Solar panels.
Solar panel installation for homes and businesses across the Kapiti Coast. Grid-tied, hybrid and fully off-grid systems, with battery storage – designed, installed, certified and connected by your local electricians.
Power prices keep climbing, and the sun on your roof costs nothing. A well-designed solar system turns it into electricity for your home or business, so you buy less from the grid every time the sun is out.
We start with your roof, your switchboard and the way you actually use power, then design a system to suit – not simply the biggest one that fits. Add a battery and you can store the free daytime power and keep using it into the evening, when you’d otherwise be buying it back at full price. Or go fully off-grid if your property is remote or you’d rather be independent.
Because we’re electricians first, the whole job stays with one team: the design, the install, any switchboard work, the Electra application and the certificates at the end.
Every system is priced to your property – we’ll visit, look at your roof and power use, and give you a written quote.
A solar and battery system will...
- 01Cut your power bills from the first sunny day
- 02Store free daytime power for the evening
- 03Charge your EV from your own roof
- 04Shield you from rising power prices
- 05Earn a credit for the power you export
- 06Keep essentials running in a power cut, with the right battery setup
Choose the system
that fits.
Every property is different. We’ll recommend the setup that makes sense for your roof, your budget and how you use power – and explain the trade-offs so the decision is yours.
Grid-tied solar
Panels and an inverter, connected to the Electra network. Your home uses the solar power first and any surplus is exported for a buy-back credit. The simplest and most affordable way to start.
Solar + battery
A hybrid system that stores your surplus instead of exporting it all, so you keep using free power into the evening. It can also be set up to keep essential circuits running during a power cut.
Off-grid solar
A fully independent system for lifestyle blocks, farms, sheds and baches where a grid connection is costly or not possible. Sized with enough battery storage to see you through, with generator backup for long grey spells.
Built around
how you use power.
For your home
Most households use the bulk of their power in the morning and evening, when the sun is low. So we size panels and batteries around your daily routine, and help you shift big loads like hot water, the heat pump and EV charging into the sunniest hours – that way more of your solar stays at home instead of being sold back cheaply.
If your switchboard is older or already full, we’ll tell you up front and upgrade it as part of the job.
For your business
Workshops, offices, shops and farms use most of their power in daylight, exactly when solar produces it. That means more of every unit generated replaces power you would otherwise buy.
We handle commercial systems end to end, including three-phase sites and Electra’s application process for systems over 10kW, and plan the install around how your business runs.
From first visit
to switch-on.
- 01Site visit - we check your roof, shading, switchboard and recent power bills
- 02Design and written quote - panels, inverter and battery sized to how you use power
- 03Electra application - we lodge the network connection application for you
- 04Installation - panels, inverter, battery and any switchboard work, done by our own team
- 05Certification - you receive a Certificate of Compliance and an Electrical Safety Certificate
- 06Switch-on and handover - we show you the monitoring app and what to ask your power retailer
Going off-grid? There's no network connection to approve, so step 3 drops out - we size the battery and backup instead.
Straight
answers.
Can’t find what you’re after? Give us a call on 021 975 911 – happy to help.
How much does a solar system cost?
It depends on the system size, your roof and whether you add a battery. A typical 5-10kW home system in New Zealand costs $10,000 to $20,000, and a battery usually adds a similar amount again. Our Kapiti solar guide breaks down 2026 costs and payback, and we'll give you a written quote for your property after a site visit.
Do I need a battery?
No - solar works without one. A battery makes sense if you're out during the day, want to use more of your own power in the evening, or want backup during power cuts. It adds to the cost, so we'll show you the numbers both ways.
Will solar keep my power on in a power cut?
Only if it's designed to. A standard grid-tied system switches off during an outage for safety. A hybrid system with a battery and a backup circuit can keep your essentials running - tell us if that matters to you and we'll design for it.
What happens to the power I don't use?
On a grid-tied or hybrid system, surplus power is exported to the Electra network and your power retailer pays a buy-back rate for it. Buy-back rates are well below the price you pay for power, which is why using your solar yourself - or storing it in a battery - gives the best return.
Do I need a building consent?
Usually not. Since October 2025, roof-mounted arrays under 40 square metres in a wind zone no higher than 'high' don't need a building consent. Larger arrays, or sites in a higher wind zone, need the design checked by a chartered engineer, and every install still has to meet the Building Code. We'll tell you which applies when we visit.
Do you handle the connection to the grid?
Yes. We lodge the connection application with Electra, install and test the system, and issue your Certificate of Compliance and Electrical Safety Certificate. You'll just need to let your power retailer know you're exporting so they can set up your buy-back rate.
Can you install solar on a farm, shed or bach?
Yes. We install off-grid systems for remote sites, sheds, workshops and baches, sized with enough battery storage for your needs and generator backup where it's needed. We work right across the Coast, from Levin to Pukerua Bay.
Let's get you
powered up.
Tell us about your property and what you’d like to power, and we’ll come back to you ASAP.
021 975 911Email us
hello@whittakerelectrical.co.nz
Unit 2/11 Hurley Road, Paraparaumu Beach