Solar Panels

If your house is suitable for solar installation, the next thing you’ll need to consider is the cost. You’ll hear a lot about the prohibitive prices of installing solar, but you need to factor in the benefits the panels can bring you. The truth is, if done right, it’s often possible that even borrowing the money to install solar power can cost less than your current energy bills.

The actual cost can vary depending on the size of the system, your location, luck, and the current demand. That said, you should set aside somewhere in the region of £5000 for a full installation. Five grand should be enough to cover the standard 3.5kWp system we mentioned above.

The core costs of installing solar panels are usually broken down into three separate areas. The panels themselves, the inverter, and the battery system, but it should also cover the wiring, the installation, and the cost of labour. You may need to up your budget if your property has awkward access or needs extensive scaffolding.

Before considering a solar installation it’s a good idea to work out how much electricity you use, and how much you’ll be able to generate. Finding out how much power you use is simple, contact your current energy provider and ask them. Next, you need to work out how sunny your house is. If this sounds like a big ask, don’t worry, it’s easier than it sounds. Thanks to the European Commission, there’s a tool called the Photovoltaic Geographic Information System. It’s an international visual database that collects and collates the latest potential solar energy anywhere in the world. It’s a bit cumbersome, but you should be able to work out the potential energy you can generate using different-sized arrays. There are helpful websites out there that can show you how to use the system if you get stuck.

Another factor you’ll have to consider is maintenance. Solar systems are lighter on maintenance than other renewable energy sources like wind turbines. However, you’ll still need to keep them clean and watch for damage from falling debris. The life cycle of a solar system is around 25 years. This is also the benchmark warranty term from most suppliers. They may last a little longer, but it’s a good lifespan to consider if you’re thinking of adding one. One factor to remember is that the inverters have shorter lifespans. On the plus side, they tend to be a bit cheaper than the rest of the system. Anyhow you can expect to shell out £500 to £800 somewhere around the halfway mark of your 25-year warranty, which won't cover the inverter. In brighter news, you can be certain inverter technology will have improved by then and you may end up with a more efficient system, a lower price, or both. Another maintenance consideration is tree surgery. This will depend on your system's proximity to trees and shrubs. It may not affect you at all, but trees and bushes grow and if they start casting shadows on your panels, you’ll want to nip that in the bud, so to speak.

As mentioned above, the return on investment from a solar installation can vary thanks to many factors.

By now, you don’t need us to tell you about mitigating factors. Suffice it to say the time can vary. On average though a typical system can pay for itself in about ten years. As costs go down and reliability and efficiency go up, this number will come down, indeed, it’s worth factoring in potential improvements. Of course, if your system is inefficient, you’re plagued with maintenance issues, you chose poor tariffs, or you overpaid… then you can add a few years.

Current solar incentives

In this section, we’ll answer the fundamental question of how much a solar panel system costs. We’ll also discuss any currently available grants, as well as look at some historical grants for context. Finally, we’ll discuss the expected return on investment.

• What does solar cost?

  As you’ll appreciate, having read other articles on this page, the price of a solar array can vary due to many factors. Everything from your negotiating skills to the suitability of your property to your energy needs will play a part in the final tally. As a rough guide though, we’ll look at a typical installation, for the average UK family. Taking current figures, as of June 2023, the average cost of a standard 4kw system for a typical 3-bedroomed house sits between £6500 and £7000. You can add between £600 and £800 to install such a system. For your cash, you can expect a 16-panel system, inverter, cabling, and storage, with a 20-to-25-year warranty depending on your supplier. That’s enough power for an average family of four using current energy-efficient appliances. For smaller families and homes, you can reduce the number of panels to 12 and lower the cost by £1000 to £1500. As discussed throughout, there are many mitigating factors that can affect the price.

• What grants and incentives can I get?

  Once again, we’ll remind you that the solar energy market is swift moving. It’s always worth checking current and pending rules, regulations, and legislation. As of today, June 2023, there are scarce few grants, and those that do exist have strict criteria. Still, the current incentives are available.

  Solar Export Guarantee (SEG)

  We’ve discussed this before, and we’ll do a deeper dive a bit later, so, we won’t spend a lot of time here on it. While SEG is not a grant as such it is a financial incentive to move to solar. SEG is the UK government’s current commitment to Solar energy. Launched in 2020 it replaced the more generous Feed In Tariff (FIT). Under SEG, solar owners can sell their unused energy back to the grid and different energy providers offer differing rates. Therefore, it’s a good idea to check who’s offering the best rates. Unlike FIT which rewarded solar owners for every unit they generate, SEG only pays for units you don’t use yourself. It makes sense then that the more efficient and the higher capacity your solar array has the more you’ll earn from this tariff.

  0% Vat on Solar Systems

  This initiative arrived in 2020 and runs until 2027. There are a few carve-outs and caveats, but in essence, the government has removed VAT from solar systems. As we said there are a few carve-outs, solar batteries for example are not covered by the scheme, and there are some regional restrictions too. If in doubt, check with your local authority.

  Home Upgrade Grant 2 (HUG2)

  As you’ll have spotted governments love an acronym and HUG2 is one of the best. HUG2 launched earlier this year and runs until 2025. It’s managed by local authorities and each one sets their own criteria. This is a move to help lower-income, lower energy-rated households make energy-saving improvements to their homes. This in turn helps lower carbon emissions and improve the general state of the environment. Eligibility for HUG2 changes from region to region, but most councils will consider a grant for a solar installation. HUG2 can cover the entire cost of your installation.

  Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4)

  Now in its fourth iteration, this incentive launched in April last year (2022) and runs until 2026. ECO is one of the longest-running initiatives. First launched in 2013 as an incentive to encourage energy providers to help households make the switch to renewable energy. Like HUG2 it’s aimed at lower-income families. Both homeowners and anyone in the rental market can apply. Unlike HUG2, ECO4 is a national grant, and the application criteria are universal. The scheme covers insulation, efficient heating, and solar panels. Successful applicants are eligible for up to 100% of the cost of a solar array.

  The LA FLEX initiative

  Less of a full-blown incentive and more of a tag-on for the ECO4 grant, The LA FLEX is short for Local Authority Flexible Eligibility. It’s an amendment to the ECO4 scheme. During the rollout of ECO3, and its strict and obscure eligibility criteria, too many applicants found themselves in limbo. The LA FLEX is the government’s attempt to plug that void. It works by giving local authorities added funds and leeway to cover these loopholes and get more people involved. The grant, like ECO4 and HUG2 is available to low-income households. But, it also covers folks with relevant medical conditions, and properties with poor energy efficiency.

  Rent-a-roof and solar buyback

  These initiatives are less common these days as they focussed on the government’s previous incentive scheme The Feed in Tariff (FIT). We mention them here for context, but there are still a few solar buyback offers out there, although we covered them in the Green Deal section. Rent-a-Roof was a thing during the early ‘solar boom’. Some companies realised the potential to turn a profit from the Government’s lucrative (FIT) Feed In Tariff. To get in on the action, these firms paid for the installation of solar systems in exchange for a heavy share of the revenue. For consumers, it was a good deal since back in those early days there were grants and incentives a-go-go and lots of cash to go around. This meant that even when paying back the cost of the installation, savings were still possible. Deals and details varied, but those days are in the past. If you’re looking to buy a property that has a solar system, you may want to check the fine print to see if you'll end up liable for any outstanding costs.

  COMPARE PRICES FROM LOCAL INSTALLERS

  Compare prices from local companies fast & free
  

  Compare Price

  Enter your postcode to compare quotes from leading professionals. We promise to keep your information Safe & Secure. Privacy Policy

Switching to solar will save you money. How much you can save depends on the many factors we’ve discussed before. We won’t go over covered ground, but remember that the more efficient, suitable, and sunny your home is the bigger savings you can expect. For the sake of this example, we’ll choose an average-sized house, in an average location, with an average system. In the UK typical households save between 40 to 50% on their energy bills upon switching to solar. As discussed, some properties may net savings closer to 60%, while others might struggle to hit 30%. In real terms, the average household could see a reduction of anywhere from £200 to £600 in their annual energy bills.

• An ongoing battle

  These savings will improve over time too, as energy prices and solar panel efficiency rise and the costs of installing solar panels fall. It’s worth remembering, that how you use your system and how savvy you are with the market can also make an impact on your potential savings. If you forgo the odd late-night Bovril, make the most of the daylight hours, and keep your pulse on the latest SEG tariffs, you can make a difference. Making the most of your system will help you nudge your numbers towards that 60% saving, even if you live in a less-than-perfect spot.

  DIY, lo-tech, and portable solar systems

  So far, we’ve discussed complex domestic and commercial solar systems. For clarity, this means professionally installed systems with all the trimmings. As mentioned, the price of these systems varies. As a rule, though, let’s say this includes anything with a two-grand plus price tag. Not all solar systems fall into this category though and now we’ll look at some of the low-cost options.

  • Localised solar systems

    First up, let’s look at small solar arrays designed to power a specific area. These installations may power a workshop, garage, shed, or whatever. Smaller systems don’t need or have extra elements like a feed into the grid, so, there’s no way to sell your unused electricity. Typically, a local solar system designed for this purpose will have one, two, or three solar panels at best. Storage-wise, a local solar system will often use a leisure battery or in bigger systems a series of leisure batteries. Leisure batteries are 12-volt batteries, like car batteries, but designed to drain and recharge over time. Car batteries, by contrast, don’t cope well when drained and if used like that have a shorter shelf life. You’ll often find leisure batteries in caravans, mobile homes, and boats. Depending on their needs, some local solar systems won’t have storage at all. Their main function could be recharging the batteries of other devices like power tools and the like.

DIY solar panel systems

• As a nation, we Brits are well known for our shed-based ingenuity. From our humble garden workshops, we’ve given much to the world. In the UK today thousands of DIY disruptors tinker with all manner of projects daily and solar power is one of the most popular. Despite the rise of the solar industry, or indeed because of it, all the components needed to make your own homemade solar system are available to buy. Going your own way can save you money but expect to make up for that in effort. As a note of caution, designing and installing a solar power system is a dangerous undertaking. Electricity is not a force to mess about with. While we’re not your mum, we do feel it’s our responsibility to advise anyone without the appropriate training to leave it to the professionals. That said, all the required parts and components are commercially available.

  

• Low-Tech solar systems

  There’s one type of solar panel we haven’t discussed yet, low-tech thermal panels. Now, a note of caution, what follows may lead you down a rabbit hole. In simple terms, any process or gizmo that uses the sun’s energy to create or store energy is in some way solar-powered. To use the simplest example of all, if you laid a big terracotta pot out in the sun all day and then took it inside at nighttime. The heat radiating from the pot thanks to the collected heat makes it a thermal heater. Lo tech thermal solutions all use a similar principle. In fact, if you think about it polytunnels and greenhouses, and underfloor heating are solar-powered devices. Here's an example of a solar water heater powered by an old fridge and here’s a link to a legendary US magazine famous for wild homebrew energy plans. Some projects are more complex than others, but it’s fascinating to see how many ideas and concepts there are out there.

• Portable solar systems

  As the technology improves, we’ll see more of these gizmos on the market. What started out as rechargeable power banks for devices like smartphones have, in recent months edged into the domestic market. The outdoor, camping, and hobby market is still the obvious target market. However, some of these options boast impressive numbers. With 2000 watts output and 1500KWH batteries they're approaching the power of smaller domestic systems. Clearly, there's no potential for selling energy back to the grid, yet. Used with care though, smaller households could see significant reductions in their energy bills by using these devices for at least some of their energy production.

Efficiency is a word you’ll hear a lot when considering solar panels, and the most important aspect of any system. But how efficient are solar panels and is there any way to improve them?

As mentioned above, concentrating solar-thermal power, or CSP for short is another method of harvesting the sun’s energy. Due to the cost and the space required to install such a system these arrays are often only employed on an industrial scale. It’s often the case that the energy they generate is a core part of the business. Such as solar farms.

Compared to most energy sources, which draw power direct from the grid, solar is a breeze to look after. Most systems come with twenty-to-twenty-five-year warranties. There’s a reason suppliers are so generous with their guarantees, solar PV systems have few working parts.

Keeping the lights on requires ensuring the panels are clean and free of debris. It’s worth looking for a local specialist solar panel cleaning company. Your supplier can often recommend someone. You can do it yourself if you’re not afraid to get on a ladder. Though as you’ll only wash them once a year, even hiring a pro won’t break the bank.

We’ve done the pros and cons of solar storage and touched on the types available. Now it’s time to talk about the money. We’ll ignore simple leisure battery circuits for now since we’ll cover those later under DIY / lo-tech installations. For now, let’s focus on the big boys. Today we’re talking about the wall and rack mounter beasts you never knew you needed.

In basic terms, Solar thermal systems use the sun’s energy to heat water. There are variants, but most systems work in the same way. Panels collect energy from the sun. This energy heats up a transfer fluid which feeds a heat exchanger. Here, the transfer fluid heats up water in a boiler, or emersion heater before going back to the start.

Solar thermal systems work in a different way from PV solar cells. Although both systems have 'solar panels', the energy collected by a solar thermal system does not create electricity. Instead, the system generates heating and hot water.

• Components of a solar thermal system

  A solar thermal system uses panels, but they are unlike the PV cell panels found in traditional solar systems. The correct name for these panels is collectors. Collectors are the primary component of a solar thermal system. Solar thermal panels use reinforced glass pipes to capture the radiation from the sun. These insulated pipes contain a special liquid called transfer fluid. Transfer fluid features an eco-friendly antifreeze so it can capture heat and circulate through the system. Once the fluid is hot enough it passes through another significant part of the solar thermal system called the heat exchanger. As the name suggests this device allows the heated fluid to transfer its heat into a water tank. Some systems have a single water tank, while others have two. These tanks are both heated in the same way, but the water inside is for different purposes. i.e. drinking water or heating etc. A control unit manages the whole system which in turn runs a pump to keep the fluid moving.

This equation is not easy to calculate. It’s true that the initial cost of installing a solar thermal system is lower than a traditional PV system. Yet, the savings and potential earnings can make a PV system a better investment in the long haul. Based on figures from Checkatrade, you should budget £4000 to £5000 for a solar thermal system and £5000 to £8000 for a solar PV system.

If you don’t have a suitable roof, don’t panic there are alternative ways to install solar panels. Ground-mounted panels being the most common. You’ve likely seen these types of panels on a drive through the countryside since ground-mounted solar panels are often used in solar farms. Despite being more common for commercial energy providers, ground-based PV Panels also work for domestic use.

The different types of ground-based solar panels

Right now, there are two kinds of ground-based panels. Both use typical PV panels, and the only difference is their fixtures. The most common are standard ground-mounted panels. These, as the name suggests, sit on custom-fitted brackets driven into the ground. These brackets allow the panels to tilt and sometimes rotate to maximise their efficiency over the course of the day. The other type of ground-mounted solar panels fit onto elevated poles. These pole arrays often carry many panels. Some even come with smart tracking systems that allow the panels to rotate as the sun moves across the sky. Maintaining a direct line of sight with the sun can be a game changer in efficiency terms. These systems present a good return on investment.

Pros and cons of ground-based solar systems

There are always upsides and downsides to most investments and ground-based solar arrays are no exception. On the plus side, such a system allows homeowners without suitable roof structures to enjoy the benefits of solar power. Ground-based solar panels are also easier to maintain than their rooftop cousins. After all, it’s a lot easier to remove detritus like stray leaves, snow, and other debris at ground level. So, you might find installing a ground-based solar system is as, if not more, expensive than a rooftop version. particularly if you opt for extras like a tracking system. You may also find that your ground-based solar array system is more prone to damage. After all, it’s a lot easier for debris to fall on your equipment when it’s at ground level.

One of the undeniable boons of solar power is its potential for off-grid power generation. If you’ve ever dreamed of a Butt’n’Ben, a bothy, or even your very own Mongolian yurt in the wilds of the country then this section is for you. Of course, it will also help if you want to get power to your shed, summer house, or garage and don’t like red tape or trailing extension cables.

Solar power can be a viable off-grid option, but to make it work 24/7 you’ll need decent battery storage. Solar power by its nature relies on sunlight, which in the UK is often unreliable and, of course, seasonal. For the greatest efficiency and to make the most of the sunlight, you’ll need to capture, convert, and store as much energy as possible.

PV solar panels account for most domestic and some commercial solar installations, and there are two variants. The easiest way to think of them is regular and deluxe.

Polycrystalline: is the no-frills panel and as the name suggests, they contain multiple layers of silicon. They begin life in an oven that melts crystalline fragments. Formed into cubes, they are then sliced into wafer thing cells. As polycrystalline cells consist of many different crystals their efficiency suffers. On average, they achieve 12 -13% efficiency, lower than their more expensive monocrystalline cousins. Polycrystalline panels are blueish in colour. You can recognise them from their distinctive rectangular cell matrix.

Monocrystalline: is the PV gold standard. Unlike polycrystalline cells, a wafer-thin slice of a single silicon crystal comprises each cell. These lab-grown ingots, prized for their excellent solar properties have great efficiency. The average lies between 15 -20%. Some newer cells show even greater efficiency, with experimental versions approaching 50%. Monocrystalline panels are darker in colour than their cheaper counterparts. They look almost black to the naked eye. You can tell a Monocrystalline panel by its octagonal cell structure, which looks a bit like a honeycomb.

Each panel has its uses and pros and cons

Whether you opt for monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar panels is likely to come down to your budget. If you can afford them and if you can find them, monocrystalline solar panels are the obvious choice... unless you happen to have a blue roof.