The political row over NSW's solar scheme might have subsided but regulators here and elsewhere in Australia are reporting a rising swell of consumer complaints about inappropriate sales, shoddy installations and billing problems as people start using their new solar panels.

''People are receiving their first bills after installing solar and they expect big drops but for a range of reasons that hasn't been the experience for some,'' says the Energy and Water Ombudsman for Victoria, Fiona McLeod.

''They may have been mis-sold installations that are really too small,'' she says. ''They have, basically, been misled about the savings.''

McLeod's counterpart in NSW, Clare Petre, says complaints are starting to emerge. Asked if people's expectations might have been too high, the NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman says: ''Absolutely. We all saw the ads saying, 'Never pay an electricity bill again' … some people did expect more because of the sales pitch.''

Complaints to do with billing go to the energy ombudsmen, while complaints about selling practices or work done by private contractors are the domain of the state consumer protection bodies, NSW Fair Trading and Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV).