Homeowner Blog

Solar panels for most homeowners are a large investment. The solar market has changed drastically since the shock to energy prices in 2022 and an increasing number of companies are offering free solar panel installation. This is often a marketing ploy to entice you to sign up and give them your precious data; but of course without a grain of truth they would not be allowed to advertise such offers. With marketing tactics among solar panel installers heating up as the market gets tougher and brokers being increasingly aggressive, here is a rundown on what to bear in mind when enticed by such an offer. 

“I’m a landlord with a tenant – I can’t install solar!”

“I’m a tenant with a landlord - I can’t install solar either!”

Tesla Powerwall 2 is one of our most recommended batteries for a domestic installation. For a limited time, Tesla are offering a £350 rebate for Tesla Powerwall 2s installed between August 11th and 31st December 2023 from certified installers.

Spirit Energy are a Tesla authorised partner so if you're in the market for a battery installation at your property, why not avail yourself of this offer and get in touch with our experienced and knowledgeable sales and estimating team today to reserve your slot in our busy installation calendar. We will walk you through the pros and cons of the various battery systems on offer. So pick up the phone today and call 0118 951 4490 or email us at info@spiritenergy.co.uk.

You can find more detailed information on the rebate here, and don't forget to check out our knowledge bank article on the Tesla Powerwall 2 here. 

When you install a solar system, you are effectively buying your own power station on your roof. That business is using your land (and the sun that falls on it), to produce an income stream.  That income stream is the value of the business that you have created. Those income streams will come in over the course of 25+ years. So how do we put a Net Present Value (NPV) on them today? In an example below, Mr. C discovered that his investment of £8,900 would be worth over £25,000 on the day that it is installed. A return of over 270%. 

In a surprise piece of good news, the government announced last week that solar panel VAT will be scrapped until 2027.

It’s now been three years since solar subsidies were phased out and tax rates first hiked, then dramatically scrapped. At the same time, electricity prices have continued to rise, especially during the recent energy crisis. So what does this mean for the economics of solar power? In short, are solar panels worth it today?

Speaking purely from a financial point of view, the answer is a resounding yes. Of course beyond the financial, there are many other benefits, including energy independence and reduced air pollution.

Back to the financials. The solar Feed-in Tariff subsidy may have ended, but the cost of the technology has fallen by more than 50% over the past decade. Overall the cost of domestic solar electricity is now around 9p per kWh. This is well below the 22.36p average domestic import cost from the grid (which, by the way, increased by an average 4.9% each year over the past decade...).

For the past few years, electric car owners have benefited from government support to buy their new chargepoints. But all this is set to change early next year.

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) grant, or the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) as it’s officially known, is closing to most homeowners.

It’s done its job, as the UK now has at least 300,000 private residential chargers (as well as over 26,000 public charging stations). Additionally, the government plans to make EV chargepoints compulsory in new build properties with parking spaces.

With the sun finally out (in passing), you may be wondering if now is the time to join the solar club. Panels are better looking and more powerful than ever before, energy bills are spiking, and perhaps your neighbours are charging their new electric cars from the sun.

But if there’s something holding you back, it may be that classic British concern: property prices. So today we’re going to try and answer the question... do solar panels increase the value of your house?

The government says it wants the UK to be the best place in the world to build and own an electric vehicle.

To support this, it needs the National Grid to be smart, with a finely tuned set of tools available to balance demand and supply.

With this in mind, the government has announced that from July 2019, the grant of £350 per chargepoint available for home and workplace chargepoints will only be given to people installing smart chargers to charge their electric car.