintenance do solar panels need?
Very little. Keeping them clear of heavy grime and checking the system output now and then is usually enough. We also offer system health checks.
Do you install solar in Northcote?
Yes. We cover Northcote and the rest of Auckland, and you get a written, fixed price before anything is ordered.