✔ Having solar panels in London typically cuts your electricity bills by 70%
✔ The average solar household will break even after 15.66 years
✔ Get free solar panel quotes by filling in the form above
Before you buy solar panels, you want to know if it’s worth it for you. You’ll find yourself asking question after question: Is my home suitable for solar panels? Are solar panels actually good in London? What solar panel grants are available to me?
Thankfully, we’ve got you covered with an in-depth guide on buying and owning solar panels in London.
And if you want to save money with solar panels, we can help with that too.
It’s simple to compare solar panel prices. All you have to do is provide a few quick details, and our expert installers will be in touch with free quotes for you to compare.
Where do you want to install solar panels?
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Should you buy solar panels if you live in London?
You should definitely buy solar panels if you live in London, if you can.
The break-even point for solar panels in London is 16.14 years. That’s just a little over the national average of 15.66 years, but that’s not for lack of sunshine, it’s only because installing solar panels in the capital is a little more expensive.
That leaves at least another 11 years for Londoners to cut their electricity bills for free, which means the average three-bedroom household will end up with a net profit of £4,940.
You can also cut your CO2 emissions by at least 12.5 tonnes over the course of your solar panels’ lifespan – an 11% reduction in your carbon footprint.
So it’s absolutely worth buying solar panels in the capital, as long as you’re a homeowner who can afford how much solar panels cost.
How much sunlight does London receive?
London receives 4.4% more sunlight each year than the UK average, according to the European Commission.
This allows the capital to generate more solar energy than most cities.
Compared to people living in North Scotland, Londoners get 20% more sunlight – though they still can’t compete with Brighton, which receives 16% more than London.
But wherever you are on these isles, solar panels work in the UK – solar panels work on cloudy days and even in snowy weather.
Where do you want to install solar panels?
Get startedHow much does it cost to install solar panels in London?
It typically costs £766 to buy and install a 350-watt solar panel in London.
That means a typical three-bedroom household will pay £7,659 for an array with 10 solar panels.
To find out more about the kind of prices you’re looking at, check out our Solar Panel Costs guide.
Are there any solar panel grants from local councils in London?
Unfortunately, there are no solar panel grants available from local councils in London.
Councils mostly use their grant funding to help those who urgently need a new heating system or energy efficiency improvements, rather than to install solar panels.
However, you may be able to access national solar panel grants like the government’s ECO4 scheme.
And everyone in the capital can access Solar Together London.
What is Solar Together London?
Solar Together London is a group-buying scheme that makes accessing solar electricity cheaper for everyone involved – by 30-35%, on average.
More than 3,000 homes have had solar panels installed through this scheme, which is the main way to get solar panels in London at a reduced price, thanks to the lack of grants.
If you’re a homeowner, small or medium-sized business owner, or tenant with your landlord’s permission, all you need to do is register your interest online, for free.
Solar Together London will then hold a reverse auction (lowest bid wins) for installers in which they try to secure the contract to put solar panels on the homes of everyone who’s signed up across a given borough.
You’ll get the cheapest price possible, you’ll fully own your solar panel array, and you won’t pay anything extra for getting your system installed through Solar Together London.
Once the auction has taken place, you’ll have around five weeks to decide whether or not to proceed with the installation.
If you back out, there’s no charge, and you can sign up again whenever you want.
Solar panels are becoming more popular, and can increase a property’s value. 69% of Brits would rent or buy property that had solar panels, according to our latest National Home Energy Survey, up from 65% last year.
How many homes have solar panels in London?
54,330 homes have Microgeneration Certification Scheme-certified solar panels in London.
That’s 1.4% of all homes in the capital, compared to the national average of 4.5% – and the 10 areas with the lowest percentage of solar households are all in London.
This is a long-running issue that’s more to do with the capital’s housing market than any lack of enthusiasm for solar energy.
It’s expensive to live in London, leaving less disposable income for most, plus Londoners are less likely to stay in the same house for long enough that they feel medium-term investments are worth it.
A large segment of the capital’s population rents property, which makes getting solar panels difficult even without London’s high rent prices – and many of the capital’s richest homeowners simply don’t care enough about saving money or the climate to go solar.
The very nature of London homes also makes it difficult to install solar panels. Houses often come with limited roof space, and the disproportionate number of tall buildings means they need more scaffolding than homes in other areas.
FAQs
Can a house run 100% on solar energy?
You can run 100% of your house’s electricity on solar energy, but it’s not usually cost-effective, as you’ll need an expensively large number of solar batteries. This will enable you to cover your electricity needs each night, and will allow for the fact that your panels produce different amounts of electricity on different days, while you use more electricity on some days than others.
Is it hard to sell a house with solar panels in the UK?
Selling a house with solar panelsis usually easier and more profitable for the seller.
The latest research shows that solar panels typically add 4.1% to a home’s value – meaning you could make tens of thousands of pounds more.
And as electricity prices continue to stay at exorbitant levels, solar panels will only become more popular with homebuyers.
Summary
You now have all the information you need to move ahead with purchasing solar panels in London.
If you can afford the initial cost, it’s a more than worthwhile investment in the long run, providing you with free, clean energy that allows you to cut your bills, help the planet, and rely on the grid less.
And with our help, it’s simple to compare solar panel prices. All you have to do is provide a few quick details, and our expert installers will be in touch with free quotes for you to compare.
