Why don't more homes have solar power? It time for the revolution.
The topic of soaring energy prices has already been so widely stuffed down our collective throats, that it’s sent the nations anxiety levels through the roof. Which is often where solar panels are to be found. The option of solar is sometimes regarded as fool hardy because, after all, this is England and not Australia, but, in fact, the panels charge from ambient light and not only full-scale outback style sun beams. The technology has massively improved in recent years and wider manufacturing has also brought the price down considerably. The initial upfront cost, historically has meant that the return on investment was often impractical time wise, as people tend to move home too often.
But then Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
The government and we the people, awoke from our ideological dream of the End of History into the nightmare of the Chinese Curse. We are indeed living in interesting times. Energy prices will not be going back to where they once were, even once the war in Ukraine has ended. The UK and its allies will now have to accelerate the development of renewable energy. Like the Covid 19 virus accelerated the development of a vaccine, so will The West's desire to be free of Russia’s hold over our energy. One of the most widely developed sources is Wind Power and the other is of course Solar Power. It is much harder to get planning permission for a windmill on your roof than it is for solar panels. Therefore, the best way a private individual can offset their energy bills, and even sell energy back to the grid, is by fitting solar panels to a property.
So, what are the costs in 2022?
Let's take a 4kW solar panel system as an average PV system in a UK home. It has an output of 3,400 kWh per year and costs around £6,000. If you compare this to the average annual electricity consumption of a household, which is around 3,200-4,100 kWh, solar panels can cover 83-106% of your electricity demand in perfect conditions. However, this depends on sunshine hours and energy usage. In addition, with incentives like the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), you can even earn money for surplus energy exported back to the grid. So, one still needs to live in a house where the panels have been installed for some time to pay off this amount. But nowhere near as long as before. In fact, it’s now likely to start paying for itself in about three to four years. Considering how much SDLT is these days, most people are happy to stay put for longer than that.
Homes that already have solar panels are becoming rather sought after. Soon enough, they will be much more widely spread, but at the moment are still very much a niche benefit. In the future, we might find that properties without solar panels are in fact less desirable than those without. It might be like considering a home that doesn’t have central heating. You know that you will have an immediate expense to install it, as a home without it will be inconceivable. This is the future. The sun is not going to run out of energy anytime soon and while the wind doesn’t always blow, the sun always rises.
We have this beautiful home in Fulham SW6 on the market at £2,850,000 with solar panels already fitted and ready to save you money.
For more information on solar energy, please visit your favourite search engine. There are many interesting facts and options.
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