More than 50,000 households installed solar panels on their home in the first three months of this year alone, industry figures revealed this summer. Typical installation costs are now around £7,000, according to the Energy Saving Trust, but can exceed £10,000.
Before you buy a home with solar panels, it’s wise to know how everything will work.
Potential buyers will need to consider issues such as whether the seller can keep the solar panels, how solar tariffs work, how much your bills are likely to be, whether the solar panels work well in the winter and how long they last.
Can vendors bring solar panels with them?
If you’re considering buying a property with solar panels installed, it’s important to know that the seller can potentially take them with them as long as they own the solar panels outright.
However, sellers may not want to remove their solar panels before moving, as the process can be very expensive, especially when it comes to labor costs.
Removing the solar panels can also potentially damage the roof, which can jeopardize the value of the property.
Plus, even though the seller can still use the energy generated by their solar panels at a new address, they may not be able to get paid for the unused and exported energy.
How do solar panels work?
The panels are usually installed on a roof with good exposure to the sun. Electricity is generated by sunlight. In addition to solar panels, it is also possible to get solar tiles or slabs.
How do solar tariffs work?
If you buy a property with solar panels installed, you can get paid for the electricity they produce that you don’t use. You can sell it back to the network.
In 2020, the Smart Export Guarantee or SEG scheme came into force. Under this scheme, all energy suppliers with at least 150,000 residential electricity customers must offer panel owners cash for their energy. They set their own rates.
The older feed-in tariff scheme, which closed to new applications in March 2019, was more generous with higher rates and households with solar panels were paid for generating power even if they used it themselves.
Under the SEG scheme, the amount of cash you will receive will depend on which company you use. You can get anything from 1p per kWh to around 16p per kwh. Solar tariff providers include, among others, British Gas, Octopus Energy, Scottish Power, E.On Next and SSE.
Last month, Octopus Energy announced changes to its smart and export tariffs, claiming customers would pay four times more for the excess power they feed into the grid. The company said its new Octopus outbound tariff will be the best-paying fixed export tariff on the market, open to all exporting households.
Remember that your energy supplier does not have to be the same as the supplier that pays you for the energy generated by solar energy. You are still free to switch providers as well.
How much will the bills cost?
The amount of money you’ll be able to reduce your bills will depend on a number of factors, including, for example, whether you’re at home most of the day, whether most of your cooking is done on electricity, and whether you have an electric vehicle . Factors like the size of your roof and where you live also come into play.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, a typical household with a 3.5kWp system could cut between £175 and £420 a year off their electricity bills.
Do solar panels work in winter?
Solar panels work best in direct sunlight, but still work on cloudier days with fewer hours of sunlight, as is often seen in winter.
According to the Energy saving Trust, even on dull days, there is still sunlight that can be converted into energy.
This is because solar panels absorb energy from the light spectrum visible to us and also from wavelengths that can pass through clouds.
It says: “In fact, a little rain can help your solar panels work better by washing away dirt and debris that might otherwise block the light.
“You might also consider a solar battery, which allows you to store extra energy created when it’s sunnier to use at times when you’re generating less energy, such as at night.”
How long do solar panels last?
Solar panels typically come with a 25 to 30 year warranty, and some older versions have been known to last over 40 years. Meanwhile, some parts may need to be replaced.
For example, inverters, which convert the electricity generated into a form that can be fed into the grid, will need to be replaced within the first ten years and cost around £800, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
After that point, it will probably be cheaper to replace the solar panels, as their performance degrades slightly each year.