Should I get solar panels?

vim prices have hit the roof over the last year , so more mass are looking closely at their actual roof and wonder if they should cover it with solar panels . The hope is amazing : bills trim by liberal , silent , maintenance - free green power , but it ’s still a big expense . Is it deserving get solar panels ? Should you also get a battery ? And when exactly can you carry to make your money back ? Let ’s see .

Sunny days

We may not live in the cheery res publica , but the UK gets ample light to make the sun a viable source of light energy . As of 2021 , the UK ’s full installed solar capacity was 14.6 gigawatts – equal to of play about 40 % of the country ’s height superpower demand . On a cheery twenty-four hours , there ’s a chance that an industrial big - scale solar power plant is already feed into the power system , keeping your lights on and your fridge cool . If your roof is bake by in verbatim sunshine , you could be benefitting more instantly .

In the eight years since we affect into our house , I ’d looked wistfully at its south - facing roof and slow become preoccupied with the amount of muscularity being wasted on sunny solar day . As energy prices skyrocket , I finally prick the slug and had it overlay with solar panels . A week before the shortest daylight of the twelvemonth .

It ’s dependable to say we did n’t save much money at first , but as the day have lengthen and I ’ve add a few more characteristic to the organization , we ’ve already commence view a replication on the investiture . So , what have I learned so far ?

How do I pay for solar panels?

The cost of solar panel has fallen by around 80 % in the last decade , but they ’re still a substantial investment . They ’re also only one part of a sodding solar installation , with the other components plus the work of installing it all campaign up the price you ’ll actually pay . Today , a distinctive home solar installation can rove from around £ 4,000 up to £ 10,000 or more for giving systems , or those with a battery .

There are lode of different ways of fund this , but if you do n’t have the money up front , it ’s common to look at grants or adoption . At the time of writing the only government - supported grant isthe Eco4 scheme , available to householder and some retentive - term tenant in receipt of certain benefits . If you do n’t qualify , you may need to look at borrowing the money . So - called ‘ rent a roof ’ system still exist , where an installer allow a free or discounted induction in return for long - term rights to some of the power you generate , but these have been jazz to do issues if they ’re still active when the house is betray .

I paid for my panels by borrowing more on our mortgage , which raised our monthly repayment by about £ 50 . I ’m not dependent to give fiscal advice , and it ’s crucial you talk to a financial consultant if you call for to adopt to set up your own solar panel . While you ’re likely to spare on your power vizor – and you may make money selling excess electricity – you should be very heedful when think whether either would help you to pay off any loanword over time .

What’s involved in a solar installation?

Most obviously , you ’ll postulate a ceiling that ’s open of stomach a number of solar panels . It does n’t have to be south - facing , but that ’s the best predilection to get the most from the sunlight . Similarly , it helps if the cap ’s unshaded and at a decent angle of around 45 ° , but it ’s not of the essence . If you border on an MCS - certified solar installer , they ’ll chaffer to ask questions and take some measurements , then come back with a plan for the installing .

You do n’t usually want planning license to set up solar panels , but there are certain limitation that a qualified installer will be able-bodied to check and explain .

It take at least a couple of day to install solar panels . The installers will generally arrange everything , include scaffold to keep them good while they ’re working on the cap . In most cases , they ’ll need to ground the solar panel mount track directly into your rafters , which mean remove tile at multiple peak then conditions - seal the interruption . If you ’ve got a metal ceiling , the rails can clamp directly to its line , so there ’s no pauperism to disturb it to get to the rafters .

There ’ll be at least one cable running from your panels , which needs to be routed to an inverter . This box converts the varying DC stream from the panels into 230 - volt alternating electric current that ’s give , via an export meter , into your home ’s electricity supply . If you ’re getting battery , they ’ll probably be cable into this inverter , too .

What can I expect from my solar panels?

In possibility , a solar installation could keep working for decades . The panels will degrade over fourth dimension , but they usually have a design life sentence of around 25 age , and in reality , they may keep generating for much long . Inverters are unlikely to last that long , but they ’re unremarkably justify for at least five years , and may well last a decade . A assault and battery may mislay its capacity over fourth dimension , but again these are often design for 10 yr or so and warranted for five . MCS installers also offer a 10 - year warrant against any craftsmanship defects .

Solar panels generate utile power with minimum maintenance , but they wo n’t always be pumping out their tell on content . My 5.9 kilowatt ( kW ) system is restrain by our inverter ’s 5.3kW maximal yield . In direct sun it ’s been capable to hit this maximum since late February , and as the days lengthen it spends a long window either side of tiffin fourth dimension delivering power at or near that level . I ’ve been surprised by this : even in mid - December , with the sun at its weakest , it could still fork out more than 2kW – enough for the peak power demand of the washing machine .

Any solar initiation ’s potential generating power depends greatly on the time of Clarence Day and time of class – it ’s obviously best when the sun ’s mellow on farseeing summer days – but in practice , weather can be just as big a element . Even light , wispy swarm slim down our organization ’s output by as much as a third . low-cal gray sky might knock it down by two thirds , while heavy grey rain cloud can take down the output to just a couple of hundred Watt – leaving us still using a piddling power from the power grid .

What can I power with solar panels?

Solar energy can supplement what you ’re drawing from the control grid , bring down what you pay up . At times it can stop you importing altogether . To get the most from it , it ’s beneficial to try and equilibrate what you ’re using against what you ’re father , so that you use the minimum from the grid .

As an example , on a gay afternoon in March , a distinctive 4kW organization might be produce 3kW. That ’s almost certainly enough to power a major contrivance , on top of a typical background household load . In fact , a washing car only hits its efflorescence power demand early in the wash cycle per second while it ’s heating pee . Use your solar organization ’s app or your smart meter ’s in - home video display to spot the end of this phase angle , and you ’ll be capable to start a second energy - hungry appliance , such as a dishwasher or drier .

It ’s not always that simple , however . Clouds can quickly strap the power you ’re engender , entrust you quarter more from the gridiron than require . Typically you ’ll still be spare , but it ’s best to keep laundry for the sunniest days with the most reliable solar turnout .

What about any spare power?

Just as there are time when you ca n’t engender enough electricity to power your home , there ’ll often be times when you generate more than you need . This power passes seamlessly into the grid where it ’ll be used by your neighbours . You ’ll be paid for this , but the rates usable are n’t peculiarly great .

In the past , the Feed - in Tariff ( FiT ) system guaranteed a generous price for every kilowatt 60 minutes ( kWh ) supply to the grid , but this was interchange in 2019 by the Smart Export Guarantee ( SEG ) , which is in general worth only about 5p per kWh , depend which energy supplier you sell to . There are exceptions – Octopus Energy let you choose between a 15p / kWh prepare charge per unit , or a variable rate based on that daylight ’s wholesale electricity terms . Tesla Powerwall ( battery ) customers can get 22p / kWh .

I ’m currently on Octopus ’ fixed export rate , and its spry import duty , which follows electricity sweeping cost through the day . In cheery , windy mid - May , I was buying electrical energy at far below the 34p per kWh cap , as indicate in the first screenshot below . The 2nd filmdom shows what we bear ( positive amounts ) , or got paid ( damaging amounts ) during a sunny hebdomad where my car consumed most of our excess genesis . The third screen show a large export figure for April , when I was away for two weeks .

Even the best export rates are almost always less than the toll you ’ll pay to purchase electricity , so it ’s unremarkably idealistic to utilize as much of your own generation as you’re able to . Several optional devices help you do this . magnate diverters like the iBoost and the MyEnergi Eddi take any unused solar contemporaries and divert it to your immersion hummer , give you free hot water . These can vary the power they ’re diverting from just a few watts upwards , so they jibe around the generation and other demand in your house .

It takes eight or nine kWh to fully heat my210 - litre water tankful from cold-blooded . We do n’t always have that much magnate unornamented over the line of a daylight , but when we do it saves us around £ 1 at current gas pedal prices .

Another choice for electric fomite ( EV ) owner is to install a solar - cognizant charger . These seem set to become more common , with brands including Ohme expect to total the feature , but at present the main option here is the MyEnergi Zappi . This can be scheduled like a normal fresh charger , but also configured to start charging and adjust the rate to equal your excess solar magnate . If you ’re not in a hurry , you could full reload your car using just spare solar energy .

institutionalise my car to 80 % takes about 50kWh – a huge amount of energy that could take two or three Clarence Shepard Day Jr. to generate even when it ’s sunny . But every clip I cope it , I ’m save about £ 5 equate to cheap overnight charging , or £ 17 compared to a cap standard rate .

There are occasions when I ca n’t wait for the sun , though , meaning I need to schedule an all-night boost from loud mains power – you could see this in the red rectangle in the right - hand screenshot below , representing consumption of about 7.4kW over four hour . The middle screenshot demonstrate subsequently that same Clarence Day , with the machine now charge at 3.6kW from solar world power alone .

Should I get a solar battery?

There are a big range of bombardment and capacities , and there ’s no easy answer . I was advised that , with a water heater and solar railroad car charger , we would n’t really have enough spare energy to gain . On one stage that ’s sure rightful – on nebulous 24-hour interval we do n’t have enough surplus ability to even hot up the water fully – but the reality is a moment more nuanced .

It turns out there are mess of days when we ’re generate a few hundred watts spare for a few hr . I do n’t reach the rough 2.5kW peak that would let us operate an gismo without repair to some mains power , but over the course of instruction of the 24-hour interval I generate more than enough electricity to run a couple of full slipstream or dishwash cycles . If I had a battery , I could lay in this spare energy while I ’m generating it , and apply it to avoid buying electrical energy when I need to run an gismo , or to avoid buying expensive electricity at peak time .

While this would help us save a bit more , it ’s less easy to say how quickly a battery would pay for itself , as it depends on cistron include how much power you mother , how much you use , and whether you have other spot to lay in huge amount of energy – such as an EV .

And , batteries do n’t just have to be charged using solar energy , they can be top up overnight using gaudy electricity if you ’re on a split tariff . How this works varies between system of rules , but the most intelligent can estimate how much to top up using cheap power , and how much outer space to hold for agitate via solar power . Of naturally , the benefit of a battery is that you’re able to then use the loud king you glean at night during the day .

Even so , getting the ripe residuum can be hard , so it ’s deserving talking to your pick out provider to see how long a battery would take to give back ; it may work out cheaper to just get with solar powerfulness alone and then habituate as much of the solar power you generate as possible .

thing are also changing rapidly . With a distinctive capacity of between 35 and 70kWh , an EV ’s battery is the stark place to store redundant solar vigour . Yet very few EVs backing fomite - to - home base ( V2H ) , which would allow themsupplypower at time of peak demand . This is extremely likely to become a widespread feature within five to 10 years , however , which may mean that a dedicated home battery is n’t such a great foresighted - full term investiture .

There ’s one last matter to mention about solar tycoon and home battery depot : a standard instalment is n’t able-bodied to maintain power to your base during a blackout . Most domestic systems are power grid - tied , meaning they ’ll only operate when there ’s a power system supply , and they ’ll shut down if it ’s not there . This is for safety reasons , so that your system is n’t pumping electrical energy back onto the control grid when an engineer may be require to work on it . Some battery systems can be configured with a backup supply , however , which comes via a dedicated fire hydrant socket . That ’s similar to having a power place around your home plate , such as theEcoflow Delta 2 .

Final thoughts

There ’s no easy , one - sizing - fits - all reply to whether you should get solar panel , but there are some certainty . Provided you ’ve got an appropriate roof for it , a solar installing will save you money on your electricity bills . And on cheery Day , a well - sized facility will earn you a pocket-sized amount supererogatory for the electrical energy you export .

In the five not particularly cheery calendar month since I had it installed , our 5.9kW system of rules has generated 2,350kWh of electricity – about half the one-year consumption of a typical four - bedroom menage . We use about twice the average thanks to our heavily used EV , and we ’ve been on different , variable import and export tariff , so it ’s operose to put an accurate figure on what we ’ve keep open . If I opine at a simplified , middling figure of 15p per kWh , it ’s £ 350 , but it ’s potential to be well more .

Many solar installers have software to mould your probable savings and when you might fail even on your investment . For us , this was predicted to be after around 14 years – but the price of electrical energy nigh doubled after we got our inverted comma , mean we might cover our cost much more quickly . Do n’t bury , though , that if you ’re borrowing money , the interestingness you ’ll pay up add to the cost of the project and the time it ’ll take you to break even .