Selling solar in New Zealand means winning an argument that Australian and American installers never have to make. There is no rebate to lean on, the grid is already mostly renewable so the environmental pitch is weak, and retailer buyback rates are low enough that export is close to irrelevant. What is left is a straightforward financial case built entirely on self-consumption, and it only works if the modelling is honest.
Direct answer. The best solar proposal software in New Zealand for most installers is OpenSolar, which is free at the seat and models self-consumption and trans-Tasman equipment well, or SurgePV when the same license also has to produce the design and single-line diagram. The differentiator that matters is hourly self-consumption modelling, not proposal aesthetics.
TL;DR
- No subsidy means the full system cost sits in the proposal. There is nothing to hide behind.
- Buyback rates are retailer-set and modest. Model export separately and do not lean on it.
- Self-consumption is the entire payback. Get the customer's interval data before modelling.
- Retailer plans differ enough that switching plans can change the payback as much as changing array size.
- Lines company export limits cap value on larger residential systems.
What New Zealand Actually Changes About Proposal Software
No subsidy to soften the number. Australia deducts small-scale technology certificates from the customer price. The United States applies a 30 percent tax credit. New Zealand has neither, so the proposal shows the whole cost. That raises the bar for the savings model, because the customer is evaluating an unsubsidised capital decision.
Buyback is retailer-set and low. Retailers offer buyback rates for exported energy, and the rates vary but are generally well below the import price. Some retailers offer better rates in specific windows or as part of specific plans. Modelling one blended buyback rate across a year misses this.
The retail plan is a lever. Because the value is import displacement, the customer’s retail plan matters enormously. A household on a plan with a low daytime rate and a high evening rate gets less from solar than one with flat pricing, unless a battery is involved. A proposal that models the current plan and a better-suited plan gives the customer a second way to improve the outcome.
Self-consumption requires real data. New Zealand households have smart meters and interval data is generally obtainable. A proposal built on an assumed load shape when actual data was available is a missed opportunity, because the actual data is usually the strongest argument the installer has.
Lines company export limits. Distributors may cap export, particularly on larger residential systems. Where a limit applies, the savings model has to reflect it.
The Platforms Ranked for New Zealand
| Platform | Best for | Buyback and plan modelling | Hourly self-consumption | Design output | Price per seat per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSolar | Most NZ residential installers | Good | Yes | Basic | $0 plus transaction fees |
| SurgePV | Proposal plus full design and SLD | Yes | Yes, 8,760-hour | Full, with DWG | $1,299 to $1,899 USD |
| Aurora Solar | Larger commercial-facing teams | Configurable | Yes | Good | $1,908 to $3,108 USD |
| Pylon | Value-tier residential | Partial | Yes | Basic | ~$1,000 USD |
| HelioScope | Commercial layout and yield | Not a proposal tool | Yes | Layout only | ~$1,188 USD |
| PVsyst | Commercial and funded projects | Not a proposal tool | Yes | No | ~$500 USD |
| Spreadsheet plus PDF | Very low volume | Manual | Manual | Manual | Time |
OpenSolar is the default for New Zealand residential. Free at the seat, good trans-Tasman equipment libraries, credible self-consumption modelling. Crossover math in OpenSolar pricing.
SurgePV is the consolidation option when commercial work means you also need string design, single-line diagrams, and CAD export. Technical comparison in best solar design software in New Zealand.
Aurora Solar is strong and expensive, tuned to a US residential market with subsidies New Zealand does not have. See Aurora Solar pricing.
Try the software behind this guide
Prove the self-consumption case with hourly modelling
SurgePV models 8,760 hours of generation against the customer load, sizes strings to AS/NZS 4777.2 inverter windows, and produces a white-label proposal plus the single-line diagram.
Book a free SurgePV demo →No credit card. 20-minute walkthrough on one of your own projects.
What a New Zealand Proposal Has to Contain
- System specification with module and inverter make, model, and total capacity.
- Generation estimate with the weather data source named.
- Self-consumption modelling against the customer’s own interval data, with the assumed share stated explicitly.
- Retail plan named, with the current and post-solar bill modelled, and ideally an alternative plan scenario.
- Buyback rate with the retailer named, applied only to modelled export.
- Export limit if the lines company applies one.
- Battery or diverter case, if included, modelled separately from the base array.
- Assumptions for electricity price escalation and degradation.
Item 3 is the whole proposal. A New Zealand savings figure is essentially a self-consumption figure, and stating the assumed self-consumption share on the page is what separates a defensible quote from an optimistic one.
Pricing in New Zealand Dollars
| Stack | USD per year | Approx. NZD at 1.65 | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSolar | $0 plus fees | Transaction-linked | Proposal and basic design |
| Pylon | ~$1,000 | ~NZ$1,650 | Proposal |
| SurgePV | $1,299 to $1,899 | ~NZ$2,143 to NZ$3,133 | Proposal plus design and SLD |
| Aurora | $1,908 to $3,108 | ~NZ$3,148 to NZ$5,128 | Proposal plus design |
Exchange rate is illustrative.
What Most New Zealand Installers Get Wrong
They quote a big system because the roof allows it.
Without a rebate and with low buyback, the marginal panel past the self-consumption match point returns very little. A 10 kW system on a household that uses 4 kW during daylight hours has a materially worse payback per dollar than a 5 kW system on the same roof. Customers who work this out afterwards do not refer anyone. The installers building durable New Zealand businesses are the ones recommending smaller systems than the customer expected and explaining why.
The second mistake is ignoring the retail plan. Moving a customer to a better-matched plan can improve the outcome as much as adding capacity, costs nothing, and builds trust.
When Proposal Software Is Not the Constraint
If the sales side works and commercial enquiries are what you cannot service, the gap is engineering.
Our solar rooftop detailed engineering design and solar 3D pre-design services cover layouts, shading studies, and single-line diagrams, with sales-stage models turned around in 48 hours. See the sample design pack or talk to our team.
Conclusion
- State the self-consumption assumption on the page. It is the number the entire payback rests on.
- Get interval data before modelling. Smart meter data is available and it is usually your best sales asset.
- Recommend the right size, not the biggest size. Past the match point the marginal panel barely pays in a low-buyback market.
In this country series: solar software in New Zealand, best solar design software in New Zealand, shading analysis software in New Zealand, Pvcase review. Tool deep dives: Pvsyst review, Helioscope review.
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Disclosure and accuracy note
Commercial relationship. Heaven Designs and SurgePV are part of the same group. Treat our recommendation of SurgePV as a vendor making its own case, not an independent verdict. We have tried to describe every other product fairly, and to say plainly where a competitor is the better choice.
Pricing. All prices are indicative, compiled from public sources when this page was written. They vary by tier, region, contract term and exchange rate, and change without notice. Several vendors quote rather than publish, and some price in currencies other than the US dollar, so a converted figure moves with the exchange rate. Confirm current pricing with the vendor before you decide anything.
Trademarks and corrections. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners, and are used here for identification and comparison only. Their use does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by those companies. If anything here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will correct it.
FAQ
What is the best solar proposal software in New Zealand? OpenSolar for most residential installers on cost and self-consumption modelling, and SurgePV when the same license also has to produce the design and single-line diagram.
Is there a solar subsidy in New Zealand? No national rebate equivalent to the Australian STC scheme. The proposal shows the full system cost, which raises the bar on modelling honesty.
How much is solar buyback worth in New Zealand? Rates are retailer-set and generally well below the import price, which is why self-consumption rather than export carries the payback. Name the retailer and rate in the proposal.
Should I use the customer’s smart meter data? Yes. Interval data is generally obtainable and turns an assumed load shape into a defensible self-consumption figure. It is usually the strongest evidence in the proposal.
How much does solar proposal software cost in New Zealand? From NZ$0 with OpenSolar’s transaction model to roughly NZ$5,100 per user per year at Aurora’s higher tiers. Cross-platform math is in our solar design software pricing breakdown.
Does the retail plan change the payback? Substantially. Time-of-use plans with low daytime rates reduce the value of self-consumed solar. Modelling an alternative plan alongside the current one is often the cheapest improvement available.
What about the design software decision separately? Covered in best solar design software in New Zealand.
