Can I really save money with solar panels?

Solar panels are a great way to reduce your energy bills, because they allow you to create your own power instead of buying it from the National Grid.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, a standard 4 kWp system can save you between £85 and £220 per year. What’s more, 84% of the 390 UK homeowners surveyed by The Eco Experts in January 2018 said that their solar panels are saving them up to 50% on their monthly energy bills.

Take a look at how much money solar panels could save you, depending on where you’re located in the UK and how much time you spend at home (source: Energy Saving Trust).

Location in the UK	Out all day (until 6pm)	At home all day
London, England	£90	£220
Manchester, England	£85	£210
Aberystwyth, Wales	£90	£210
Belfast, Northern Ireland	£85	£210
Stirling, Scotland	£85	£205

Electricity savings from solar panels depend on two things: how much electricity your solar panels produce, and how much of this electricity you use. The more power you generate using solar energy, the less you’ll have to buy from the National Grid.

Solar power only works during the daytime, which means you won’t get much use out of your solar panels if you’re never at home during the day.

As you can see, someone who barely leaves the house in London will generate and use much more electricity than someone in Stirling who’s only at home during the evenings – meaning more savings for the Londoner.

This is where a energy storage, such as a battery, becomes viable.