Which option makes for better all round cost savings?
It’s a well known fact that installing PV panels in the home is not a cheap option.
The Energy Savings Trust estimates that installation will set you back £7,860 for a three-bed semi-detached house with four occupants, according to figures released in March 2023. But the figures will vary depending on the size of your home and how much energy you want to produce.
How much energy will actually be used?
Keep in mind that solar panels generate most of their electricity during the day, so you may not be around to use it (unless you fit a home storage battery too). In fact, a survey of solar panel owners found that:
- 12% use less than ¼ of their solar output
- 34% use between a ¼ and ½
- 22% use between ½ and ¾
- 13% use more than ¾
So, you will still need to buy electricity from the grid, especially on dark winter evenings.
Solar Battery
A solar battery is a device that allows you to store excess electricity—including the energy your solar panels generate— so you can use or sell it later on. With a solar battery, you will typically use an extra 30% of your solar energy, saving you £175 more per year on average and cutting your carbon footprint by another 15%—which adds up to an extra tonne of CO2 per year.
The average solar battery cost for a three-bedroom house is £4,500. A smaller house usually pays around £2,500 to add a solar battery to a solar panel installation, while a larger home typically costs £5,500.
The larger the battery, the more electricity it can store, and the larger the benefit—but the higher the cost, naturally. Moreover, the price of adding a solar battery to a solar panel system means the average three-bedroom household will take an extra 12 years to break even on the whole installation.
Zypho Savings
A shower heat exchanger like those in the Zypho range can save up to 82% of energy that would normally go down the drain, and they come in at a fraction of the price of installing PV panels (and with less construction/disruption too – no need for scaffolding!).
We can compare the energy that Zypho can save (%) with the amount of energy PV panels can generate in the UK (kWh). A 16-panel 4 kW PV system generates around 3,600 kWh/year, so about 225 kWh per panel per year. If the typical household uses 2,000 kWh/year for hot water, we can work out the savings:
30% = 600 kWh = 2.7 PV panels worth
50% = 1,000 kWh = 4.4 PV panels worth
75% = 1,500 kWh = 6.7 PV panels worth
If you want to discuss your project or find out more about Zypho savings, drop us an email at shower@zypho.uk, or call 01523 647220.
