Shaving some money off rising energy bills by generating your own power is becoming ever more appealing – so much so that solar-panel installation firms are reporting a four-fold increase in orders this year compared with 2021. High installation costs have deterred households in recent years. But “[the] time it would take to recoup the cost of installing the panels from savings on energy bills is expected to get much shorter – from... 11 years at January 2022’s rates to fewer than four years from January next year,” says Ali Hussain in The Sunday Times.
It costs around £6,500 for the average solar-panel system to be installed on a three-bedroom semi-detached house, according to the Energy Saving Trust. Once your solar panels are up and running you can use your household appliances without it costing you a fortune as long as the sun is shining. The Energy Saving Trust says that the average household could save between £165 and £405 a year with solar panels.
You can also sell back the electricity you don’t use to the national grid, but unfortunately you won’t be able to charge anything close to what energy firms make you pay. The energy cap put a maximum price on electricity of 28.34p per kilowatt hour (kWh) but the most you can sell your electricity for is 12p per kWh. If you decide to install solar panels, you may want to switch energy provider. The amount they pay you for electricity varies massively, from a miserly 1.5p per kWh from EDF up to 12p per kWh from Octopus Energy.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Invest in a battery and you can store the electricity you generate rather than selling it back to the grid. You’ll pay around £2,000 for a 3kWh one, but once you have one it will help you save even more. Eon estimates that solar-panel households with batteries can use 30% more of the power they generate.
Surging demand means longer waiting times for installation, so keep this in mind when making any decisions. Also consider whether you have a suitable home. The ideal pre-requisite is a large, south-facing roof that is free from shade for most of the day
Also see:
-
GSK share price surges after $2.2bn Zantac drug settlementGSK has settled lawsuits in the US that alleged the drugmaker’s now-discontinued heartburn drug Zantac triggered cancer
-
Will the Autumn Budget impact investment markets?Keir Starmer has warned the Autumn Budget will be “painful”. Will it impact investment markets and should you tweak your portfolio before 30 October?
-
Qualcomm could acquire rival Intel – but securing the deal won't be easyA tie-up between Qualcomm and its semiconductor rival Intel would be a coup. But multiple regulatory and commercial hurdles lie ahead.
-
How to invest in the quiet market monthsHere's how to invest in the quiet market months, since “sell in May” hasn’t paid off this year.
-
Spire Healthcare: invest in the booming demand for private healthcareSpire Healthcare is one of the few listed companies benefiting from the growing trend in private healthcare. Should you invest?
-
Are insurance companies a good investment?Costs may be soaring but the insurance sector is currently going through one of its most profitable periods. The market has been slow to realise the opportunity here
-
Google's legal challenges – could it be broken up?Google is fending off legal challenges from both the EU and the US. But would breaking it up actually work?
-
Fast-growing bargain stocks the market has missedA professional investor recommends attractive stocks to invest in. This week: Dan Higgins, portfolio manager, Majedie Investments, highlights three favourites
-
Are matchboxes worth collecting?TikTok is reigniting a spark for matchbox collecting. Is there any value in phillumeny or will it fizzle out?
-
Are shares disconnecting from reality?What effect is passive investing having on shares, and are ETFs going the same way?
