Solar Blog

Solar panels becoming increasingly affordable

Recent analysis from Ernst & Young has suggested that there has been a considerable fall in the cost of solar panels over recent years. This, coupled with rising fossil fuel prices could represent significantly greater affordability for homeowners across the UK.

Today, the cost of a solar panel installation has dropped from around £1.20 per viable unit, to about 90 pence. Improvements in the technology available, and the falling prices in raw silicon are largely behind this.

This is said to be excellent news for organisations considering large scale installations, but the attractions for households go a good deal further than this.

Under the government’s feed in tariff scheme, homes with solar panels installations generate money through the savings they realise, and through payments received from energy suppliers. These payments are guaranteed for 25 years and tax free.

However, with energy bills set to rise continuously and their prices coming down all the time respective to this, solar panels are likely to soon start being, and remain, cost effective even without such support.

At a wider scale though, the UK is in an excellent position to really exploit solar power. This is a view which would have been unlikely to be aired only a few years ago, but as one of the E&Y report authors suggested, “…a sustainable (solar) market will achieve savings and drive income and job creation.”

Greener living is also a huge aspect of harnessing solar power of course, increasingly something young families are keen to do. With benefits across the board therefore, it really could be something of a new dawn for how UK homes and businesses are powered.