ARE SOLAR PANELS WORTH IT?

When looking at renewable energy, it's perfectly reasonable to question whether solar panels are worth it. Renewable energy expert David Hilton explains what could turn a 'yes' into a 'maybe'

- DAVID HILTON Is an expert in energy efficiency and director of Heat & Energy Ltd.

Aselectricity prices continue to rise, renewable energy continues to be an investment many homeowners are considering making. But with solar panel costs adding a hefty chunk of money to your budget, are they worth the investment? While my general answer is yes, making sure they are depends on a number of different factors including the initial installation costs, whether you are able to access grants, the location of your solar panels, payback agreements and how you use your solar energy each day.

FLUCTUATING PRICES

The popularity and adoption of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels escalated rapidly with the introduction of the generous Feed-in Tariff (FiT) in 2010. The FiT was so generous that the panels would pay for themselves in around 11 years from the generation income alone. Added to this was the fact the incentive was guaranteed for 25 years and the homeowner could use the generated energy as well. However, as soon as the FiT ended the sales of solar PV panels dropped off considerably. This was replaced with the Smart Export Guarantee in 2020. Even though the FiT had ended, installation costs did then fall meaning that as energy prices rose and the cost of the installations dropped, the sales of solar PV picked up again. And with the price of batteries dropping, too, it was once again an option worth considering.

INSTALLATION COSTS AND GRANTS

Currently, when budgeting for solar panels, you will find that a solar PV system costs between £6,000 and £9,000 for a 4kW system and around £3,000+ for a reasonable solar battery.