Most people would love to save money on their domestic energy bills, and the summer is the ideal time to do it. And that’s not just because you don’t need the heating on. It’s because all that sunlight is producing huge amounts of energy, which can be harnessed if you have solar panels on your home – but are solar panels worth it and what are the benefits of solar panels?
Are solar panels worth it?
While a decade ago solar energy provided virtually no power, around 840,000 homes in the UK now have solar panels – also known as photovoltaics (PV) – and the renewable energy source regularly generates around a fifth of the country’s electricity for hours on summer days. The spell of hot, dry summer weather has helped break several solar power-generation records, and recently even very briefly eclipsed gas power stations, as the UK’s top source of electricity.
However, the solar energy boom may already have reached its peak, as solar panel installations have flatlined recently because financial incentives for householders to get them installed have been slashed dramatically and stopped completely last year with no sign of a replacement scheme.
But green campaigners desperately want solar power to keep its foothold in the energy market, and point out there are still many reasons to consider installing solar panels on homes.
Read our guide to energy-saving tips – how to cut gas and electricity costs.
What are the benefits of solar panels?
1. Solar panels can save you money
The Energy Saving Trust (EST), an independent consumer body which helps householders and businesses save energy, says the amount saved depends on several factors – where your home is, what direction your roof faces, how big a system you install when you install it, and how much of the energy produced you’re able to use yourself. For a typical 4kW system in the south of England, you could make around £275 a year in feed-in tariff generation payments and export payments.
Use the EST’s online Solar Energy Calculator to assess what financial benefits you may get from installing a solar PV system.
You’ll also save on electricity bills, says the EST. The amount you save depends on how much energy you use in a day when your solar panels are generating energy. If you’re usually out all day, you’ll save around £100 a year on your bills. However, if you tend to be at home, you could save around £240 a year). Including the benefits from tariffs such as the SEG scheme (see below), the savings dramatically increase, rising to £390 if you’re at home all day and £300 if you’re out of the house daily until 6pm.
Caitlin Bent, home energy expert for the EST, says: “Solar panels are most suited to people who are at home a lot during the day, who can really take advantage of using free electricity when the sun is shining.”
2. You get paid for the energy you produce
As well as saving on electricity bills, one of the benefits of solar panels is that you can make money via the export tariff, through which you’re paid for any energy you don’t use but send back to the grid. The government introduced the Small Export Guarantee (SEG) to replace the Feed-in Tariff, which was closed to new applicants in March 2019, with the SEG scheme coming into force on January 1, 2020. This covers a wide range of renewable energy generating technologies, such as wind turbines, anaerobic digestion and hydro, as well as solar PV panels.
The SEG scheme means you’ll be paid for any renewable energy you don’t use and export back to the national grid. There are different types of tariffs available, such as a fixed SEG tariff which pays a set amount for each kWh of electricity exported back to the grid. A variable-rate sees the price paid for the excess solar energy you produce priced a market demand.
3. Are solar panels worth it? They are if you care for the planet
Solar electricity is green renewable energy, meaning it doesn’t release any harmful carbon dioxide or other pollutants. A typical home solar PV system could save around 1.3 to 1.6 tonnes of carbon per year. The EST says: “By generating clean, green electricity you reduce your home’s carbon emissions. Plus, any solar energy you don’t use will be fed into the grid, so it can be used by someone else.”
4. Solar panel installation costs have fallen
A typical 4kW solar PV system now costs around £5,500 – £6,800 on average, according to government figures. The EST pits the average domestic solar PV system at around £4,800. When the feed-in tariffs began in 2010, costs were as high as £12,000-£14,000.
In the South of England, you can expect to generate around 3,700 kWh of electricity per year, saving around a tonne of carbon dioxide. For Scotland, it’s slightly lower at 2,850 kWh in a year.
5. You can store solar energy on batteries
Storage batteries for solar power can now be purchased by householders to enable them to consume rather than export their solar electricity, which makes more financial sense.
6. It’s possible to use solar tiles if you prefer
Solar tiles are designed to be used in place of ordinary roof tiles. However, a system of solar tiles will typically cost about twice as much as an equivalent panel system. Therefore, solar tile systems aren’t normally as cost-effective as panel systems and are usually only considered where panels aren’t appropriate for aesthetic or planning reasons.
7. Benefits of solar panels include low maintenance
Solar panels require relatively little maintenance, but you may need to wash the surface occasionally and make sure trees don’t begin to overshadow them, to make sure they continue working at their most efficient. Debris is more likely to accumulate on ground-mounted panels, and roof panels that are tilted at 15 degrees or more will be cleaned by rainfall. Panels should last 25 years or more, but their inverter is likely to need replacing at some point sooner, at a cost of about £800.
Worried about heating and boiler maintenance? Wise Living Magazine has teamed up with 24/7 Home Rescue to offer a 24/7 Home Rescue discount code for boiler and central heating cover so you can save money and get peace of mind.
8. Not convinced whether solar panels are worth it? They can last 25 years!
“The performance of solar panels will degrade slightly over time,” says Bent, “but most come with a guarantee of at least 25 years.”
You need to think longer-term when deciding whether solar panels are worth it. Without being part of the SEG scheme, it will take around 24 years to pay back the cost of a solar PV installation through energy savings. Add in SEG, and the story is very different. If you’re at home all day, your solar panels could pay for themselves in as little as 17 years if you live in the South of England, and 20 years in you live in Scotland.
Read our guide to what is a smart meter.
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Living in northern California during fire seasons can be hard especially because of the power outages, so my parents have been considering solar panels but are trying to decide on the best cost-effective solution. I haven’t done too much research on solar-powered generators but have recently came across the idea, would you recommend this over solar panels for power outages?