government really needs to subsidise this tech. If lot more people has access to cheap solar energy and storage capacity then less demand on grid and everyone's a winner.
Yeah it highlights a problem with pretty much all renewables. The savings accumulate over time but the up front costs are so prohibitive. As you say you need a whole system, large array with batteries in order to maximise the benefits. Throw an EV in for free fuel and the savings are profound but the costs are unattainable. If governments are serious about net zero. Which I assume they aren’t, they’ll have to subsidise and also legislate to ensure new builds have solar on themEnergy saving trust has a calculator.
The maths can stack up but assumes nothing really goes wrong and you dont move house etc and you can load shift usage, you work from home etc. if our during the day and no storage capacity then it's a dead duck imo
Like someone alluded to, having solar and batteries and an efficient energy plan where you can charge the battery at a very cheap rate can make it work for you. Some overnight rates literally pay you to use energy then. Batteries and EV'a can be programmed to juice up in those times. Likewise having heat pumps but it's a lot of investment. I got a quote off octopus for heat pumps and it's £8k after grants, but also needs a space in garden with 1m clearance and a room in ground or first floor (not loft) 1m square for a tank so that's that ruled out
And all that is great if it all makes it to its expected lifespan without needing out of warranty repairs, replacement parts or even a full failure.
You could say that of everything you ever buy really
Air conditioning units are a smaller cheaper alternative to air source heat pumps. They eliminate the need for radiators and a power thirsty pump.Energy saving trust has a calculator.
The maths can stack up but assumes nothing really goes wrong and you dont move house etc and you can load shift usage, you work from home etc. if our during the day and no storage capacity then it's a dead duck imo
Like someone alluded to, having solar and batteries and an efficient energy plan where you can charge the battery at a very cheap rate can make it work for you. Some overnight rates literally pay you to use energy then. Batteries and EV'a can be programmed to juice up in those times. Likewise having heat pumps but it's a lot of investment. I got a quote off octopus for heat pumps and it's £8k after grants, but also needs a space in garden with 1m clearance and a room in ground or first floor (not loft) 1m square for a tank so that's that ruled out
I think the battery lifespan is only based on holding ~80-90% charge though isn't it, as in they don't fail completely just become less capacity?
But Solar panels are something that are sold as a means to save money. Obviously there is an environmental sales pitch along with it but primarily it is "these will save you money on your energy bills". The sales guys will try and distract you so you don't pay attention to any costs you aren't aware about and they will sell you on the best possible generation and the highest possible tariff to show you the best savings but to make the correct decision you have to be aware of the additional costs. It's like going into a car showroom and only including the monthly price in your calculations when the total cost of ownership includes all the extra things like tax, fuel, insurance, maintenance, tyres, repairs etc.
I think if you are reducing your electricity consumption by 50% and 1) saving on your electric vehicle charging and 2) getting a 15p feed in tariff for unused power and 3)using the vehicles battery on a night to further save on home electric. Factor these in and I think it should stack up. | ||
You have to factor it into your calcs though for a return on investment. It's not a what if, it's a 10% risk or whatever so you add in the expected cost (total cost by 10%). If it's a 10% risk then chances are you are being over-prudent but you have to include it in the calc still.
I don't think you can stack those things. If I'm reducing electricity usage by that much it's because I've not got any left to feed in to the grid. When I've done the calcs it works out as best case scenario, using 100% of electricty generated, a saving of about £500 per year. I use about 7,200 KwH. I could generate about 2,800 KwH per year. Current tariff is 18.47p per KwH. That's £517.
I guarantee you didn't work out "return on investment" when you last replaced your boiler, or bought and ICE car.
Great idea about stamp duty as a pretty much every home in the south your paying stamp duty people would rather invest in anything before paying hmrc
I did on my car. I bought an EV. I didn't on my boiler because it came with my house but I make a judgement on what is the best value option every time I buy anything. When I bought my TV I didn't buy the cheapest. I bought the best TV I could for my budget and my return is a better picture/experience. That would be overkill for someone that doesn't care about having the best TV. They'd be better off with a cheaper TV and spending the cash on something they do get a return from. Return doesn't have to be financial. Also, I'm an accountant so I do an ROI more often than most people haha.
TVs use energy too. So you never did a check with your ICE vehicles.
Not sure what your point is. I did do a check with my ICE vehicles. I compared the lifetime cost of an EV and an ICE and the EV won so I bought it. For my ICE vehicles in the past I compared several different ICE cars and bought the one that was the best value.