Is it Worth Installing Solar Panels in England?
Solar panels are now installed on 1 in 20 buildings in England, with quick payback times for schools, hospitals, prisons and large offices, that can sell excess energy back to the grid. Read more on which green energy is most wildlife-friendly.
It’s not a slam-dunk fix. Abroad, some creatures have been incinerated by solar panels, although that’s not likely to happen in England. But for the most part, it’s worth installing them on big buildings (you need daylight, not sunshine for them to work) and there are new technologies like batteries that stores energy, so if it rains one day, you will still have energy if you come back home on a dark winter night.
Truthfully, go to the experts above, and ones you can trust. Solar panels have a typical payback period for an average-sized home of up 9 years, but you do get zero VAT and annual savings of £700 to £900. So with rocketing energy bills due to oil and gas, it may be worth it.
And you are rewarded with decades of lower energy bills and increased property value, as a rule. Most are fixed on south-facing homes (though they can work for east-and-west directions, but not really for north).
But remember that the upfront cost is high (over £5000). In some cases, you can sell back excess energy to the national grid (or even your local community) which may make the numbers balance better.
Any installation under 50 kilowatts should be conducted by an installer registered with MSC (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) the standards body for small-scale sustainable energy systems. This ensures installations are safe.
