Solar Panels UK: Are they worth it?
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- čas přidán 29. 01. 2020
- Try my solar panel cost calculator: uplevelgreen.com/solar-panel-...
The specific system I mentioned in the video might or might not be available in your area, and prices do vary, so it's best to get multiple quotes to get a feel for costs.
Other tools mentioned in the video:
- Solar ROI calculator: pvcalc
Installing solar panels seems like a great way to save money and be a bit more green. But with the Feed in Tarrif cut, and the UK not being the most sunny of places, there are a lot of questions about solar power in the UK.
How long do solar panels take to pay for themselves in the UK? How effective are they? How much electricity will I generate?
In this video I attempt to answer these questions, first look at if the UK actually gets enough sun. Then looking at how much solar panels cost in the UK and if it all makes sense from a financial point of view. - Věda a technologie
What would you like to see more of on this channel? Reply here or send me an email (on the 'about' section of my channel page).
Thanks @Max Lynn :) And yes it factors in a maintenance cost of 0.5% of the system cost per year - you can see the maths briefly up on screen at 4:00.
Well done on this video - to the point and informative and helpful to me as I consider whether to install solar panels or not.
@@kevinyates3263 Thanks Kevin, glad it was helpful
Hi, very well presented video. For someone who is naive about & just starting to think green , is there a place where we can get a cost effective deal to make our homes energy efficient ?
(Where can I get information about best deals for getting a solar panel + batteries) ??
This is a very quality video. I'm actually surprised that this rather new channe delivers at this level. Good job, keep it up!
Thank you, will do!
I would love to know why there are people who did not like this video and why. Amazing and very well explained video.
Thanks Andres
High quality video production wow. Very Informative, well narrated and an excellent video. Please keep up the good work.
Thanks Alok!
Fantastic and informative video Duncan! Will be sharing this with friends and family (: Hope you're well
Hey! It was a really beneficial video I must say. I knew about some data that i never imagined, you did a great job! I'd like to ask you to do an update of this video post Brexit and stuff so that a clearer vision is available for everyone . Thanks in advance! And keep up with this great work :)
Really well put together
Great video, thank you for making it!
Would like to see a video on how to start your own solar panel farm here in uk….
Great Informative Video, Many Thanks for the info
Great video. Lots of really good information. Thanks 😁😁
Very clear explanations, and good information...
I'm glad it was helpful.
I have a Nissan leaf EV and charge from PV panels this gives me free miles per kw/h
Nice! Yep once you add an EV into the mix, the ROI can get a lot more interesting :)
An excellent video with some surprising information. Who new the UK is solar panel friendly. You could have gone a little deeper though but it’s difficult because technology is out of date as soon as you buy it so costing something is only for that day or days. But good stuff.
Great video, very well made!
Thanks Ben!
Great video.. really good quality! I'd love to see more on this!!.. Specifically around consumer implementations, and things like the different types of panels within the UK climate and seasons, which is better, how battery size and panel array sizes are at the most efficient for the amount you are using (is it always bigger is better?). Also how panels work best between south facing, and east and west facing roofs.
Thank you Adam! Those are some great suggestions - I think the devil is in the details re: panel configuration, so different sizes as well as things like heat exposure can have a meaningful impact. I'll need to do some more research before making another video on this, but stay tuned :)
Hi Adam, I could answer some of those questions for you if you want to contact me. You might be interested in solar tracking - it gives approx a 45% improvement in output in the U.K. as it tracks the sun all day from sunrise to sunset. Takes out the necessity to consider roof direction. See www.Heliomotion.com. Email: Heliomotionuk@gmail.com
This was very helpful. Thank you.
Thnaks Cathy
cool video, well put together
Thanks James :)
Great video, thanks!
Thanks Dean, glad you liked it.
Hi interesting and concise, a lot of these types of video just churn out data you summed it up better. I want to get rid of gas in my house even though its a much cheaper fuel than electricity so that means going solar, this has helped. I am thinking that electricity can do it all, there are some very nice "glass panel" radiators on the market and I can get rid of all the pipes from my current central heating system. I have never really understood why electric from the grid costs more than gas which has to be brought up from under the sea and that has been my main obstacle, day to day costs. I will also be looking towards an ev but thats not top of my list as I'm a very low milage driver whereas my heating goes on most days. I have long suspected that the interests of fossil fuel suppliers have a lot of political influence in pricing and incentives but that's another tale!
This video may bag me 25% of the marks on my Uni coursework, good work lad.
Haha you're welcome Aidan!
I don't know, using calculations I'm getting ROI over 20y. I'm not entirely sure it is worth it. If you do DIY install - yes, but installation prices are rip off.
Good informative video 👍
Thanks :)
Interesting video
👍🏻🇬🇧
Malvern Michael thanks! Anything else you’d like to see me cover in future videos?
I think the jury is still out on green energy initiatives in northern europe. Wind is clearly the winner, if you look at the figures. The rest, not so good in terms of returns on the amount of money invested. If you can provide a 20KW panel set-up for the same price as a 5KW (and the same roofspace used), then it becomes more viable in the UK.
Hi Marius, thank you for watching and taking the time to comment. I'm going to assume you're talking about solar farms vs wind, rather than domestic solar (not many people have a personal wind turbine).
If you look at Next Energy Solar Fund, which invests mostly in UK solar farms, and is on the FTSE 250 (so has strict audits done etc) - they are able to pay a dividend yield of 5.6%. If they're able to do that after all the costs of finance, and running the business, etc. then I think it's a strong sign that UK solar is a good investment.
The wind equivilent Greencoat UK Wind (also on the FTSE 250) pays a dividend yield of 5%. I know it's not a 100% apples to apples comparison, but hopefully it goes some way to demonstrating my point.
If you were talking about residential solar, it depends on your personal situation. But there are many cases where you would easily get a market beating return by going solar. Even if you need to get a loan then it can still be a good investment.
Once you start looking at the new smart energy trading options coming out, such as Octopus Agile + Tesla Powerwall, and Tesla's own energy network, then things can get even better. Plus there can be lifestyle improvements beyond pure financial returns.
More on this please :-)
Specifically on home solar in the UK? What else would you like to see me cover? Thanks! :)
Wonder what the system cost is and what the labour cost is? If your already doing roof work with scaffolding it should be more cost effective to do whilst having roof work done. Suppose its a bit cheaper to fit up north. There must be DIY systems a lot cheaper, you can certainly buy mobile fold up panels for when your camping.
You're right that the breakdown of costs depends on where you are. If you're having a new roof, then it's also worth looking into solar tiles.
For DIY and buying the panels, you can look up the prices from a wholesaler like sunshinesolar.co.uk. Will Prose on CZcams has some fantastic DIY solar videos too.
That said, it might end up being cheaper in the long run to have it professionally installed, even if just to have the guarantee on the work done (as long as the installer has a good business that will stick around!).
Hi Mark, there are other options as well as roof based systems, eg ground based solar tracking from Heliomotion (www.Heliomotion.com) which can be a self install product. 45% more output in comparison with static roof as the panels track the sun all day from sunrise to sunset. Email heliomotionuk@gmail.com for more info.
You are not safe from power cuts as stated towards the end of the video, everything else correct, definitely worth it, what other system is going to give you free power
Thanks Ian. On the power cuts part - it depends on your setup. If you have a Tesla Powerwall for example they typically have a grid isolator meaning you can run off battery power if the grid is down.
In my place solar panel might work only without involve battery. Because here where i live electric price is hell cheap, only cost 4sen per kilowatt. If compare to battery that only sustain for 25 years, it not worth it to store solar power at night.
Top notch production
Thanks!
@@Solardiysystems how long did it take you to make this video? It is definitely deserve to be seen by way more people.
@@yutumedia I really appreciate the support!
It took around 12-16 hours of continuous editing work (not all in one go!). Plus several hours of research.
From the perspective of an existing owner/operator, the comment around 2:00 mins in is a bit inaccurate. The amount of cloud cover actually has a major effect on the available power per unit area at any time. Some met observation sites actually publish real time values of ‘solar strength’ in W/m2, such as www.glosweather.com/ .
Any potential investor needs to do their own sums, but 6 years ago it made sense for me under the older regime, and it’s worked out well.
W.r.t the comment re Germany: yes, it’s true enough. In fact, the manufacturer of my inverter is based there (www.SMA.de). The market developed there first.
Your financial sums are reasonable. In my case from 2014, the feed in tariff payments are contractually linked to RPI, but also the net return (by not importing the equivalent power) has gone up even more due to increases in supply ‘day rate’ prices. It’ll ‘cross balance’ by no more than 10 years. Incidentally, under the ‘feed in tariff’ set up, it made sense to regard the payments as not being taxable income. If it had been, it would have discouraged certain people from investing in the kit in the first place, then clawing back cash issued by another department, back into the Treasury.
Thank you for the highly detailed and knowledgeable comment John. I’m sure this will be helpful for others potentially making up their mind whether it’s right for them or not.
My point with the cloud cover was more to say that solar is still very much viable in the UK - but yes I agree it’s definitely true that less cloud cover generally == more electricity produced.
I’m curious about your own decision to purchase a system - was a purely financial one, or did you think about it another way?
Thank you
i agree, i have owned a small solar setup just to test exactly how good they are here i live, and i must say they are absolute shit at cloudy days. so if u get a week of rain forget about solar power, u will do much better with wind or water power.
HOw many solar panels wired in series do most uk home solar systems use ?
It depends, but typically for a 4kW system you’re likely need about 21-28 sq metres of roof space.
Or you could look at a ground mounted 6 panel system from Heliomotion (www.Heliomotion.com) which could generate up to around 4,000 kWh per year.
As the grid gets greener, I would say driving an EV is a greener option.
Yeah it can be in some ways. It comes down to your individual situation I think. Cheers for watching.
No links in the description. Cheers
Will get that updated for you Shaun, thanks for the heads up
Have a guy coming out on Monday to tell what solar panels I need for my house.
A recent comprehensive study of all the U.K.'s generating data shows that the average for solar is about 10% of capacity. Individual situations will vary but that is an average. I didn't see any reference to replacement costs of components, e.g. the inverter or the battery? This could well severely affect the profit after the pay back period.
The panels also degrade and give less output with age.
The amount of CO2 saving is also rather dubious, the generating plants reduce output as solar contribution to the grid or lack of demand on the grid due to solar but they keep running, at a lower level which is less efficient and the solar output drop as the day passes to evening and needs a corresponding increase in generation which can be problamatic (California has the same problem but significantly worse). We see on most sunny days that pumped storage generation is needed as the evening demand starts to pick up. My point here is that the grid is far more complex than is realised and renewables are not a simple solution, if in fact they are any solution at all?
Mr Musk is wearing rose tinted glasses and his estimate of output in cloud or rain is two or three times too high. In the U.K. solar output is very low for four months of the year. Comparing solar panels to plants is patently ridiculous, their mechanisms are quite different.
does anyone know if this will be available using the 5k government grant in September
It's unclear at the moment, but if I had to guess I would say no - the grant will cover insulation, other efficiency gains, but probably not solar.
However, the details have not been fully fleshed out yet, so it is possible. I might make a video on this when more details have come out.
What's is the name of music?
I get 3p a unit for my export to the grid,
This was helpful but lacked real world examples and detail.
Wrong information, Solar still expensive, this is a sales pitch.
Full of sheeps
cool video. but you have no dislikes. I kind of want to dislike. It will be like dipping into an unopened jar of peanut butter. I won't though.
Haha thank you Lupa for not putting your footsteps in the fresh snow of dislikes ;)
There's also replacement value, panels/batteries probably will not last 25 years (guarantees good for 10 years). Also ugliness on house, this could devalue a nice cottage. An alternative is invest money you'd pay and then buy green energy from the grid (extra cost of green energy comes out of investment). You are then being green without the hassle
Pays for itself in 10 years. There in lies the rub.
What about animal agriculture as this is truly the primary problem and cause of climate change with 80%+ of all carbon emissions...
Its not "climate change" it's Geoengineering!
Elon talk BS
Exactly. He's a very intelligent man, but he's a businessman at the end of the day and one of his businesses is solar, so of course he's going to say solar is great for the UK
Please don't cover material with Jordan Peterson
Not against solar. But lying to people about climate is wrong. Plus we are going more towards nuclear.
Thanks for watching. Who is lying to people about the climate?
@@Solardiysystems The sun controls climate, not people.
@@myronjohnson6126 Ah ok. So if the scientific community is lying to us, what do you think their motivation is for doing that?
@@Solardiysystems Money. There's soooo much you don't know. Hope your around the next 20 years, Might get interesting. The answers are in your phone. Have a nice day.
@@myronjohnson6126 Ok will take a look. Also, if you're open minded too, I reccomend taking a look at this: czcams.com/video/-cZ5gGloYa8/video.html