Our nine panels were installed late in 2011, facing south-east. We were told to expect about 1725 units annually, and for the next 10 years numbers varied between 1667 and 1793, except for 1531 in a dull year (2017). The three recent years have produced 1601, 1413 and 1603, and I started to wonder whether the panels were getting tired.
Three weeks ago our neighbours had extensive surgery on three smallish trees adjacent to our common boundary. None of them had seriously shaded our panels (I thought) but recent output in the continuous sunshine has beaten any previous weekly figures (I read the meters every week). It looks as though [a] the panels can still deliver the goods, and [b] the biggest increase is probably early in the day, before I get up ....
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Mine were also put in in late 2011. Luckily no shading on mine, and our annual was estimated to start at 2343kWh and reduce by 1% pa.
However they have consistently outperformed that figure, only being below in 2016 when they were out of action for Aug, Sept and half of Oct while a warranty issue on the broken inverter took too long to resolve.
The average, incl 2016, is 2629kWh but last year was the best year produced 2985kWh - so if there is degradation, it is being masked by global warning!!
Another forum is discussing that they should be cleaned regularly. Mine never have been though I notice there is quite a build-up of dust/pollen at the moment so they could do with a good long bit of rain to clean them up. My daily peaks over the recent hot spells have been a bit lower than other peaks but I think that's due to the inverter (in the loft) throttling itself due to being overhot.
SWMBO wasn't convinced at the time but it has turned out to be a fairly good gamble - cost was about £10.5k and the annual tax free income is something over £2.2k now (inflation proofed till 2026) plus of course we get some free electricity, which as I've got an iBoost means we don't have to have the gas on for DHW.
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I don't have panels and would definitely consider them but
a. semi detached with east west facing roofs
b. My current monthly electricity bill is about £50-£60
so I think it would be a huge initial outlay for not a lot of return - every time I vow to have a good research into it I get totally bamboozled and really no idea who to believe online!
I am currently monitoring my electricity usage on a daily basis with view to if I go to a plug in hybrid at some time in the future, would it be beneficial going onto an EV / Cheap through the night tariff or stick with a normal one. Obviously depends on how much juice is being put into the car but as I don't do a lot of mileage as I work from home...... and these tariffs increase your through the day rate....
Currently averaging 6.3kwH per 24 hours
Anyone got a current (pardon the pun) fools guide to solar panel installs? And no I dont need to know how good the rates were 10 years ago......
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You can soon buy plug in solar, the gov will give the ok this summer i think. You can get 2 panels and all the kit for a few hundred quid.
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Yeah I had read about that, I have a garage roof ready and waiting for it...
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>> Yeah I had read about that, I have a garage roof ready and waiting for
>> it...
>>
I think that's about my limit. I don't think full scale solar panels are worth it now.
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>> ... I dont need to know how good the rates were 10 years ago...... <<
I can't remember what our starting rate was, but in 2011 the calculation aimed at a 10-year payback period, which turned out about right. But we have protected FiT tariff which now pays over 70p/unit. Just now it will be quids in !
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If you think it likely you will move house in the next ten years I wouldn’t bother with solar panels. Unlikely to see a return and they are a bit of an eyesore.
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>> they are a bit of an eyesore.
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On the contrary, I think they rather enhance the look of a property.
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>> On the contrary, I think they rather enhance the look of a property.
>>
Yes a bit like Sky dishes did.
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So you have "restricted" roof space, like me. I don't know a lot about today's tech or cost but the 14 panels I have give a max of about 17kWh across a very good day and next to nothing on some days in winter. Today's tech would inevitably be better.
However that's spread over the day. So (e.g. right now, bright but cloudy) I am generating 1.2 kW
Often with the right car charger or car you can step down your charging current and putting it at its minimum might quite nicely soak up any excess on a nice day, but would also take a lifetime to charge (again, I'm thinking full EV 60kWh battery not hybrid). If you don't go out a lot and can leave it trickle charging you might find that quite acceptable in the summer.
Ignoring days when I charge my usage is around 6 in the summertime but more like 12 in winter.
If I look at Jan 2026 my daily average from the panels was 3.1kWh, in June it was 12.7.
The panels obviously don't work overnight so you'd have spare in the day and always a cost over night (unless you get batteries).
Just out of interest yesterday I had AI work out the economics of £3.8k worth of batteries against my actual tariff and bill and the payback period was a little over 25 years. It was truly appalling at doing it though, I gave it my Jan and June actuals and the first response told me that my summer monthly saving would be considerably more (4x) than my current summer monthly spend, and when I pointed that out it recalculated and came up with a better but obviously still massively incorrect figure, so don't depend on it!
You can export your daily spare and get paid for it, if you think about that let me know cos I can get you some info on the rates (look at Octopus if you are with them) - but they aren't guaranteed. I bought a solar iBoost (c £400 IIRC) which takes any excess dynamically and puts it into my immersion heater, so no gas to heat water at this time of year.
If only you'd have thought about it in 2011 :-)
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The best thing to do now that there is no FIT tariff is to use plug in solar.
Find yourself a friendly installer and get some cheap 440W panels off them for around £70 each
Get a couple and then buy a plug in solar inverter from Amazon. Something like
amzn.eu/d/0g2CIFtv (ECOFLOW Stream 800W Micro inverter, Smart Solar Inverter WiFi for Balcony Solar System, IP67 Waterproof, App Control, MPPT)
Costs around £120.
Put the panels on on their stands off a wall, flat roof etc. and plug the inverter into one of your home sockets. The plug doesn't go live until it senses mains, so you won't kill yourself from the exposed pins on it. It save enough on your bill to pay off the £260 within a couple of years.
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Is plug in solar officially allowed now in UK? Thought they are still waiting for the go ahead for it?
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>> Is plug in solar officially allowed now in UK? Thought they are still waiting for
>> the go ahead for it?
Graun says they're allowed from next month:
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/jul/23/uk-households-free-install-plug-in-balcony-solar-panels
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Not yet fully in force as of 23 July 2026, but it is about to become officially allowed.
The UK government has made the necessary legal changes.
The key Statutory Instrument — The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/848) — was made on 16 July 2026 and comes into force on 27 August 2026.
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<< Another forum is discussing that they should be cleaned regularly. Mine never have been though I notice there is quite a build-up of dust/pollen at the moment so they could do with a good long bit of rain to clean them up. >>
We live in a bungalow and the panels are next to a convenient flat roof. So every year or two I climb up and give (most of) them a wipe over. I don't think it makes much difference as they seem to be self-cleaning, and our roof is nearer horizontal than vertical - about 30 degrees I guess.
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>> Mine were also put in... 2011. Luckily no shading on mine.....>>
So were mine, 14 panels on the inner slope of a SE facing double pitched roof (so they are almost invisible) exactyl15yrs ago, shaded in winter by the other roof and a chimney pot.
>> The average, incl 2016, is 2629kWh but last year was the best year produced 2985kWh so if there is degradation, it is being masked by global warning!!>>
I cannot detect any degradation. There have never been any problems or 'outages'. The 15yr average is 2843kWh. My 'year' goes from 7June to 6June and I read the meter usually in the morning on these quarter dates (7Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec). Curiously, the worst year (Jun'17-'18 - 2678kWh) was followed by the best (Jun'18-'19 - 3152kWh)
>> Another forum is discussing that they should be cleaned regularly. Mine never have been though I notice there is quite a build-up of dust/pollen at the moment so they could do with a good long bit of rain to clean them up>>
Neither have mine, till now (although I once went up to brush a layer of snow off them to use the glorious sunshine that followed it!). But three days ago I went up to rinse off the dust with a mop and wiper blade.
>> over the recent hot spells have been a bit lower than other peaks but I think that's due to the inverter (in the loft) throttling itself due to being overhot>>
I think I've noticed this too, but difficult to ascertain. My inverter is in a cool garage; I thought it might be the panels being too hot.
>> SWMBO wasn't convinced at the time but it has turned out to be a fairly good gamble - cost was about £10.5k and the annual tax free income is something over £2.2k now >>
Gamble? It was a no brainer for a pretty risk-free investment! Cost £10,665, cumulative tax free total to 7 June '26 £24624, income year to 7 June '26 £2236. Can't understand why more people didn't avail themselves of the deal. But I suppose you could argue that I should have bought more SMT shares instead (155p in Jul '11, 1350p now) but who knew they would do so well?
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>> Can't understand why more people didn't avail themselves of the deal
Most people have no rainy day fund and live pay check to pay check. They are just one month away from bankruptcy.
To invest in solar at the time you had to be a home owner, have money and a suitable roof.
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>> >> Can't understand why more people didn't avail themselves of the deal
>>
>> Most people have no rainy day fund and live pay check to pay check. They
>> are just one month away from bankruptcy.
>>
>> To invest in solar at the time you had to be a home owner, have
>> money and a suitable roof.
>>
And be reasonably sure you’d be staying in the house for ~ 10 years or so, which was probably a big factor for many.
Despite the potential income stream, until recently they were seen as at best neutral from a house sale perspective and certainly not something worth paying extra for. In some locations they were a negative, though perhaps the current (!!) electricity prices have changed that :)
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Every year I go up on the roof and wash them all down with a long pole soft brush and hosepipe. I collect the rainwater for the Koi pond so they wouldn't appreciate soap in the wash.
If I don't clean them regularly it makes the task much harder next time as the grime bakes in as it were.
I'm lucky enough to have balcony access with a step ladder to a rather shallow pitched roof, so falling off is harder, even if it does freak the neighbours out a bit!
Given that I get paid nearly 90p/KWh for one set and about 50p/KWh for the other, anything I can get is worth it. I was lucky enough to get in on the first tranch of FIT schemes, which everyone is now paying for through high electricity costs. That's one reason why even if the wholesale price of gas were zero, electricity costs would still be very high. You're all paying to subsidise people like me and all the wind farms under "infrastructure costs".
Got just under £5K FIT last year - about double the energy bill and that includes charging EVs just about every day - got to put the excess solar somewhere and if I don't we end up practically boiling the water in the heat bank from diverted excess power.
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all this is depressing me - my fixed rate is coming to an end and the best new fixed rate I can find is working out overall about 31% more expensive.
Thanks Donald.
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I fixed in Jan for 12 months, god knows what it'll be like next year. Probably more.
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Are you with Octopus Bobby? Or anyone else who might be reading this for that matter.
Their tracker rate, which changes daily, is averaging about 24p this month if I'm reading it right. Whatever, according to a paid-for comparison site my own elec costs over the last year would have been £1507 whereas tracker would have been £1290 (and mine was actually £970). Over a month it'd have been £124 standard, £107 tracker but mine £71. I think standing charges may be a bit higher though.
I'm using the agile tariff which isn't for everyone as the cost changes every 30 mins and it is always expensive 16:00 - 19:00. And I skew my cost by only charging the car when the rate is low, if I can.
If you're not on Octopus and want to be use my referral code and we both get £50 :-) share.octopus.energy/open-camel-464
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looked at Octopus and it was dearer than the cheapest option (which happens to be Outfox Energy who I am currently with)
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Although I do "like" the boss of Octopus and always seems to talk sense and would have happily switched if they were competitive
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You wouldn't have seen tracker on their webpage.
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Tracker costs would upset my OCD and certainly upset my spreadsheet!
I like things to be simple.
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My elec "cost" right now is -3.53p and that is the most "expensive" till 16:00. It's -6.73p at midday for 30 mins. I do my best to save the car charging for days like this!! My pyrolytic oven gets a deep clean more than it needs it to!! The solar input actually gets in the way of my money-making LOL
Wouldn't suit you Bobby :-)
Last edited by: smokie on Sat 25 Jul 26 at 09:13
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>> Are you with Octopus Bobby? Or anyone else who might be reading this for that
>> matter.
>>
>>
Yes that's who the fixed deal is with. Been on a 12m fixed tariff with them for a few years.
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Solar panel output - smokie
