Energy company ScottishPower today revealed that homeowners with solar panels could save up to £12671 a year in England and Wales or £1,0011 a year in Scotland - potentially 91%-73% on their energy bills.
The company also confirmed it is almost tripling its Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) rate, for those with ScottishPower installed solar panels, and more than doubling it for those with 3rd party panels.
Under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff, customers get paid for any electricity they export to the Grid via their own home solar generation.
This means that on top of bill savings through reduced Grid consumption, export payments could be as high as could be as high as £6182 a year (£4332 in Scotland) (up to 15p for every unit of power exported).
As the UK moves towards net zero, decarbonising our homes will be a crucial way to reduce the country’s overall carbon footprint.
Having solar panels reduces energy use from the Grid as home appliances run off the renewable energy harnessed from the sun. Having a home battery installed and linked to the panels can also allow households to store excess energy for later use too.
Research has also found that installing both solutions could also increase your home's value by around £1,350 to £5,4003.
Andrew Ward, CEO of ScottishPower Retail said: “We know that decarbonising our homes is not only good for the planet but will also provide long-term savings for our customers too.
“Solar panels allow customers to generate their own electricity and get paid for any excess that can be exported back to the grid.
“I’m delighted we’re able to almost triple the rate of return through our SmartGen+ Tariff for customers who’ve purchased their solar panels from us, and would encourage anyone with solar installed, or who might be thinking about having either solar panels or a battery installed, to make sure they are maximising the savings that may be available.”
With ScottishPower’s SmartGen tariffs, customers with ScottishPower-installed solar panels can benefit from 15p per kWh for every unit of power they export. Previously, this was 5.5p. Those with third party panels can benefit from a more than doubled rate of 12p per kWh.
1As per standardised calculations and guidance from MCS, the example electricity bill savings and percentage is based on the following assumptions: 1) the customer is in the UK 2) with a 12-panel, South-facing solar array (on a 35 degree roof slope with no shading) and a solar battery (4.8kWh usable capacity) installed; 3) is at home half of the day, with annual electricity usage of 3,500 kWh and a unit rate of £0.35401 and 5) the customer uses 47% of what they generate and receives a separate payment at a unit rate of £0.15 for the remaining 53% that they export.
2As per standardised calculations and guidance from MCS, the example earning figure is based on the following assumptions: 1) the customer is in the UK; 2) with a 12-panel, South-facing solar array (on a 35 degree roof slope with no shading) installed; 3) is at home half of the day, with annual electricity usage of 3,500 kWh and a unit rate of £0.35401; and 4) the customer uses 20% of what they generate and receives a separate payment at a unit rate of £0.15 for the remaining 80% that they export.
3 Better Homes, Cooler Planet report in partnership with WWF: www.scottishpower.co.uk/Better_Home_Cooler_Planet_Report