Are solar panels worth investing in now as part of the energy crisis?

[thebellagio]

I’m getting quite scared about the energy impact. My dd is £250pm and it still tells me I’ll owe about £500 at the end of that term.

I’ve just upgraded my boiler (the previous one was 40+ years old!) but I’m wondering whether to invest in solar panels in a bid to lower bills. The house we’ve just moved into has a south facing garden plus it’s our forever home. but I have absolutely no idea about whether it’s worthwhile, whether it would make a difference, how long it would take to see a reduction in bills etc…

I was under the impression that it costs ££££ to do, and it takes at least a decade to see any return on investment. Is that true? In which case I’m wondering if it’s worthwhile…

For anyone who has them - have they been worth the investment and do you think it’s made a difference to your energy supply?

You’re not being unreasonable at all to look into this BUT it also goes hand in hand with good insulation and windows.

I have a friend who renovated their home and that included new insulation, new windows, solar AND an air source heat pump. He actually produces more energy then they need so sell it back to the grid.

Yep, it’ll be years and years before you break even on the cost of installation (by which time there should hopefully more efficient and cost effective alternatives🤞!). If it’s cash you’re trying to save as pp said - windows & insulation are your first port of call….bubble wrap is a cheap secondary glazing alternative if you need a real budget option (cut to size of panes & stick on….)

Windows are definitely my next step to look into. I can literally hear the draught on my landing so they will absolutely be replaced!

I’m trying to do as much as possible to the house to try and make it as efficient as possible.

Hello. Following as we have the same problem. Really draughty old house and old boiler. We are looking to upgrade windows to double glazed. Some of them are proper old though so it seems a shame. Then Dp has dreams of solar panels. Like op wondering if it’s worth it esp if gas keeps going up.

@Cleanbedlinen12

Hello. Following as we have the same problem. Really draughty old house and old boiler. We are looking to upgrade windows to double glazed. Some of them are proper old though so it seems a shame. Then Dp has dreams of solar panels. Like op wondering if it’s worth it esp if gas keeps going up.

I think my conundrum is that it’s going to cost at least £5k to invest in solar panels. But it could take at least ten years to start “making” money, but could that investment be better spent in actually paying the energy bills?

It’s a tough one.

It all depends how long you will stay in the house. Ours have paid themselves back by now but they are more than 20 years old.
As others have said, insulation first.

I had a quote for solar panels yesterday for 10k. That was 14 panels on a south facing roof no shade. They said I’d probably be eligible for a 5k grant to bring the price down. They also said I’d get cheaper quotes elsewhere based on panels made in China whereas they only supply German made panels.

Not traditional solar but we installed solar thermal about 8 years ago. They heat hot water and therefore massively reduce our gas usage april-October. Admittedly not so much in winter but a bit. Anyway everyone raised eyebrows at the time but we broke even after 6 years.

Solar is worth looking into but with the best will in the world our weather is reasonably but not brilliantly well suited.

Everyone with money available to invest should be looking at heat pumps.

Do you need planning permission?

Solar panels will set you back - on average - about £14,000.

If you get them on a finance scheme with the supplier, you’ll be paying something like £230 a month. You’ll also be paying an electricity bill but this will be a teeny fraction of what it used to be, so something small like £30.

If you’re a high electricity user and you have or are planning to get an all electric car then going solar makes so much sense.

A good salesperson will look at your previous bills and assess your usage. If they feel panels will ultimately save you money, then it makes sense to get it done. Prices of electric (and gas) are rising and will keep on doing so but the price of panels is pretty static right now.

Please please research the company you use though. There is one place (and I cannot recall their name) who use Chinese slave labour to make their panels so their prices are drastically lower than their competitors but would you really want to buy from them knowing their origins?

Davros 99% of properties won’t require planning permission. The only times it will get problematic is if you’re in a conservation area or have a listed building. Some new builds - most are now being built with solar but those that aren’t - tend to get a bit awkward about it. You have to get permission from the building company so Taylor Wimpey / Bloor / Crest Nicholson etc. They will usually eventually let you have the panels installed but only once all the other houses / flats in the new estate are built and occupied. Solar needs scaffolding to be erected for it to be installed and site managers don’t want a new house to have scaffolding on it as it might scare away potential buyers of other properties (they may think there’s something gone wrong with a new house being their reasoning). If you live in a property with a management company then you’ll need to clear it with them first but often the solar company does this for you as they can answer any questions the management company may have.

It's a myth that you 'sell' back to the grid. Excess electricity is stored in a battery in your home then anymore is fed back into the grid.

Get as many panels as you can - be creative, use a flat roof garage or shed.
Also look into batteries, esp if you have an EV. You'll be able to store your own excess power for evening / night use plus charge them overnight with the right tariff. If you opt to sell back to the grid, I think there's a chunky one-off cost (cheeky buggers).
Also get all parts from the same supplier rather than multiple sources, then one single app to control it all.
(DH's obsessive research has rubbed off on me!)

You will still have an electricity bill, although much less.

Not all solar systems have a battery.
Yes you do sell your excess electricity to the grid via your price plan from energy companies (they vary like all price plans) (www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/smart-export-guarantee-seg)
However the price you get for it is much lower than what you pay to draw energy out of the grid, so for that reason it is a good idea to have a battery (they vary in capacity and power) so that you can store and use what you produce.
Solar panels are much cheaper than they were 20 years ago so the pay-back time is reduced, can be about 5 years. Definitely check out your installer well as there are cowboys as in other trades.
Different solar panel types work better on cloudy days compared to others, so check that out.
There are Home Upgrade Grants (Hug) available through the Local Area Delivery (LAD) scheme, depending on eligibility up to 25k is available to each householder and that would include for measures like insulation as well as renewable energy. Depending on your area the scheme is administered by different organisations.

If you want some objective accurate information on solar panels which is not motivated by sales or vague/conflicting anecdotes in online forums you could do worse than go to www.cafs.org.uk and look at the webinars they have done, they cover that topic but also other relevant ones to your situation. Their information is also available on YouTube (look up Cumbria Action for Sustainability).
Pp is right, first insulate/reduce uncontrolled draughts as well as you possibly can as preventing heat loss is the best thing you can do for your energy bills in the first instance.

Roof insulation, walls insulation, windows, drafts from doors do all these first. Think of It like putting an extra jumper on yourself and a blanket so you don’t have to put the heating on in the first place. Led bulbs in all lights. Turn off lights and standby stuff when not in use. Use a slow cooker instead of a big oven to cook. Lot of little things will add up. Invest the savings then do the Air source heat pump & solar panels.

We are getting a whole new roof with solar panels, and a battery and insulation. It will take a while to amortize, but less so with the price increases (which might continue!). Also we will be less affected by outages.

Definitely worth considering now, thdd ex repayment time has dropped considerably. To get real value you also need a battery, because most households use electricity after dark.

Sealing your windows, turning the thermostat to 18 degrees and turning off lights when not in rooms is cheap and quick

We’ve spent 10k on a roof full of panels and 1 battery, we’re producing so much we’re sending loads to the grid, we should have got a second battery, but the one we have they’re replacing with a newer model so really hard to get hold of at the moment, for us it’s been worth it with adjustments. So when we were sending loads back to the grid and our battery was full charged I made sure I caught up on my washing that day so there wasn’t any for a not so sunny day and we weren’t getting as much solar. Equally we viewed it as part of doing our bit for the environment.

Thanks everyone. I think once I’ve done out windows that will be the next step to look into

We don't own our solar panels, they were fitted for free and get use of any free solar energy at that moment in time. We can't store it but my husband is looking into installing a battery.
We save lots of money given we didn't invest any. Even on cloudy days we benefit. In the summer we do all our washing in the daytime and have free running of our dishwasher. We have a gadget that tells us exactly how much solar we are generating and how much household energy we are using so use that to decide whether it's best to use cheap night rate, or daytime electricity.

Some great information on this thread, especially @TopCatsTopHat, I’ll be sharing your post with dh as we’re considering sp. our house is entirely electric except for a log burner, as we didn’t have any heating for 10 years and just used the log burner we mainly do the same now but our electric bill could definitely pay for the so over time.

I’m curious if they add sale value to a house, especially in the current climate.

Solar panels do add value, can't quote you the evidence just here but I have seen the figures.
As a starter for 10 if you want to get informed you should watch this :

You need to make a cup of tea and be patient, it's a recording of real people passing on real information live and as such isn't a slick polished programme edited for brevity. But it will give you a really good grasp of what you are asking and is suitable for beginners.

P. S thanks for the compliment.

My solar panels were fitted yesterday. Now I am just waiting for the electrician to come wire me in.
Due to the shape of my roof I can only fit 8 panels but as I have them under a government grant any saving on the bill is worth it.