If you want to live a more sustainable life, then getting solar panels is a big step towards this aim. But you might wonder is it worth getting solar panels? Here we share our experience of living with solar panels and a battery to answer this question.
We were considering getting solar panels installed for a few years. But when we bought our current home, we were lucky enough that they had already been installed.
Knowing that we produce our own clean energy which reduces our carbon footprint was a great feeling. And it also saved us money.
After a year of living with solar panels, we decided to add two extra panels and get a battery installed. We wanted to increase the amount of renewable energy we produce and use.
In this article, we will tell you how we get on and if having solar panels and a battery is worth it for you and the planet.
Why Get Solar Panels
First I want to talk about why we wanted solar panels. For us there were several reasons, but the main one was to live a more sustainable life by reducing our use of “dirty” energy.
While it’s not possible to power a home completely with solar panels, it helps the environment by reducing the amount of fossil fuel energy you are using.
This reduces the amount of carbon emissions we produce, which is great for the planet. So we can help the UK and the world to become net-zero.
Having solar panels means that you rely less on the grid. While we can’t go off-grid 100%, especially in summer, we don’t have to use much energy from our energy provider.
This has one other great benefit: our electricity bills are lower. And if you are with the right supplier, you can even sell back solar energy you don’t need and earn money.
Not all energy companies have a so-called export tariff though, but you can find a list on the Ofgem website. Admittedly, they pay you less than you have to pay them, but it’s better than nothing.
So as you can see, there are some good reasons to get solar panels, even if installing them does cost some money.
For us, buying a house that had them already installed was the ideal solution. But we did also think that solar panels and a battery would be even better. More about that later.
Living With Solar Panels In The UK
So let’s talk about what it’s like to live with solar panels and what benefits and drawbacks we have encountered.
Our first experience was excitement, because we moved in at the end of June, so we could immediately see how much energy we were producing.
Knowing that we produced energy to power our home without producing any carbon emissions and helping our environment was a great feeling.
Saving Money While Being More Sustainable
Thanks to handy gadgets we could also see how much money we were saving, another great benefit of having solar panels (and a battery, but more on that later).
There are two ways to save money with solar panels:
- Using free solar energy rather than drawing from the grid
- Selling unused solar energy back to the grid
Our energy provider has an app that shows how much energy we sold back to them. In one year (2022) we “earned” £357 from selling excess solar energy back to the grid.
But on top of this we also saved money, because we were using the electricity we generated to power our house. Unfortunately, we don’t know how much this was, but it will have made a difference for sure.
We did get a heat pump installed in September of that year, which increased our electricity usage.
Costs And Maintenance
The savings we made might not look like much, especially if you consider the costs of installing solar panels. However, currently you don’t have to pay VAT on solar panels and installation (this scheme runs until 2027), which brings down the cost.
You also have to consider that you will make savings year after year. So you will see a return on investment eventually.
Or you can buy a house that has solar panels already installed, like we did. This is an easy way, if you are moving house and can find one that works for you and has the panels already installed.
Once they are installed, there isn’t much in the way of costs or maintenance. Because there aren’t many moving parts, there isn’t much that can go wrong.
And it’s easy to maintain solar panels. All you have to do is clean them when they are really dirty. We found that once a year, in spring, is more than enough.
Apart from that, you can just let them do their thing.
The Limits Of Solar Panels
Because of their nature, solar panels produce the most energy when the sun is strongest.
This means that in the summer months you will generate the most amount of renewable energy. Spring and autumn are also still relatively good seasons for solar energy generation.
Winter is the worst season, because the sun is weak, and the days are short.
And of course, if the sun isn’t out, no energy is generated. This means, on very cloudy days, regardless of the season, you generate little to no power.
Once the sun has set, that’s it, no more power generation. Given that on evenings is when we use most electricity, that’s not ideal. But that’s where the limits of solar panels come in.
The more energy we can generate and use to power our home, the better for the environment and our bank balance. So we decided to get two more solar panels and a battery.
Our Experience With Solar Panels And A Battery
Taking advantage of the 0% VAT on energy-saving products, we added more solar panels and a battery.
This means we can now store the energy we generate from our solar panels and use it in the evening or during the night. So we use less energy from the grid, reducing our carbon emissions.
At the same time, we also added two more solar panels, as we had some space left on our garage roof. We now can generate more renewable power.
Costs And Installation
The costs of a battery depend on the size and type of battery. The more storage you get, the higher the costs.
Different batteries also have different capabilities, all of which impact on the price.
We opted for a 10kWh battery, because we wanted to ensure that we reduce the amount we use from the grid as much as possible. While this pushed up the upfront cost, it will also help us to save more money in the years to come.
Because we live rural, where power cuts happen fairly often, we wanted a battery that could kick in if we lose power. We have been without power for 6 to 8 hours on several occasions.
Working from home, it’s important for us that we have electricity to be able to keep working.
There are two options for this: either you can get a battery that can power the whole house (what we chose) or just one plug, so your fridge can stay on.
Most batteries can either be charged from solar panels or from the grid or both, depending on how the installation is set up. Our battery can be charged from both, so that in winter we don’t lose its benefits.
All this comes with a cost, and the installation of our battery and extra solar panels amounted to over £10,000. While this is a big figure, with the savings we can make, we will be able to recuperate this investment in about 10 years.
The installation only took one day and wasn’t disruptive at all. They had to switch off the power for a short time, but that wasn’t an issue, as they warned us in advance, so we could save any work we had done.
In terms of space, the battery doesn’t take up much space at all. Because of the type of battery ours is, it needs to be next to the fuse board.
So we were a bit worried about it being next to where we sit out in summer. But it’s quite flat and is mounted against our wall. It actually looks quite sleek.
The battery also doesn’t make any noise, so it won’t disturb our lazy afternoons sitting in the sun.
Free Energy During Summer
We got the battery and extra solar panels installed at the start of July 2023. So we were able to benefit from two summer months.
There were days when we didn’t need any electricity from the grid. The energy the solar panels generated powered our house and charged the battery.
Then in the evening, the battery discharged the energy it stored during the day to power our house until the next morning. This was great because it meant that during these days we didn’t produce carbon emissions and the energy was free too.
Even on rainy days, the solar panels did still produce energy albeit less, greatly reducing the amount of electricity we had to buy.
As we moved into autumn, the amount of solar energy we generated was still quite good. While there were fewer days when we didn’t need to use energy from the grid, there were still some.
In the 8 months we had the solar panels and battery combination, we generated 2,200kWh of solar energy. This saved us £400.
This includes £336 where we used our own electricity rather than buying it from the grid and £64 where we sold unused energy back to the grid.
Only when we got into winter did the amount of solar energy we produced drop significantly. We still generated some, but it wasn’t enough to fully charge the battery.
But, if you have a battery, you can access new energy tariffs.
Opening Up “Time Of Use” Energy Tariff
One of the tariffs we were able to take advantage of was a “time of use” tariff. It has three different rates: standard, cheap and expensive.
There are two cheap periods, where the energy rate is low for three hours. Then there is one three-hour period where the rate is expensive. The rest of the time it’s a standard rate.
When we don’t have any, or not much, solar energy, we charge our battery during the cheap rates. And then use the stored energy during the expensive period.
Our battery is set up so that if we have solar power, it is used first to power our home. If we produce more than the house uses, the energy goes into the battery. And if there is still some left, we sell it back to the grid.
This way, we can ensure that we maximise our usage of the free, green energy we produce. This is great for our environment and for our bank balance.
We estimate that with the combination of time of use tariff, solar panels and a battery we save about £1,000 per year.
Roast Dinner During 8-Hour Power Cut
One feature of our battery is that it can power the house during a power cut. Since we had it installed, we had three power cuts. One unexpected and two expected once due to maintenance work.
If we know about a power cut in advance, we can make sure the battery is fully charged before the power goes off. But it is set up in a way, that it will never fully discharge.
It always keeps back some power in case of a power cut. So when we had windy weather and the power went off in the morning one day, we could continue to work.
We did reduce the amount of energy we used, to make sure the stored energy would last us until after we cooked dinner. Because of course, this was the day when we planned a roast dinner for our evening meal.
The app that comes with the battery calculated how long it would last us, which was a great help. So we had a roast dinner during a power cut, which is no mean feat.
The power came back just as we sat down to eat. In the end, we had no inconvenience at all due to the power cut. And this is one of the great things about our battery.
Lessons Learned
If you are thinking of getting solar panels and a battery, we can tell you that it’s definitely worth it. But to ensure that you get exactly what you want and need, here are some lessons we learned.
Chose The Right Battery
My husband did a lot of research into batteries, to find out what our options are. Once he knew, we sat down and discussed what it was that we wanted from the battery.
We then discussed this list with our installer. He was really good and explained which battery would give us what we wanted.
So rather than just getting a standard battery with standard settings, like most people do, we got a set-up that suited our needs.
Our top tip here is to tell your installer exactly what you want from your solar panels and battery to ensure you get what you want.
If you are not sure where to start to get a quote, you can go to Heatable. They have installers all over the UK, and will give you a quote online.
Ask Your Installer The Right Questions
While solar panels don’t need planning permission, unless your building is listed, or you live in a conservation area, the installation does still have to meet building regulations. To ensure that your installation is compliant, ask your installer if you will receive an MSC certificate.
By using an MSC-certified installer you can be sure that solar panels and a battery are installed to the highest standard and that only high-quality products are used.
Another question to ask is whether the installer will contact the energy supplier to get approval for the installation. This is only necessary if your solar panels will produce 3.68kWp or more.
When the previous owners of our house installed the solar panels, they were capable of producing more than that. But the installer put in a smaller inverter below that mark. That’s because it meant they didn’t need to worry about applying to the energy provider.
Apparently that’s a trick that many installers use to reduce the amount of paperwork they have to handle. But this also means that we could never reach the full potential of our solar panels.
Even if they produced the maximum amount of energy, the inverter couldn’t let more than 3.6kWp through.
When we added two more panels, the installer also changed the inverter, to one that was the appropriate size, and they got approval from our energy provider. So make sure that your installer will do the same.
You also want to make sure that the installer will carry out a survey of the roof where the solar panels will sit. This is to ensure that the roof is strong enough. Our installer did that as part of the installation.
Get The Right Energy Tariff
Once you have solar panels and a battery installed, look at switching to a “time of use” tariff. This will allow you to save money even in winter, when you don’t have much solar energy.
Our energy provider has an app, where you can compare between the tariff you are on and one you think about switching to. It uses your real usage data to tell if you would save money or not.
Compared to a fixed tariff, which we were on before we got the battery, we saved £400 in 8 months by using a “time of use” tariff.
Combined with the savings you will make thanks to solar panels and a battery, this can reduce your energy bill by a huge amount every year. Of course, it will depend on the energy prices, but we think we can save around £1,000 per year due to the changes we made.
Shift Your Load
One thing we have learned is that we can maximise the benefits we can get from solar panels and a battery by shifting our load. So in summer, when we have a lot of solar energy, we try to shift our energy use to the day in order to benefit from the free, green electricity.
This means that we heat our hot water at midday when the sun is the strongest. We put our dishwasher and washing machine on during the day, etc. As we move into winter, and solar energy reduces, we shift our loads to the cheap rates of our “time of use” tariff.
We heat our hot water in the early hours of the morning, and delay the dishwasher so that it comes on when we get cheap electricity.
Equally, we wash our clothes and use the drier when we are on a cheap rate or at least not during expensive periods.
While it means having to pay a bit more attention and making changes as the seasons change, it can save you a lot of money and help the environment.
Conclusion
So what’s the verdict, is it worth getting solar panels and a battery? In our opinion, yes it definitely is. While the upfront costs can be quite high, it can save you a lot of money in the long run.
By creating and using your own renewable energy, you can significantly reduce the carbon emissions your household produces during the summer and spring months.
For us, this was the main reason why we wanted solar panels and then a battery.
Once installed, they don’t need much maintenance at all and there aren’t any running costs either. So after you have paid for the installation, you start saving money.
We are really happy with our choice and how it benefits our lives, bank balance and the environment. Why not go to Heatable now and get a quote for your solar panels and battery?
