Solar panels

[Izzy24]

We have LPG in bottles for heating which is ruinous.

I’ve been trying to find out about solar panels:
How much it costs
Will it produce enough to run electric heating
Who can install it

Any ideas anyone?

we had solar panels installed recently. They give enough power to run the kettle / dishwasher but not enough for heating. My DH found a company on google & got them installed. but they need a big roof & south-facing.

air-source heat-pumps or ground-source heat-pumps are recommended as a way to replace gas heating. but you need a well-insulated house.

what kind of house do you live in? improving your insulation may well be more cost-effective than solar panels or heat pumps.

Why do you have LPG bottles? Are you living in a park home maybe?
What size bottles are you using?

Could you get mains gas? That's much cheaper than bottled.

Failing that could you install an Oil Tank and an oil boiler?

How old is your house and how well insulated is it?

I live in an autonomous house with solar panels for heating and electricity.

You need a very large number of panels to have electric heating. Are you grid connected? If so it may be doable.

If not, you need solar thermal panels and hot water heating, which you can top up when cloudy with either gas or electricity hfrom the grid). The way it works is you have panels which heat up a big tank of water, and then run radiators or underfloor heating off that.

The cost will vary enormously depending on the size of the array and tank you need, which will in turn depend on the size and level of insulation of your house.

Thank you for all your replies.

We live in a 70s house. Well insulated, large roof facing east and west.

We are on grid but no mains gas ( rural).

Not keen to put oil in for environmental reasons.

CatherinedeBourgh - I’m encouraged to know that it seems possible at least.

Solar panels will be absolutely useless for heating, and any electric heating such as air source heat pump will either be ruinously expensive to install or run.

Oil is the obvious choice but if you don't want that you could get a large fixed LPG tank installed? Your current boiler won't need any modification if it's currently running off gas bottles.

If you're concerned about the cost to heat your home then fit an oil boiler or an LPG tank.

If you concerned for the environment and money is no object then the world is your oyster. Massive battery packs, ground source heat pumps, solar array. Perfectly possible to power your whole home by renewables.

A middle ground is to insulated your house much more than it is (Get a thermal imaging camera to see where heat is lost). That way you can keep your LPG and spend half the amount on fuel and save the planet at the same time.

Of course, there is one simple trick EVERYONE misses which will cost you pennies and solve your dilemma overnight. See here for more details. bit.ly/33UJXeh

solar panels collect a modest amount of energy during sunny summer days, mostly between 10am and 4pm

pretty useless for heating. Or lighting. Sometimes useful for cooking if it happens to be sunny while you are doing luch.

The return on investment is very poor.

Have a look at the Energy Savings Trust. They have some good pointers.

I should caveat that I am in a sunnier place than the UK.

If I was setting up a new system and money was no object, I would have combined thermal and PV panels with a wood burner and back boiler and a heat pump.

If that was too dear I would lose first the heat pump, then the PV, and use either mains electric or a gas boiler to top up when the weather is not sunny enough and I am not running the stove. Which round here would be almost never, but in the UK probably much more often.

Thank you all very much for such helpful advice.

We do also have a woodburner.

From what you’ve all said I think our best option is identifying where we can improve insulation and installing an LPG tank.

Thanks so much .

Off to look at the energy saving trust first!

@TobyHouseMan
Your link is showing me M and S clothing !

Woolly jumpers!

Ha!

You could look at a variety of systems that work together - there are lots of options
Start by making sure you are insulated to the n'th degree then start looking at your options.
Electric combi boilers are quite efficient and using PV to offset some of their input would be better than nothing. The bonus is they will work on an existing system. I have used this on a rural clients scheme and they are very happy.
We have PV with a battery system, this allows us to store energy produced but also to buy from the grid at cheap rates (overnight) and sell back at peak times.
Air source or ground source pumps are an option, gas is on its way out so I would think twice at the expense and hassle of installing an underground tank.
It's worth talking to a renewable energy consultant to see your options. They can advise on what suits your circumstances, what will be most efficient and effective, the costs and what grants are available to help you - rural homes not on mains gas are eligible for help. If you are in the NE I can recommend some to have a chat with otherwise google will have to help.

We have a large system with 26 panels and 10kw battery and no, we couldn't heat the house on it. It will cover all electrical usage from March to October (incl underfloor heating in bathrooms) but still needs a bit of import from the grid on the darker days in winter months.

My frugal friend who used to work for national grid fitted his years ago and get a good sum from the FIT etc and only low bills in winter...he told me its far too late to get a deal now and would take over 20 years or more to get costs back...very dissapointed to hear that !

@earsup it's true that, that scheme isn't around anymore but costs for panels have come down so much since then too so it's not comparable. There are special grants for those not on the mains grid that can help offset at least some of the costs of moving into renewables. It's always changing that's why consultants can help as it's their specialist area.

@earsup

My frugal friend who used to work for national grid fitted his years ago and get a good sum from the FIT etc and only low bills in winter...he told me its far too late to get a deal now and would take over 20 years or more to get costs back...very dissapointed to hear that !

And recovering the original cost does not actually mean it was a good investment. It just means that in nominal terms, you are no worse off than you were 20 years ago, except that for 20 years you gave not had that money as a nest egg in case of some urgent need, and you have lost the opportunity to invest it in something with an actual growth or income return. Before the end of those 20 years your solar installation will quite likely no longer be working and has no value.

@PigletJohn the warranty on most PV panels is 20-25yrs, this guarantees they don't drop below 80% of original output in this time. There have been studies that have followed systems over 20yrs that support this and show degradation actually tends to be around 6.25% at 25yrs so still absolutely fine.
However the expected lifespan of current installations is 40-50yrs.
Complete failure rates are very low and are usually due to physical damage such as storm damage.

If it’s a 1970s house it won’t be well insulated, people tend to think new double glazing and extra loft insulation and the house is well insulated. For a house to work well with a heat pump it needs to be insulated to another lvl to stop the heat loss.

Don't discount air source/ground source heat pumps - the PP who said the running costs are 'ruinously expensive' is just wrong I'm afraid. Running costs are equivalent to mains gas central heating I believe.

The systems are expensive to install (don't know how that compares to the costs of installing oil heating etc) but potentially worth it if you plan to stay in this house for the forseeable future. Do a bit of research, but it could be a good option. Solar is not a good option for heating, as others have said.

But to get reasonable running costs, you have to spend a fortune on a decent heat pump setup, plus ongoing maintenance issues. Either way, heating with electric costs a cumulative fortune. Either upfront costs with an ASHP, or ongoing costs with traditional electric heating.