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If you’ve been looking into how to generate your own renewable energy at home, you might be thinking solar panels are a good place to start.
Photovoltaic panels, usually fixed to a roof, convert sunlight into electricity, which you can then use to power your home. The result is using less electricity from the grid, so you’ll likely find your energy bills are lower, and your home’s carbon footprint will be reduced, too. But you might have heard, or read, some things about solar panels that aren’t necessarily true. So we’ve debunked some of the common myths and misconceptions you might have heard.
For instance, have you ever wondered if solar panels could damage your roof, or make it harder to sell your home? Do the costs outweigh the benefits, and can solar panels be recycled? Take a closer look here…
1. Solar panels only work when it’s sunny
While solar panels work most effectively in direct sunlight, they can still produce electricity on cloudy days.
Solar panels are capable of absorbing energy from the ‘visible light spectrum’, so they work even when it’s overcast. A bit of rain can actually be beneficial too, as it washes off dirt, dust, or debris that might block sunlight.
Generally, it’s a good idea to use power-hungry devices such as washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers at times when your solar panels are capturing the most sunlight, to make the best use of the power they’re generating.
You’ll even find that some homes combine solar panels with solar battery storage systems, so energy can be stored up to use later, or even sold back to the grid. Read more about how electric homes work here.
2. Solar panels need a south-facing roof
Another common misconception is that solar panels have to be attached to a south-facing roof. While south-facing installations typically have the highest potential to generate electricity, they can also work well on east and west-facing roofs. The key is aligning your energy use with how the light is hitting your panels:
- East-facing panels generate more power in the morning
- West-facing panels perform better in the afternoon and early evening
Avoiding shade is often more important than getting them pointing in a south-facing direction; installers might even recommend positioning panels away from due south if it means they’ll avoid shade from nearby buildings.
3. The cost of solar panels doesn’t outweigh the benefits
The cost of installing solar panels will depend on your chosen system and installer, but you can expect to pay around £7,000 to have a system set up. To get a more accurate idea of exactly how much a solar panel system could cost, Energy Saving Trust has a Solar Panel Calculator that can give you a good estimate of the cost.
Once a system has been installed, it should last for approximately 25 years with minimal maintenance.
That said, you’ll need to replace the inverter – the bit of kit that makes the electricity you generate usable in your home – at least once during the lifespan of your panels.
Solar panels generate direct current (DC) electricity, while household appliances use alternating current (AC), which is why you need an inverter to convert the electricity to the correct AC format. Inverters need to be replaced around every 10-12 years, costing around £800 (depending on the make and size of the system).
So, is spending around £7800, including one inverter replacement, over 25 years really worth it? Well that’s dependent on several factors, such as the property’s location, the amount of time you spend at home, how long you plan on living there, and whether you sell excess electricity back to your supplier using the Smart Export Guarantee scheme (SEG).
You can expect it to take between 11 and 15 years for your panels to have paid for themselves in the form of free, renewable energy.
- To maximise the benefits of solar panels, consider:
- Making sure high-energy appliances are used during daylight hours, such as washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers, or even ironing. Avoiding having them on all at once though, where possible.
- Integrating with other technologies:
- Home battery
- EV charging (using solar power for your vehicle)
- Heat pump and battery storage combinations
4. Installing solar panels is disruptive
Unless it’s a particularly complex job, you can expect it to take a couple of days to install solar panels. Which is about the same as having a new gas boiler put in.
The most upheaval is likely to come from the need for installers to put up scaffolding. An inverter will need to be installed, and a generation meter that will show you the power output of your solar panels. When thinking about where you might install your inverter, it’s generally advised to choose a well-ventilated, cool and easily accessible place in your home, which might not necessarily be in your loft space. This is something you can discuss with your installer, who’ll help work out the best option for your home.
5. You’ll likely be refused planning for solar panels
Usually, planning permission is not required to install solar panels. That’s because they’re often covered by “permitted development rights” that allow homeowners to carry out certain works without having to seek planning permission.
But there are some exceptions. For example, homes in conservation areas and listed buildings are subject to extra checks and different criteria, so it’s always worth contacting your local planning office before undertaking any works.
If you do decide to go ahead and install a home solar system, you’ll need to register it with your Distribution Network Operator (DNO), who will then connect the panels to the grid. Your installer should do this for you, but again it’s worth checking with them upfront to make sure.
It’s also worth adding that you should make sure you make your home insurer aware of the change to your home. Joanna at Energy Saving Trust says: “Many building insurers will cover you under the terms of your current policy, but we’d recommend always contacting the insurance provider for advice. Installing solar panels is a ‘material change’ to your home’s structure that your insurer needs to know about. You’ll need to know exactly what the insurance covers – for example, while we’d hope it doesn’t happen, you’d want to make sure your insurer would cover, while unlikely, any damage during the installation. And it’s worth adding that some types of panels, such as ground-mounted systems, are unlikely to be covered as standard.”
6. It’s harder to sell a home with solar panels
We all have our personal preferences, and some people may dislike the look of solar panels on a property. However, with over 1.5 million solar panels now installed on homes across the UK, they are much less likely to be an anomaly, or a come as a surprise to people searching for their next home.
Solar panels may instead make a home more desirable, particularly to people interested in reducing their carbon footprints or long-term running costs.
Rather than putting potential buyers off, research conducted as part of our annual Greener Homes Report also shows that green improvements can actually increase a property’s value. Looking at data from 300,000 properties, we found that moving from EPC rating of F to a C rating can boost the value of a home by as much as 15% (or almost £56,000 when looking at the national average asking price).
7. Solar panels cause damage to a home’s roof
So long as the installation process is managed properly, installing panels shouldn’t affect your roof.
There are a few things to consider when you’re arranging your installation:
- Hire an MCS certified installer: By choosing a certified installer, you can be more confident that they’ll adhere to industry standards regarding competency and compliance
- Assess your roof’s condition: A reputable, experienced installer will be able to assess your roof’s condition and recommend the most appropriate installation method
- Choose the right mount: There are various ways to install solar panels, from using flush mounts to tilt or ballasted mounts. Your installer should also identify the system that is most compatible with and suitable for your roof type
- Ensure proper weight distribution: The roof’s load-bearing capacity should have been assessed, ensuring that the structure will be able to support the additional load that a solar panel installation creates
- Ensure proper access: To ensure that solar panels can be inspected, maintained, cleaned and eventually removed, it’s also worth taking steps to ensure that the entire PV system can be accessed easily
8. Solar power is bad for the environment, because old panels can’t be recycled
Rather than contributing to landfill, it’s often the case that solar panels are almost entirely recyclable.
At the end of a solar panel’s life (typically lasting 25-30 years), each unit will be disassembled into its component parts, including aluminium frames, glass, silicon cells and other metals. From here, recyclers can then generally reclaim up to 95% of the materials used – and there are strong incentives for doing so. In the UK, it’s free and easy to recycle solar panels.
Under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations, manufacturers must be part of a producer compliance scheme (PCS), such as PV CYCLE. That means that your solar panel installer will be legally required to take back your solar panels at the end of their life or pay for a government-approved Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS) to collect and recycle them.
9. Solar panels will work during a power cut
An important safety feature of standard solar panels is that you can’t draw electricity from them during a power cut. This is to prevent any electricity being fed back into the grid, which could endanger maintenance workers. If backup power during outages is a feature that you think you’ll need, you’d need to discuss specific battery storage systems with your installer, as most standard solar installations don’t include this feature.
READ MORE:
10 myths about heat pumps, debunked
How does solar power work?
Your guide to installing solar panels
Your electric home guide, including battery storage