Content here is written by a real PV expert, not an AI robot and should be seen as a unbiased view on solar PV being a good investment. You see there is no wrong and right answer to this question because there are so many factors involved.
The fact you are here and reading this post may already mean you are already on your journey to getting solar panels installed. Let us here at Eco Dorset Solar guide you on your journey and make sure you make the best possible decisions. In this post we will discuss roof space requirements, batteries, usage and getting paid for your excess.
What defines the term “a good investment” as this can differ for all people, but for us here at Eco Dorset Solar we like to see our clients receiving a pay back period of under 10 years, many PV installations come with a 5 year workmanship warranty and a manufactures warranty on goods like the inverter, battery and panels. The equipment warranty for panels currently varys fro 15-30 years, batteries and inverters 5-10 years. If a battery or inverter has a 5 year warranty with a option to extend that warranty to 10 years this is something we strongly advise.
Let’s start with a example, Mr and Mrs Smith live in a small bungalow in bournemouth. Luckily they have a great south facing roof that they can fit 10 solar pv panels. The make a enquiry through us here at Dorset Eco and get put in touch with a vetted installer, the installer provides them with a great quotation and design that includes the below. Mr and Mrs Smith have no idea what they are looking at so we step in to help.
The below image is taken from a performance estimate, all MCS registered installers quoting for a solar/solar and a battery should be providing something like this. Let’s break it down and get to the parts that matter. The first section is section A, this all needs to be correct otherwise the data will all be incorrect but as a homeowner you will leave this in the hands of your vetted MCS installer. If you scroll your eyes all the way down to the bottom line you will see “Grid electricity independence / Self-suffciency (with EESS” and in a nutshell this means that with the system quoted with a battery you are estimated to save 74% on your annual electricity bill.
The Smiths use 3500kWh per year @ £0.28 per unit totalling a whopping £980.00 per year!
With this system they will save £725.20 per year and on top of that sell the 1808kWh back to their supplier for £0.15 per unit adding a further £271.20 to their income. Total annual yield here in cash for them is £996.40 so this is all looking great!
What was the bottom line here, well the solar pv system is going to cost £8000 supplied and fitted so with my quick maths i have worked this out to be a 8 year payback period. Thumbs up from us. (not including any repairs needed to equipment, inflation etc, but do remember the equipment all has a 10+ year warranty)
Please do read on, we will explain situations where solar is not suitable and the best routes to take if that is the case for your property.
Let’s work on another example, Mr Wright has just moved into a new property with his girlfriend and the thought of Solar PV has crossed his mind. Their roof is not suitable but currently they do not know this, so they consult 3 MCS registered installers. The best way to get intouch with up to 3 installers is to enquire through Eco Dorset as not only will we help guide you through the process free of charge but we will take the hassle away from choosing 3 suitable installers to price your installation and we will vet them to ensure they have all the right qualifications and accreditations in place. Wait, we have already said their roof is unsuitable but unfortunately sometimes until it has been surveyed then we can not know for sure, if you would like to send me a screenshot of your roof or possible area for installation, address and postcode then i can offer you a yes/no/maybe answer free of charge before you enquire to us for some quotations.
As we digressed above lets pick back up on the Wrights Solar PV, their roof is a east west with a dormer on each side. Room for one panel on each dormer, although they have been advised the roof will not hold many panels so is more than likely deemed unsuitable from a financial standing he is intrigued to see how much a contractor would charge for a PV only package (no battery storage). Once the contractor has costed in all equipment, front and back scaffolding and labour the overall price in coming in at a whopping £4300.00.
Mr Wright has only just moved in but lets base his usage on the same model as above, our calculator predicts he will save around 15% per year. Using the same amount of £980 per year for electricity a 15% saving will equal £147, making for a 29 year payback period. (not including any repairs needed to equipment, inflation etc)
Can we agree the above model is not a financially viable exercise, but that is a extreme end of the spectrum and most properties (houses and bungalows) will have some room for a PV system.
Mr Wright is set on getting a PV system, so comes back to us at Eco Dorset for some free impartial advice. In some cases we can find areas that PV can be installed that have been missed by others or we can just look at cost models for investing more in battery storage system that may work for them, we can go into great detail and guide you to make a better more calculated decision.