Maximizing the Profits and Savings from Your Solar Panels

Solar panels come with a major financial incentive attached. Between the savings on your electricity bill and the FiTS payments from your electricity supplier, you can see a profit to the tune of £600 to £1000 per year, much of that in the form of tax-free tariff payments. If you’ve installed solar panels or a solar PV system, it only makes sense to maximize your profit and earn as much from it as you can. These strategies can help.

Monitor Daytime Electricity Usage

Your solar panels generate electricity during daylight hours and your electrical system will draw on that electricity before it imports any from the grid. The first step toward getting all the benefit you can from your solar panels is to know how much electricity you use during the day and how much electricity your solar panels generate during the daylight hours. Once you know how much electricity you use as opposed to your generation capacity, you can make adjustments to your usage patterns.

Shift Nighttime Electricity Usage to the Daylight Hours

If you are generating more electricity than you are using over the course of the day, shift as much as possible of your electricity usage to the daytime hours. If you’re not already doing so, perform high-electricity usage tasks, such as running the Hoover, dishwasher or washing machine, during daylight hours.

If you’re not home during the day, use timers to start appliances that you’ve set up in advance to take advantage of the free electricity from your solar panels.

Reduce Your Electricity Usage

You are paid for every kWh of electricity generated by your solar panels. You are paid more for every kWh of electricity generated by your solar panels and exported to the grid. You pay for electricity that you import from the grid – that is, electricity that is not generated by your solar panels. Here is the order in which you profit most from the electricity generated by your solar PV system:

Solar PV generated power used in your home gives you the biggest bang for your buck. Not only do you get the FiTS payment – 43.3p to 21p, depending on the date your installation was approved – you also save the amount you would have paid your electricity supplier. DECC estimates the average price per kWh currently is about 14p, so every kWh of solar panels generated power you use will save/earn you about 35p to 57p.

The next most advantageous power profile is exporting electricity to the grid. Currently, power suppliers are allowed to estimate your export at 50 percent of your electricity usage. You will be paid the generation tariff plus the export tariff for all electricity you export to the grid. The export tariff is currently 3.1p, so you’ll receive 24.1p to 46.4p for every kWh of solar panels electricity exported to the grid.

Keep in mind that if your electricity usage during the day is greater than the amount of electricity currently being generated by your solar panels, you’ll end up paying the high daytime rate for your electricity, so it makes sense to keep your electricity usage on the low side and avoid that scenario.

Once your solar panels are installed, you can monitor your electricity usage and generation to help you figure out the best energy strategy for your home.