Tips To Start The Process in 2025
Are you fed up with paying high prices on electricity bills? With cost-of-living hikes occurring across the globe, people are looking for easy options to have the same standard of living, but at a lower price. It is well worth looking into solar panels when it comes to electricity bills and keeping your home brightly lit and connected.
OK, so it is well known that solar panels are not exactly cheap to set up, but, as you may have read elsewhere, long term, having them fitted can save you money and increase your home’s price. Indeed, surveys of people looking to buy a home have found that solar paneling is one of the most desirable features in a home.
So, with that in mind, what are the best tips to ensure the process goes smoothly before you have the panels fitted? Here is a quick guide!
Evaluate Your Power Usage
All solar panels are the same right? Nope! When looking at how to switch to solar power for your home, you need to have an idea of your power usage. In other words, how much electricity do you and your family use?
An easy way to assess this is to look at electricity bills, as this will help you spot your kWh usage, which will assist you and your installer in deciding how many solar panels you need to have fitted. There are also online solar panel calculators, but using those alongside electricity bills is advised to get an idea of your power usage. You will also need to consider when you and your family use the most power in the day to ensure that the panel you choose lines up with the needs.
Choose a Panel Type
Most people associate solar panels with being somewhat flat and installed on the roof of a home.
Indeed, that is the standard look, but what exactly is the standard type of solar panel? There are three, and one may be more suited for your and your family’s needs based on your power usage. The first is monocrystalline panels. These are the most efficient and have the longest lifespan of all solar panels, but, as is the way, they have the highest price tag, so they may not be ideal if you are aiming to upgrade on a budget.
The next is polycrystalline panels, which, while cheaper, have the downside of being less effective, meaning that you may burn through energy produced by them quickly. Lastly, there are thin-film panels, which are more modern lightweight, and flexible than the other two. However, these options are also less efficient and tend to have a higher degradation rate. So, be sure to talk to your installer about the best options for your home.
Choose an Installer
It is always tempting for homeowners to opt for the cheapest solution when they are upgrading their home and, with the average cost of solar panel installation being between five-thousand to eight-thousand dollars, it is far from a cheap upgrade.
However, if there is an issue with the installation, you will likely need to replace the panels, and maybe even part of your roof! So, get online and look for MCS-Certified installers. Note that before they can install anything, they will likely want to survey your home and your roof to ensure it is all above board. Any MCS-Certified installer will also want to see evidence of permission from the council or housing department, so be sure to have that on hand.
If you aren’t sure of which installer to go with, go to Google or another search engine and look for reviews. This will give you an idea of which installers offer the best options in relation to price and customer service, as well as offering guarantees to their customers post-installation.
Check Legal Considerations
Depending on where you live, whether in Europe or part of the USA, you may need planning permission to install solar panels at your home. This is more so if you live in a listed building, or if you live near or in an area related to animal conservation.
You will need to ensure that when you do narrow down a supplier to install your panels, they provide you an Energy Performance Certificate, or EPC, as this will ensure that there is feed-in-tariff eligibility. You need to ensure that whatever the regulations relating to solar panels in your area, you follow them, or there will likely be expensive legal ramifications. If you aren’t sure, always check with your local council or government official.
