Townhouse roofs cut into small planes, a side path barely wide enough for a bin and the beach a few streets away. Chelsea takes tighter design than the suburbs inland, and we have a written-up local job to show how it comes together.
Chelsea is long and thin, squeezed between the beach and the Frankston line, and its blocks follow suit. The 1950s and 1960s beach houses that once sat one to a block have been coming down for years, replaced by two or three townhouses running front to back. What that leaves on top is a row of small roof planes at different heights, each close to the neighbour's wall, with skylights, vents and air conditioner pipework competing for the same space.
On a roof like that the panel layout does the heavy lifting. We measure each plane, work out which hours of the day the townhouse next door shades it, and place panels only where they will earn their spot. The original single-storey homes that remain are simpler. Our written-up Chelsea install is one of those: 26 Jinko panels on a tile roof across two roof planes, 13.26kW in all, with a Sigenergy inverter and battery.
That job is also worth reading for how it was paid for. The owner did not want to wait until he had saved a lump sum, so it went ahead on an interest-free loan with the Solar Victoria rebate applied, and nothing was paid upfront. We explain what the state loan does and does not cover further down this page, and the rest of our Chelsea services are here.
The hardware is the same we fit everywhere. The layout work is what changes in Chelsea.
Jinko Tiger Neo and Aiko panels arranged across however many planes the roof has. Planes that face different ways or catch a neighbour's shadow are wired separately so one shaded section does not pull down the rest.
A second storey a metre from the boundary needs the right access equipment and a plan for getting panels up without crossing next door's property. We sort that out at the site visit and price it in.
Sigenergy SigenStor, GoodWe, Tesla Powerwall and Sungrow. A townhouse garage is the first choice. Where the only option is the side of the house, we check clearances from windows, doors and the gas meter before promising a position.
West of the Nepean Highway the salt is constant. Mounting, isolators and outdoor enclosures are salt-rated, cable entries are sealed and the battery is kept out of direct weather.
The full range is on our products page.
Tier-one panels with 25-year performance warranties, laid out for the roof faces you have.
Hybrid and string inverters, chosen so a battery can join the system now or later.
Home batteries sized to the evening peak, with backup circuits set up for outages.
Home chargers wired into the same system and set to charge from your solar first.
Chelsea itself, then Chelsea Heights next door and Mordialloc further up the bay. Each links to the full write-up.
26 Jinko Tiger Neo panels over two planes of a tile roof, a Sigen Hybrid inverter and a SigenStor battery. Paid for with an interest-free loan and no money upfront.
Next door in Chelsea Heights, 16 Jinko panels on a double-storey tin roof, 7.6kW in total, with three GoodWe battery modules in the garage and a 7kW GoodWe EV charger. All done in one visit.
Up the bay in Mordialloc, 13.3kW of Jinko solar on tile and 24.96kWh of GoodWe storage on the southern wall beside the switchboard. The gas cooktop was replaced with induction on its own circuit.
Most of the effort on a narrow block happens before install day.
Every roof plane, the gaps to the boundaries, the side path, the switchboard and the garage. For a townhouse, the owners corporation rules too.
We check what the neighbouring buildings do to each plane across the day and draw the panel positions to suit.
A fixed after-discount price. If you qualify and want the Solar Victoria interest-free loan on the solar, we set that out alongside it.
We lodge all of it on your behalf and book the install once approvals are through.
Our own electricians fit the panels, inverter and battery, test the backup circuits with you and issue the Certificate of Electrical Safety.
Our Chelsea case study was financed from day one. Here is how the pieces fit, and where the limits are.
For eligible owner-occupiers. Both apply to solar panels and the inverter only, and the loan is repaid in instalments with no interest. Neither covers a battery: the Solar Victoria battery rebate and battery loan closed in 2025.
Cheaper Home Batteries reduces the price of an approved battery by around 30 percent at the quote stage. No income test applies and it can sit alongside the state rebate on the panels.
Certificates on the solar panels, taken off at the point of sale. If the gas heater is on your list as well, see heating and cooling in Chelsea for the discount that applies to that.
Anyone can fill a big empty roof. A Chelsea townhouse shows who measured.
SAA accredited through Solar Accreditation Australia, and a New Energy Tech Approved Seller.
Our 13.26kW Chelsea install is published with photos, the specification and how the owner financed it.
Rebate, loan, federal discounts and the network application are lodged by us. On the Chelsea job the rebate was applied on the owner's behalf.
Our own A-Grade electricians from the Somerville depot, about half an hour down the bay. Nothing is subcontracted.
Live Google reviews. Look for the Sigenergy, GoodWe and Powerwall jobs.
Anything else, call 0466 355 441. An electrician will answer the question.
Usually. Modern panels produce far more per square metre than those of ten years ago, so a few well-placed planes add up. We measure and model the roof and tell you the output before you spend anything.
No. We map when the shadow falls, keep panels off the worst-affected area and wire the rest so that a shaded plane does not hold back the others.
If you are an eligible owner-occupier, Solar Victoria offers an interest-free loan alongside its rebate for solar panels and the inverter. It does not extend to batteries. Our Chelsea case study was done with an interest-free loan and nothing upfront.
If your townhouse is on a plan with common property or shared rules, you may. We provide the layout drawing and equipment details you need for the application.
The garage is the first place we look. If that is not possible we check the side and rear walls against the clearance rules for windows, doors and gas meters, and tell you plainly if a position will not comply.
We use salt-rated mounting and outdoor gear, seal cable entries and keep the battery sheltered. It does not change how much the system produces.
We measure the roof and the side path, model the shade and send a written price with the layout, and with finance options if you want them. No obligation.
