The Benefits of Solar Electricity

There are many benefits to having a solar PV installation, both green and monetary.

Earn money for producing electricity

The Feed-in Tariff was introduced by the Government on 1st April 2010. It means you will be paid for every unit of electricity you generate regardless of whether you use the electricity or not.

Currently this ‘Generation Tariff’ is 43.3 per unit, it is however index-linked so will increase with inflation over guaranteed for 25 term, it is also tax free.

Sell electricity back to the Grid

If your system produces more electricity than is consumed the excess will be exported back to the Grid. This is called the ‘Export Tariff’ and is currently paid at 3p per kWh unit sold back to the grid. The ‘Export Tariff’ is deemed (estimated) to be 50% of the electricity generated by the solar PV installation.

Lower your electricity bills

The electricity generated by the system is free and because some of this electricity is being used in the home your electricity bills will be greatly reduced. Even greater savings can be made by adjusting how and when you use the electricity and can help to reduce your electricity bill by up to a third

Reduce your carbon footprint

Solar electricity is a renewable green energy. It doesn’t release any carbon dioxide (CO2) or other pollutants into the air which means a typical solar PV system could save over 1 tonne of CO2 each year helping to reducing the UK’s carbon emissions.

Storing energy

If you aren't connected to the national grid, or if the grid is unreliable where you are, you can store excess solar power in batteries. This useful back up store can then be used and when you need it.

Savings example

A typical domestic solar electricity system with an installation size of 2.7 kWp could earn around:

£990 per year from the Generation Tariff
£40 per year from the Export Tariff
£80 per year reduction in current electricity bills.

This equates to a total saving of around £1,200 per year.

This example assumes 25% of the electricity generated is used directly in the home. The figure will vary depending on how much electricity is used.