New to solar panels, do they power my home directly?

@EverythingNeedsAUserName 

apologies that’ll be what’s confused me. The installation was completed in summer 2015 and that’s when they signed up to the FiT scheme so it’ll be the 19.02 figure that they’ve given me.

I find the "solar panel daily output" thing bizarre. If you have a 5kwh system it produces (at best) 5kw every hour. It doesn't 'produce' 50kwkh just because its active for 10 hours! It produces 5kwh, every hour, (maybe) that's what it's meant to do. If you don't have a storage system or ats system to the grid it can't suddenly produce 10x it's capability! It can however give to the grid the excess you don't use (for a pittance usually!) if you have a GTS. I don't think any of the solar panel outfits make this clear enough. I know of a system here which has never returned any cash near enough to cover the installation costs! Nor is it ever likely to! 

Hi ​@Alian and welcome to the forum.

Some people get a solar system to ‘be green’ and some people get one to save on electricity bills and perhaps make a bit of money selling the excess back to the grid through a solar export guarantee or SEG. Different companies offer different levels of SEG from about 5p/kWh up to 20p for OVO if you get them to put the system in. A battery may or may not be a benefit. A system will pay back or not depending upon what was put in, who put it in and the details of exactly how the owner uses power.

Did you have a specific question in mind when making the post?

For general infirmation on Solar Power then search for that in the forum. There is plenty of information in various posts.

Peter

Thanks, Peter! that’s really clear. The payback definitely depends on what system you get, who installs it and how you use your power.

Your solar panels do help power your home, but without a battery, most extra energy goes back to the grid. OVO pays you for that export, which is why your bills don’t drop much yet—your panels mainly offset usage when the sun is shining.

As ​@ExcelEnergy has mentioned batteries it is worth mentioning that solar panels generally have a long life and pay back their initial cost, especially if you can maximise your export rate. However, more consideration should be given to the economics of getting a home battery and it does depend on how much and when you use power so getting good advice is quite important in this respect. I'm sure someone can advise you on this.

Peter

That’s a good point. Solar panels usually last a long time and can pay for themselves, especially if you’re able to export excess power. Batteries can be useful too, but whether they make financial sense really depends on your usage patterns and electricity rates, so getting proper advice for your setup is definitely important.

​@ExcelEnergy thanks again for your insight here 😁. Do you have solar panels and/or a battery yourself? If so we’ll get your forum profile updated to display the kit you have, which makes it easier for other members to recognise you, and direct questions to you etc.

Yes, I do have solar panels installed, but I’m not currently using a battery. Feel free to update my profile if it helps other members know what setup I’m working with and makes discussions easier. Thanks! 😊

Thanks for letting us know ​@ExcelEnergy - I’ve added the Solar Panels badge to your account 😁.