Are home solar panels worth it?

[Guest]

I'm considering installing home solar panels. I recently received an offer for free panels. Is it worth investing in solar energy, and what factors should I consider when making my decision?

[Neil]

Nothing is free.

[Mark]

Do you end up owning the panels or do they? You don't want a "rent a roof" system as it will cause all sorts of issues in the future with mortgages and selling the property.

Are solar panels worth it, yes but not if they're someone else's.

[Anne]

I've got them free and do save on electric . But ask then them to pigeon proof them as I had a nightmare with pigeons nesting under the panels and knocking tiles off . Got this done ourselves as shade greener wanted around £1000 to do it. They never mentioned it could be a problem when we got them fitted !

[Sarah]

We bought our house 9 years ago which already had solar panels from a shade greener installed (the roof lease ones) and got a mortgage no problem, it didn't cause any issues at all!

We get free electric on bright days, it's def lowered our bills

[Rachel]

I’m in America so it’s different. But from my experience not worth it. $35,000 for 72 panels (guaranteed for 25 years) Sure my electric bills are half what they would be however they caused some minor issues with leaks in the roof. When the time for a new roof comes it’s $8000 just to have the panels taken off and replaced.

[Debi]

We have free ones from a shade greener… I hardly ever pay for electricity by day light hours, so do all my laundry, cooking etc by day but absolutely love them. I had a problem once and they were out within 48hrs of me contacting them to check them… we’re 10years into a 25yr contract with them and would definitely do again. No problems with mortgages etc.

[Alexander]

Check the small print before signing anything, usually these "free" solar panels means the company can become a "tenant" on your roof, basically you get the savings on your bill BUT they will effectively be renting your roof space and that'll be paid for by the FiT payments, this whole arrangement can be a hassle if you come to sell your property!

[Erica]

I have them they were free and i get the electric during the day and then trips to the grid at night. Mine rent the air space on my roof for 25 years then they are mine apparently. I work from home and i save a bit. Would have been quite expensive without them.

[Emma]

I got free solar panels 9 years ago from shade greener. Best decision I ever made. Our bills are low. We haven't been hit by the price hike as highest monthly dd we've had for both electric and gas is £86. We are currently getting ready to sell and the solar team have been so supportive. All though there are certain mortgages that won't be accepted on the property having solar panels works in your favour because who doesn't like cheap bills. When selling you have to pay £150 to transfer the roof space they take on the remainder ag the lease. After that's up the new owners can chose to remove them or have them updated and rent for another 25 years. Hope this helps. X

[Liam]

If they are for free you obviously won't own them and they will collect any FIT payments. If no one is at home during the day I wouldnt bother tbh. It may put potential buyers off if you decide to sell. However if you can afford to get battery storage for it then its definitely worth considering. It really depends on the ownership of the panels.

[Graham]

If they are free does that mean they "own" your roof, so if you move there may be problems selling your house, because you do not own all of it.

[Lucy]

Yes ! Our bill for 6 months was just over 600 I literally have dishwasher ,tumbledryer ,water heater washing machine on all day we always in credit with the wtric Compnay.

[Helen]

Depends. If it's just solar panels you'd need to be home more in the day to utilise the free energy which if that's the case hell yes! We love ours, but I and my husband work from home, so we get a lot of use and they've massively cut our bills, I use the slow cooker in the day for £0.00 per hour, the kettle we upgraded to a lower energy one so it boils for free in the summer, the fire will run for free on eco in the winter,.. they're well worth it, but without batteries if you're not home in the day time not really as you'll be exporting and I suspect if they're offering them free they'll be getting all the money from that for the term of contract which can be a really long time with solar panels.