How to make the most out of your solar panels
Around 1.2 million households across the country now have solar panels. If you’re considering getting solar panels, here are our tips for getting the most out of your home generated energy.
Use energy when your generation is highest
Try to use your appliances during the day when your solar panels are generating the most energy. Peak generation is between the hours of 12pm – 3pm, so this is the ideal time to use high-energy appliances like the washing machine.
Monitor your generation alongside your usage to maximise how much of your solar power you’re using at home.
Use one energy-intensive appliance at a time
To make the most of your solar power, try to just use one energy intensive appliance at a time – for example scheduling the dishwasher to start once the washing machine has finished. This will ensure that you aren’t drawing more power than your inverter allows – which would lead to using electricity from the grid.
Couple your solar panels with a home battery
As it’s not really feasible to only use electricity during the day, a good way of making the most of the energy you generate is to invest in battery storage. This means you can save any excess electricity to use later – especially if you’re not at home during the day when your panels are generating. Batteries mean you can use more of your renewable energy and less electricity from the grid, saving you more money on your bills.
However, battery storage might not be for everyone. If you’re at home a lot and using the majority of your electricity during the day, it might take a long time to pay back your upfront investment.
Keep your solar panels well maintained
Solar panels don’t need a lot of maintenance, as there are no moving parts and the rain washes off most of the dirt and dust. However, it’s important to clean your solar panels once a year, ideally during summer when there isn’t as much rain, as a build-up of debris will reduce the efficiency of the panels.
The inverter is what turns the energy generated from the sun into energy that your appliances can use. As it contains electrical components, it may require maintenance.
Make sure you’re getting a great rate for the electricity you export
The Smart Export Guarantee replaced the Feed-in Tariff in 2020, and pays solar generators a rate per unit for any excess power they export to the grid. At Good Energy, our export tariff, Solar Savings, currently pays customers 15p per kWh exported to the grid.
If you’re on the Feed-in Tariff scheme, you’re still entitled to those payments until your tariff ends, and can boost your income by joining an export tariff while continuing to receive your generation payments.
Use your solar panels to charge your EV
If you have an electric vehicle, solar panels can be a much cheaper and greener way to charge your EV, using power from the sun rather than power from the grid.
Schedule your car to charge when the sun is out, and you will be filling it up with free home generated power.
