Is it possible to get free solar panels in 2022?

The thought of generating free, completely clean, energy has always been one that has appealed to homeowners across Scotland.

With energy prices escalating at an alarming rate, however, and the current climate emergency at the forefront of all our minds, more people than ever are looking to solar panels to reduce their carbon footprint, and energy bills, in one fell swoop.

Across the UK as a whole, nearly 1 million homes currently have solar panels installed, and with prices falling dramatically over the past decade, there has never been a better time to jump on board the renewables train.

This article will answer some of the most common questions regarding solar panel funding, giving you all the information that you need to decide if this is the right approach for your energy needs.

Does the Government provide solar panel funding?

Just because solar panel installation is cheaper than it has ever been before, does not mean that it is not still a significant investment to make, and no-one wants to spend more than necessary.

You may have heard from your friends or family who have installed solar panels on their properties in the past, that the Government paid for part or all of the installation costs.

Unfortunately, most of the Government schemes that provided grants for solar panel installation, such as the Green Deal, have now ended.

The only remaining fund that can potentially be used to fund the purchase of solar panels is ECO4.

ECO4

ECO4 is the latest variant of the Government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, aiming to assist low income and vulnerable households in making their homes more energy efficient.

This is not a grant specifically designed for solar panel installation, but, if your home’s heating system is currently powered by electric, you may qualify for solar panel installation via the scheme as it will have a direct impact on your ability to heat your home.

There are certain criteria that a household must meet before qualifying for ECO4 funding.

For a start, the entire household must earn less than £31,000 per year and you must be recommended for funding by a third party such as your energy provider, local council, or a doctor concerned about how you will be able to heat your home.

If your home is poorly insulated, the chances are that any funding will have to go towards resolving that before solar panels are considered.

Is solar panel installation still worth it?

For the majority of people in Scotland, there is no longer significant Government help to assist with the installation of solar panels, so are they really still worth it?

The answer, in almost all circumstances, is a resounding YES!

The fact is, that as solar panel prices have fallen by 88% since 2010, even if those you know who installed solar panels over the past decade had installation partially funded, there is a good chance that you will end up paying less anyway.

For context, just a decade ago, a standard three bedroom household could expect to pay upwards of £20,000 for solar panel installation, where as the same system is now available for around £5,000

Furthermore, as the cost of energy rises, the value of the energy that you generate in your own home also rises, and the savings you will make by using solar panel generated electric rather than purchasing it directly from the grid have never been higher.

It is estimated that a 10 panel 3.5 kW solar array will save the average household over £500 every single year.

Can I sell electricity generated from my solar panels?

Another way to make your solar panels Scotland as financially beneficial as possible is to sell any excess energy that is not used in your own home, back into the grid.

In the past, this was done through the Feed-In-Tariff that paid households not only for excess energy but also for every single unit of electricity that they generated.

Unfortunately, the FIT ended in 2019, with the Government choosing to focus instead on commercial projects but it was replaced, in part, by the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)

The SEG requires all energy providers with more than 150,000 customers to offer a tariff for buying energy generated via renewable sources by their customers.

In some ways, the SEG is even better than the FIT as the Government only ever used to pay homeowners for 50% of the electricity they generated, whilst with the SEG you will make the most of every single unit.

However, there is no minimum tariff requirement that providers must offer, it is worth doing some shopping around when looking for an SEG provider.