Australians exceeded 1 gigawatts of rooftop solar panels for the first time last year, with the market set to expand further in 2018 amid ongoing worries about electricity prices, according to Green Energy Markets.

The country added about 1.078 gigawatts of new rooftop solar capacity last year, beating the previous record set in 2012 by 14 per cent, the consultancy said.

The increase over 2016 was about 50 per cent.

"The surge is happening across every state ... and across all segments of the market," said Tristan Edis, director of analysis for Green Energy Markets.