Are Solar Panels Really Cost-Effective?
Solar hot water panels are one of the most popular ‘green’ energy home products of the moment. Many new builds now feature solar panels on their roofs, whilst many current homeowners are currently contemplating whether to retrofit them to their current property. However do their green credentials and money-saving features really stack up?
Solar panels aren’t cheap – they cost thousands of pounds to install. However these costs are said to be offset by the reduced amount of energy that the household will require once they are installed – with some companies claiming that solar panels will reduce gas and electric bills by up to 70%. So although the up front cost is high, over time the solar panels should pay for themselves thanks to significantly reduced bills.
Around 100,000 households in the UK are said to have solar thermal installations already. Experts believe that this figure could rise to around 1 million over the next decade. This massive increase will in part be fueled by government grants which come into play next year. And with people worried about climate change and the rising cost of bills, there will be no shortage of people looking to install this expensive green technology.
However all is not as it seems. Which? has found that out of 14 companies they looked at, 10 exaggerated the claims about the effectiveness and potential savings of their solar panel systems. They found that a typical system costs around £5,500 to install however it will only cut around £55/year from bills. This means it would take around 100 years to recoup the up-front cost. Complaints to the OFT match Which?’s findings with around 1,000 complaints about the solar panel industry last year alone.
So although solar panels do have bona fide green credentials, it appears that many companies are overplaying how efficient the panels will be. Any for anyone who is hoping to save money on their bills by installing them, it is a case of do your homework carefully as in many cases homeowners are finding that the figures are not stacking up.
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Nigel Dayis b | Jul 5, 2010 | Reply
I feel this article
Nigel Day | Jul 5, 2010 | Reply
I feel this article is brandishing the entire “Solar” market with the same brush. I would like to point out that whilst the solar thermal market is not attracting any government funding (RHI) it remains un-regulated and open to anyone who can pick up a wrench and call themselves a plumber. However with the introduction of the FIT (Feed In Traffif) for Solar PV where people are paid 41.3p per kwh of electricity generated the market is tightly regulated. This means that all installers have to be MCS accredited and a member of the REAL cosumer protection scheme. This will limit a comapnies ability to over state the benefits for fear of the repocussions. Whilst I too have my doubts about the benefits of Solar Thermal, Solar PV has often been described as “too good to be true” but for once all of the claims made are true.