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A family of six believes they will save up to £400 per year on their energy bills using solar panels they got for free
A growing secondhand solar market could offer a solution for households looking to save money on their bills without paying huge upfront costs.
Demand for solar is increasing as households worry about the impact the war in Iran will have on their energy bills.
However, a traditional solar set-up typically costs between £5,000 to £10,000, meaning it could take over 10 years for a household to break even via savings on their bills.
Stephen Sangster, from south London, has found a solution: secondhand solar panels that cost him just £600 to install on his property.
Sangster has estimated his new panels will save his family between £300-400 per year on their energy bills, meaning he will have paid them off within two years.
“Suddenly the payback is a lot better and actually it’s just really kind of fun and nice to know that you’re benefiting from the power of the sun,” he said.
Here’s how to take advantage of the secondhand solar market.
While a single new solar panel typically costs between £100-£300, secondhand solar panels can be found for as cheap as £30-£100 online.
The secondhand market is growing on places like eBay and Gumtree, as well as local social media groups.
Sangster, who works in financial services, was lucky to get his panels for free from the founder of a local green charity who was building a roof extension and no longer needed them on her home.
He was able to install them on top of his kitchen extension himself and therefore only paid £600 for an electrician to connect them.
Sangster has only had his solar panels installed for a week but is so far “delighted” with the savings he is seeing.
“Yesterday it produced 6.2 kilowatts on a fairly cloudy day. We average about 11 kilowatts of usage of electricity daily, so over half our electricity needs were being met by the solar yesterday,” said Sangster, who has four children and an electric car.
Sangster does not have a battery due to the high upfront cost, so is maximising his savings by using electricity more during the daytime.
This includes using his slow cooker and “putting your wash on, literally when the sun comes out”.
Sangster also plans to “slow charge” his car through a regular socket rather than using his seven kilowatt charger, which would be too much for the solar. This will take longer, but could cost him next to nothing.
“How satisfying to know I could probably drive 300 miles off the back of three days of sunshine,” he said.
However, there are a few downsides of using secondhand solar panels.
They cannot be certified, which means you will not be covered if they suddenly stop working.
Solar panels also lose their efficiency over time, meaning you won’t get as much power out of an older panel.
However, they only lose about 0.3 per cent efficiency each year, which is why modern solar panels come with a 25-year guarantee.
Sangster’s panels are 15 years old and he believes they’ve only lost around 7 per cent efficiency.
He advises people to “keep an eye out for anyone taking solar panels off their roof”.
“If you’ve got an easily accessible roof, it’s something you might be able to do yourself or for a cost of one day’s labor from someone you can get a panel set up and perhaps half your electricity bills,” he said.
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