UK solar panel installations fall due to cold summer
- Consumers have installed fewer solar panels year-on-year in 2024, according to research by experts
- But overall, the rise of solar energy continues, with nearly 5% of households having one
The number of solar panels on homes in Britain has fallen by 19 percent since last year, according to analysis by Coventry Building Society.
In the first seven months of 2024, more than 80,000 solar panels were installed on homes. That is 19 percent less than the 106,000 that were installed in the same period in 2023.
The drop in installations in 2024 could come as the UK experienced its coldest summer since 2015, while 2023 was one of the warmest summers on record.
In 2023, the number of solar panel installations on UK homes reached a seven-year high, with more than 165,000 new installations from January to December.
Make hay while the sun shines: Solar panels offer the potential for huge savings on electricity bills and can even be profitable, although consumers should factor in installation costs
Still, 2024 is still the year with the second highest number of installations since 2015.
According to government figures, around 1.4 million UK households had solar panels installed by June 2024. That’s almost 5 per cent.
Sophie Mason of Coventry BS said: ‘The lack of a British summer may not have meant solar panels are top of everyone’s to-do list, but they are still proving to be a popular investment.
‘This year, an average of more than 400 solar panels have been installed on homes every day. That is a significant increase compared to the same period five years ago.’
It typically costs around £5,000 to £6,000 to purchase and install an average 4kW solar panel on a property.
The highest year ever for solar panel installations was 2011, when 200,589 panels were installed. This was after the launch of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) system in 2010.
The FIT scheme was a government initiative that paid owners of solar panels for the electricity they did not use and sold back to the grid.
The scheme closed to new applications in April 2019. However, homeowners who have already applied will continue to receive payments until their contract expires, which is normally 20 to 25 years after application.
In June 2019, the government launched the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), which also compensates homeowners for selling excess renewable energy to the grid.
But the two schemes differ in detail: for example, the FIT paid one rate to all members, while the SEG rate depends on what individual energy companies are willing to pay.
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