The Energy rebate – How will you reinvest yours?

Energy rebates announced by Rishi Sunak offer some promise of help regarding the cost of living crisis people are facing this year. The Government’s planned £15 billion financial package will help people with their energy bills. But is there a better way to spend the £400 the Government are contributing towards your bills, which could help you long after this predicted winter of discontent?

Every household in England, Scotland and Wales on the electricity grid will qualify for the energy rebate, about 28 million homes in total. The £400 will be automatically deducted from your energy bill via six instalments starting in October. Depending on your tariff and how much you already pay each month this could potentially leave credit in your account, which you can, if you wish, claim back at any time. However, it is always recommended to leave some credit in your energy bill account, especially through winter. Nevertheless, credit in your energy account could be money you could use to safeguard your home against future energy price hikes by investing in solar.

Make real cost savings on your energy bill with solar

Thanks to the lower-than-ever cost of solar panels and current solar incentives, solar panels are a cost-effective investment for the majority of homeowners. By investing some of your rebate or credit from your energy bill account in solar you can increase the speed in which they pay back their initial cost – through savings on your energy bill. 

Solar not only lowers your energy bills, but you also get to power your home with clean renewable energy and reduce your dependence on your local utility company. 

How do solar panels pay back their investment cost?

There are three ways you can use solar panels to save yourself money.  

The first is through energy bill savings. Measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), electricity is required to run your home’s appliances. Choosing a suitably sized solar system that meets your needs can help virtually eliminate your electric bill, leaving only the standard fixed charges to connect to the grid to pay.

The second way solar panels save money is through solar incentives such as the Smart Export Guarantee. This is where the extra energy you generate from your solar PV system is exported back to the grid and you receive a payment in return.

The third way solar panels can save you money is by having battery storage added to your solar PV system. You then have the choice of storing the excess energy you generate, which you can use to power your home at night. By using your home appliances in a smart way, you can make sure you use them at times when you have excess energy being generated. You can also use stored energy to charge things like an electric vehicle through an EV charger.

The right combination of using your rebate wisely, making utility bill savings, and using incentives can help have a positive investment and impact on you and the environment.

Actual solar system savings will depend on the system size, the cost of electricity and your individual home energy usage, but the average solar homeowner can expect their solar payback period to be between 8 and 11 years. After that, you’ll be enjoying completely free solar electricity for many more years! 

If you’re still not convinced, you can use our solar panel calculator to find out how much solar costs and can save you for your specific home based on your electric usage and prices in your area. On average, most people discover they can save over £1000 per year by installing solar panels in their homes.