Good Energy Group plc
Good Energy Group plc
04/22/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/22/2024 07:32
Are solar panels worth it
Imogen works for Good Energy. She is a supply customer, and she had solar panels installed at her family home in July 2023. In this article, she shares her insight into how much money the solar system has saved, and whether she believes solar panels are worth it.
What size solar array do I have?
We have two solar arrays installed on our rooftop, with 12 panels in total. One array points South East and one points South West. The total installed capacity of the system is 4.4kW.
We have a 5.2kW battery to store our excess energy, and a 3.6kW inverter.
This means that our home can only draw 3.6kW of energy at any one time from our solar panels and battery before it will need to use energy from the grid.
How much money do solar panels save?
I've used 8 months of data from 1st August 2023 to 31st March 2024 to calculate our solar panel savings and earnings so far.
In this period, my family of four used 424.95kWh of solar electricity directly from the solar panels as it was being generated. We used a further 538.59kWh of solar electricity from the battery. In total this is 963.54kWh of power that we haven't needed to draw from the grid.
During this period, the price of electricity was 34p per kWh, saving us an impressive £327.60 on our electricity bill.
| Energy source | kWh used | Savings (at 34p per kWh) |
| Solar panels | 424.95kWh | £144.48 |
| Battery | 538.59kWh | £183.12 |
| Total savings | 963.54kWh | £327.60 |
66% of our power has come from solar
Our solar panels and battery have provided 66% of the power used by our home between 1 August 2024 and 31 March 2024. This includes the winter months which are darker and typically more overcast.
I expect this percentage to become higher when data from the summer months is available.
You'll see that only during the darkest month of the year, December, did we draw more electricity from the grid than we generated.
How much money have we earned through an export tariff?
We are on Good Energy's Solar Savings tariff which pays 15p per kWh of electricity we export to the grid.
Between 1 August and 31 March, we have exported 878.09kWh of renewable electricity to the grid. This has made us £131.71 so far, with the earnings added monthly as a credit to our energy account.
May, June and July are on average the sunniest months in the UK - so I expect the earnings from these months to be even greater.
How do we adjust our lifestyle to solar panels?
To make the most of our solar panels, we try to run one energy-intensive appliance at a time. For example waiting for the washing machine to finish before using the dishwasher.
We try to just use these appliances during daytime hours and save the power in our battery for activities that naturally take place in the evening like cooking dinner or using devices. This isn't always possible, and we don't worry too much if it isn't practical to do so.
We don't have an electric car, but when we get one, we will enjoy being able to charge it with our solar electricity too.
So are solar panels worth it?
In eight months, our solar panels and battery have saved us £459.30 - more than the upfront expenditure would have earned in a savings account in that timeframe. I expect our annual savings to become substantially higher when data from the summer months is included.
| Saving area | kWh generated by solar panels | Price per kWh | Total |
| Savings from using our own solar power | 963.54kWh | 34p | £327.60 |
| Earnings from exporting power to the grid | 878.09kWh | 15p | £131.71 |
| Total savings in 8 months | £439.30 |
I am pleased we decided to include a battery as this has enabled us to use 125% more electricity from our solar panels which has bigger savings compared with exporting power to the grid.
I feel a huge sense of relief that the electricity we are using is low carbon and that our home is part of the solution to a greener electricity grid.
What's more, solar panels have made our home ready for other low-carbon electrified upgrades in the future, like an electric car or a heat pump.
So in my opinion, if you can afford the initial cost and you're confident you're getting a good price and service from your chosen installer, solar panels are absolutely worth it.
Imogen Suter
Content Creator