AIBU to want solar panels

[pokemoan]

Just thinking to the future & how costs are never going back down.
If you have solar panels how long before they paid for themselves & do they provide enough for your energy needs?

We’ve had ours for about three years and expect to be overall better off within 8 to 9 years of getting them, including the battery cost. Our roof is pretty ideal for solar panels in terms of direction and available space.

They don’t provide all of our energy. During the summer, we produce more than we use and the excess is sold to the grid. In the winter we are still buying electricity. Also, even in the summer you have to buy a very small amount to allow for fluctuations to be balanced - the system works it all out for you, it’s not something you have to do manually.

We still have gas for our hob, heating and hot water.

Also, remember there is still a standing charge, so even if you did manage to produce 100% of your electricity needs, the standing charge is still there.

Thanks @newN4me thats very helpful. Can I ask what the standing charge is? Are you pleased you did it?

We’ve had ours 3 years, I’m not sure about the cost/payback, but I’m sure my DH has a spreadsheet! But they’ve been great. We had 2 batteries installed too, so in the Summer the solar fills the batteries and any excess goes back to the grid. In Winter we obviously don’t get much sun, but top the batteries up overnight on a cheap rate and use them in the day. Our energy bills have plummeted and that’s even with having AC installed at the same time. We certainly don’t regret it, but it was expensive to install

You're standing charge is set by your electricity company, 50-60p a day. You're already paying it.

Mine paid back in 6 years, though that's not why I did it. I've optimised the heat pump to run more efficiently with them. I don't charge my car directly but people who do find it's fabulous value for money very quickly.

Really glad we did it, have had ours around 5 years and we've almost broke even on them, but was helped by that year when energy prices skyrocketed and we were selling excess to the grid for about 30p per KWH.
If you get solar, make sure you get a battery aswell so you can store excess when the sun shines.
In the past year our panels have generated just over 5,000 kwh of usable electricity. Of that, we've used 2,800 kwh, and sold 2,200kwh to the grid at 15p. On our current tarrif, thats about £1k per year if you add the savings from our electricity bill to the income from selling to the grid. It would be more if I actively managed timing our exports, or downloaded an app, but I've not bothered this year.
We also got an emergency power supply added on, which means if there's a power cut, we can disconnect from the grid and run for a few hours off our battery instead.

The above website isn’t in English !!

When we had ours installed we expected them to pay for themselves in 10 years. It currently looks more like 6. You need decent batteries though so as a previous poster says, in winter you can charge them on a cheap overnight tariff then use during the day. We've also had a heat pump to replace the boiler which is great too

Money saving expert has a calculator for working this out.

Just got them yesterday and am obsessed by the ap ! We are away and I’m messaging the kids to see who is using what when the usage goes up 😂!

Love ours. Have electric car also. So glad we got them in. We were thinking about it for a while and then just finally did it. Most of our neighbours have them too,

I loved having solar panels in our last house, the security it gives you. We massively over-insulated as well so we only had to cook dinner in the oven to keep the house warm in the evening. Unfortunately can't have them in current house.

I have had mine for about 2 years now and we sell enough electricity in the summer to cover all of our gas and electric charges for the year including charging a car.

it’s looking like it will take about 8 years to be in full profit at the moment.

A few questions please if anyone can help.

With regards to solar paying back, it seems to be anything from five years onwards.But if you for example pay £80 a month on finance , and you save that on electricity, doesn’t that mean you basically break even straight away ?

So the electricity savings basically covers the finance or loan payments. If that makes sense?

Even if you move house , is it likely to make your property more desirable to a prospective buyer? We are thinking of living here for atleast five more years but less than ten.

I have an electric car. Would solar and a battery charge my car at night for free ?

Do you just let the solar and battery do its thing , I’m a complete techno idiot when it comes to this so would rather have something that does everything for me !

I wouldn’t have the time or energy pardon the pi. to spend my whole life monitoring my energy usage !

Any advice appreciated!

Bumping for traffic- have Wickes coming tomorrow for a solar appointment ( free).

I found charging my car during peak hours took 70% solar and 30% grid. Instead I now charge from grid and also refill my battery from the 2 hour lowest charge. If works out better for me to sell back my excess during the day at a higher rate and charge from grid on lower rate. I think I am using around €60 for 2 months for my car! And will get sufficient credit to have 6-7 months without an electricity bill.

We’ve had ours installed in June. We took the longest finance option in order to have the lowest monthly payment with the intention of paying off early. We currently are not using hardly anything off the grid as we’ve had really good weather but not making money as there’s a huge delay with generating some barcode which is needed to set up our export tariff . It’s currently on 2 months since installed!
I wish I had known that at the time. Hoping to pay them off in two years or three max but the finance allows 10 if we need it.

I don't count the electric, but ours probably instantly added 15k to the value of the house by bumping up the energy rating. We'll be moving in the next few years, so that's more important to us than energy pay back.

The thing is if it’s cost for example 10k for solar panels and a pump, unless you have that kind of laying around , you need to finance it.

So that’s probably an extra 3 k on top meaning the outlay is more expensive and the pay back is longer .

We have them and batteries, ASHP and an electric car. The car alone has mean we are no longer spending £300+ a month on diesel.

”Paying for themselves” isn’t a concern, using less fossil fuels and not ruining the planet any further for my children is.

How long does buying from the Grid take to pay for itself?

I’ve no idea how any of it works !

How’s the heat pump working ? Cost to run wise same as a boiler ?

I have solar panels and they are fab. I notice a difference in cost. My only issue is birds love to nest under them 🤣

Excellent idea and go for it!

There are some initiatives where you get a grant to cover it. Home energy Scotland is one. There may be different ones on other parts of the country. Even if you finance it's worth it.
Get a battery if you can afford it.

Savings for six panels on a two bedroom house in Ayr on the Clyde coast are about £600 a year. Further south obviously a lot more.