According to government data, around 1.4 million homes—5 % of homes—will have solar panels installed by the end of 2024. However, Solar Energy UK states that it is reasonable to assume that at least 40% of new homes in England will have solar power installed.
There is still a huge misconception about solar panels in the UK being redundant due to the fact the Uk famously experiences very little in the way of sunshine and good weather. But, actually, they can work even on dull, overcast days and convert the power of the sun into power that fuels your home and your life. The only restriction is they won’t be beneficial on north-facing homes; south-facing works the best, but you can still benefit if you are east or west-facing.
If you are still deciding whether solar panels are a good investment, on average, they cost around £7,500 for 10-12 panels on a 3 kWp system. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits you can experience.
Roof Protection
The average roof needs replacing every 15 to 20 years, and it can be a significant investment. However, if your roof is in good condition still and you have solar panels installed, you can offer additional protection to your roof. Far from damaging the roof, when installed correctly, the panels can protect your roof or the area under it from damage from the elements and local wildlife. This is due to them being affixed to the roof and providing a level of cover with the panels being exposed and that section of the roof covered. While it won’t protect the entire roof and structure, it can offer you some protection.
Lower Electricity Bills
Sunlight is free, so you don’t need to pay for it. So, outside of your installation costs, you don’t need to pay anything else, and you then use the converted energy to power your home. This reduces your reliance on the grid and enables you to benefit from lower energy bills. How much you save will be variable and will depend on how many panels you have, the amount of sunlight you get, and how much energy you consume. In some cases, it can be a minimal additional cost for top-up energy from your provider. For others, it can be a more modest saving and save a few pounds per week from the bill. But roughly, you can expect to save somewhere in the region of £450 per year.
Increased Property Value
More and more buyers are looking for homes that can facilitate energy-efficient adaptations or already have them in place. Having solar panels on your property means that when you come to sell, you can add some extra pounds to the value simply for your forward thinking.
Now, the value isn’t huge, but paired with other eco-friendly upgrades and options, the cumulative sum can be more significant. On their own, you can expect to see the value boosted by anywhere from 6 to 6.8%, with more extensive systems on larger properties potentially adding up to 14% to value. That is nothing to be sniffed at.
Make Money
It’s true you can actually make more money if you have solar panels. Homeowners who generate vast amounts of energy they actually won’t or can’t use can sell it back to the national grid for use elsewhere. The Smart Export Guarantee requires licensed electricity suppliers to offer tariffs to small-scale, low-carbon generators. This guarantee means that if you produce too much energy more than you will use, you can sell it back and get paid. Not only will it eliminate any electricity bills from your expenses, but it will also make you money while paying off the investment faster.
Lower Carbon Footprint
The average residential solar panel system in the UK will save around 0.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. If you’re aiming to reduce your carbon footprint or start living more sustainably, solar panels can enable you to do this. The amount you save is variable and dependent on other factors, but you can make savings (Provided you don’t create more via other activities such as buying a petrol-guzzling SUV).
Easy to Scale
Maybe you start small to see the benefits yourself before scaling up to add more panels. That’s absolutely fine because solar panel systems are scalable, and you can add more panels at any time. You can get a solar panel quote for the initial work and then obtain a new quote to add more if you wish. For example, if you extend your property and have additional roofing space that is south-facing.
Low Maintenance
Unlike other eco-friendly adaptations you need to make your home, solar panels require very little upkeep to maintain their functionality. If you want an option that doesn’t involve a lot of care and maintenance, solar panels can deliver on that front. You simply need to keep them clean and unobstructed. Due to them being angled downwards, most debris simply slides right off them, and rainfall can help to wash anything away that is on them, too. But the occasional clean and you can guarantee they will operate for the duration of their warranty and then some, maybe even up to 40 years.
Grants Available
It’s worth discussing that another benefit of getting solar panels is that there is likely to be a grant available for you to cover the cost of the installation in part or the generation of energy. The SEG, as mentioned above, guarantees you get paid for the amount you receive, while the ECO4 is a government scheme that covers 100% of the cost of the panels and installation for inefficient homes for homeowners on certain benefits. The Warm Home Local Grants offers local automated funds to deliver grants of up to £10,000 to subsidise the cost of solar panels for energy-inefficient homes that aren’t on the gas grid.
There are, as you can see, multiple benefits to having solar panels installed on your property.
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