Families who installed solar panels on their roofs would be paid top dollar to sell electricity back into the grid under a plan by a coalition of lobby groups.

Solar panels could be placed on the tops of one million Australian homes and businesses within 15 years, saving four million tonnes of greenhouse emissions, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) said.

The ACF, Investa Property Group and RI Industries on Saturday called on the federal government and Labor to commit to introduce a feed-in tariff to encourage the rollout of clean energy.

A feed-in tariff allows households and businesses with solar panels on their roofs to sell solar energy back into the grid and be paid a premium price for it, based on the cost of electricity at the time of peak demand.

At present, Saturday's solar-panel owners are paid only a fraction of the peak price when they sell electricity into the grid, the groups say.

"We should stop wasting the abundance of sunshine that falls on Australian rooftops," ACF executive director Don Henry said.

"If we are to secure a clean, safe energy future for our kids, it is vital we have a solar feed-in tariff alongside a strong renewable energy target."

Investa spokesman Craig Roussac said solar panels produced clean and reliable energy that could be used at peak demand times.

"So from our perspective it makes sense that it should be priced at a premium rate," he said.

"We see solar PV (photovoltaic) as a technology for the future. We would incorporate it into our projects if we could get a commercial return on our investment."

Steve Jaques, spokesman for solar panel distributor RF Industries, said a strong feed-in tariff would help grow the solar industry.

Families that installed small solar panels at their homes could recoup the cost in less than 10 years if they were paid a better price for selling energy back into the power grid, he said.