MoneySavingExpert.com Solar
Feature by Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert
As summer’s rays have faded, the 550,000 Brits with solar panels will stay smiling. Solar panels aren’t just an environmental boon, they cut your electricity bills and pay you for generating energy too.
However, the amount you can earn from them will likely soon drop again, so if you’re mulling it, it’s worth deciding whether it’s right for you soon. Let me take you through it…
How solar panels work
“Solar power? Hang on, we don’t live in California!” may be your first thought. Yet it’s not about the heat,
it’s about daylight, so
they still generate some electricity on gloomy days – vital in a country with weather as dull as eating rice cakes while waiting in for a delivery.
There are actually two types of panels: thermal which just heat the water, and photovoltaic (PV) which generate electricity, and it’s these that all the fuss is about, though you’ll usually need a reasonable sized, unshaded roof, facing south-ish.
How solar panels make you money Financially, there are two reasons to do this:
1. You save on electricity bills. The Energy Saving Trust (EST) estimates a typical family can knock around £100/year off their bills, as it cuts the amount of electricity you need to buy. This depends on system size, location, whether you’re at home during the day and other factors.
2. You get paid for generating. You also get paid a ‘feed-in tariff’ for ALL the energy you generate. Crucially, that’s even if you’re the one using the energy, which once big home storage batteries become
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commonplace will be even better. The amount you get depends on your system’s size, but EST estimates typical payments of £500 a year (tax-free).
In June the rate dropped from 13.3p/kWh to 12.9p/kWh (in contrast, you pay 9p-13p/kWh for the electricity you use). Yet once panels are installed, the government has said the rate is fixed for 20 years and rises with inflation, so signing up sooner pays more.
Does buying solar panels still add up?
Back in the day, solar panels were a no-brainer. When the Government launched the feed-in scheme, people typically got a gobsmacking £1,100+ per year in payments, not taking into account electricity savings. Then again, a typical system cost £12,000.
Yet now while you earn less, it also costs far less with the price coming down to £5,000- £8,000. For a full detailed analysis and more help, go to
www.mse.me/solar, but in a flash...
Here’s some maths based on a typical house in Manchester with a typical 4kWp system: • Cost of panels: £6,500 • Annual generation payment: £515 • Annual bill savings: £120 • • •
Total: £635
Break even estimate: 10 years Profit at 20 years: £6,200.
So with savings rates so low, for someone with a bundle of cash these are a good option to look at. And for some they can pay back even sooner.
The key need-to-knows
To see whether solar panels are worth it for you and whether you can get them, there are some important need-to-knows:
To advertise in thewire t. 07720 429 613 e.
the.wire@btinternet.com
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