The list of reasons why home solar energy is attractive to homeowners seems to be growing all the time, with some customers taking the plunge because solar simply feels like a ‘no brainer’. The most compelling benefits of solar are listed below, although it’s worth mentioning that everyone is motivated by different reasons – we’ve found that customers are motivated by one, some, most or all of them!
Save money on your energy bills
Arguably the benefit of solar that’s banded around the most is the opportunity for homeowners to save money on their energy bills, and in this current economic climate, people are attracted to anything that seems like a smart financial choice.
And, there’s no doubt that your energy bills should fall significantly as soon as your solar panels are turned on.
However, while many companies are quick to estimate the extent of potential savings, we talk more about how to be cautious here in our article How much can I save with solar. If you’re interested in understanding more about how much you could expect to save on your energy bills, our on-site survey will help to assess your home’s potential for solar and you’ll be given an estimate of energy savings as part of your bespoke design and quote.
Reduce your carbon footprint
Solar is a brilliant way to take tangible action when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint. Not only are you ‘doing your bit’ for your household, but your efforts help towards reducing our national and of course our global carbon footprint. A typical 8 panel solar system will avoid emissions of around 710kg carbon dioxide equivalent per year – about the same as driving 2311 miles in a petrol car, or 1 flight across the Atlantic from London Heathrow to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Electricity that you buy from the grid comes from a range of different energy technologies (wind, solar, natural gas, coal, nuclear). The grid is getting cleaner as we install more renewables, but in 2022 a whopping 40% of electricity generated in the UK still came from fossil fuels. Currently, most of the energy we import comes from natural gas, but don’t let the word ‘natural’ fool you – natural gas is a fossil fuel which when burned to create electricity emits harmful GHGs (greenhouse gases) like carbon dioxide. Glowb is on a mission to help homeowners harness the power of the sun to generate completely clean electricity.
Every solar installation, big or small, gets us one step closer to Net Zero – and to avoiding the more dangerous climate change.
Become more energy independent
Installing solar will reduce the amount of energy you buy from the grid – anything from 20 to 95%, depending on your system size and energy consumption. With battery storage, you can reduce it even further, by storing power you can’t use during the day and using it after the sun goes down.
This means you are less exposed to fluctuations in grid energy prices – and we all know they’ve been all over the place in the last year or two!
With the latest batteries, you may also be able to be completely independent from the grid in the event of a power cut, which can be really reassuring, especially for those in rural areas where power cuts can be more frequent. Not all battery systems are capable of this, so make sure to check yours has this feature if it’s important to you.
Get paid for your unused energy
Most homeowners are interested in how they can be paid for their unused, clean, self-generated energy. If you are generating more electricity than you’re using, the surplus can be sold back to the UK National Grid under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) scheme, meaning you will receive export payments.
We’ll be talking more about exporting and the SEG in an upcoming blog post, stay tuned!
Because sharing is caring
And finally there’s another green benefit associated with exporting your unused energy – the clean energy you’re giving to the grid helps increase our country’s overall consumption of renewable energy! A great example of sharing is caring.
