When people think about solar panels, they usually think about saving money on electricity. But for some homes, solar can help reduce other energy costs too.
One Sunlit Solar customer recently looked back at their first two years with solar. They compared their bills with the three years before their system was installed and shared the results with us.
First, the electricity savings
Before installing solar, the customer paid around £120 a month for electricity. Their current net cost averages £35 a month. That is a saving of £85 a month, or £1,020 a year.
The £35 figure includes export payments. When the solar panels generate more electricity than the home needs, some of the spare electricity goes to the grid. The customer receives a payment for that electricity, which helps offset the cost of the electricity they buy.
The amount varies through the year. In summer, the customer sometimes receives more in export payments than they spend on electricity. They have worked out their expected costs and export payments over a full year and spread the net amount across 12 months to arrive at the £35 monthly average.
Solar also helps heat their water
This home has an oil-fired boiler, which is used to heat water. The solar installation includes a hot water diverter to help reduce how often the boiler is needed.
When the panels generate more electricity than the home is using, the diverter can send some of that spare power to the immersion heater in the hot water tank. This heats the water using solar electricity instead of oil. It is particularly useful in summer, when the panels tend to produce more power.
The customer calculated that they now use 873 fewer litres of oil each year. At the 85p per litre they recently paid, that is an estimated saving of £742 a year.
What do the savings add up to?
| Source of saving | Estimated annual amount |
|---|---|
| Electricity, including export payments | £1,020 |
| Oil | £742 |
| Total | £1,762 |
The installation cost £11,249. Based on the customer’s current estimated annual savings, it would take around 6.4 years for those savings to add up to the installation cost. This is known as a simple payback estimate.
The customer also checked what would happen if oil prices went back down and cost less. At 70p per litre, the estimated payback would be around 6.9 years.
Either way, the customer’s calculations suggest that the system could pay for itself in under seven years, while continuing to generate electricity and help heat their water beyond that point.
Could the hot water tank save more in winter?
In summer, the customer’s solar panels can provide much of the electricity needed to heat their water. In winter, the panels generate less, so the oil boiler does more of the work.
One option the customer is interested in exploring is heating the water tank overnight using a cheaper electricity rate. The tank would store that energy as hot water for use late, rather than having to rely on the oil boiler to heat it in the daytime.
The customer has also thought about adding a battery, but with their electricity costs already averaging just £35 a month after export payments, they are weighing up whether it would bring enough additional savings to justify the cost. It is a useful reminder that the best solar setup depends on how each household uses energy.
Looking at the whole home
It was lovely to hear how this system has performed over its first two years. The customer’s experience shows why it helps to look at the whole home when planning solar, including how it uses electricity and how it heats water.
If you would like to explore what solar could do for your property, our local, family-run Somerset team can talk you through the options and design a system around your needs.
Email: info@sunlit-solar.co.uk
Website: www.sunlit-solar.co.uk
