With every passing year, more homeowners visit Solar Guide to get quotes from local solar installers. Between 2016 and 2019, this number grew by 261%.

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, it was unclear how this would impact the solar industry. Fortunately, free renewable solar energy has become very desirable for homeowners. Plus, as a nation, we spent more time at home in 2020 than ever before. So it’s no surprise that homeowners continued to turn to solar to help reduce their energy bills during the pandemic.

At the end of a year which included national lockdowns and local restrictions, requests for solar installers were up 137% compared to 2016. And while that’s a slight drop in total enquiries compared to 2019, the demand for solar installers remained much higher than previous years.

We’ve crunched our enquiry numbers to see how COVID-19 affected the solar industry.

Did COVID-19 have an impact on the solar industry?

Since 2016, requests for solar installers through Solar Guide have grown massively. Looking at enquiries over the past 5 years as a whole, 9.6% of those enquiries came in 2016 while 2019 accounts for 32%.

In 2020 that percentage stands at 21% – a number that would certainly have been higher in a normal year.

So, why did we see enquiries drop-off in 2020? Well the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on just about every industry, including solar. Given the difficult times, with redundancies and furlough, some homeowners simply couldn’t afford to invest in solar when they may have done so in a normal year. Meanwhile, others were cautious about social distancing or had to isolate.

In addition, during the first national lockdown in particular, many solar companies weren’t able to work and had staff on furlough.

All of this naturally put 2020 at a disadvantage compared to previous years.

A bright year for solar thermal

In a year that saw fewer homeowners request quotes from solar installers as a whole, solar thermal was in demand.

Solar thermal enquiries in 2020 were up a massive 300% compared to 2018 and were only down 1% on the previous 12 months. Not bad for a year which included two national lockdowns. So, why were solar thermal panels still in demand?

Aside from their many benefits (free hot water, lower heating bills and no carbon emissions to name a few), in September, the Green Homes Grant scheme was launched. This scheme was going to kick-start the UK’s push towards net-zero carbon emissions by increasing the efficiency of 600,000 homes. This would be done by giving eligible homeowners a voucher to put towards the installation of a renewable heating system, such as solar thermal panels.

Now this scheme was largely doomed from the start (it ended up closing to new applicants early) but in its brief life, many homeowners were able to make the most of it.

A quick look at our data from 2020 shows that requests for solar thermal installers were at their peak during the week when the Green Homes Grant scheme began (9% of all solar thermal enquiries). Closely followed by the next week (7%) and the week after that (5%).

What about solar PV?

Well, 2020 was a difficult year. We were in and out of lockdowns and when there wasn’t a national lockdown there were still certain restrictions.

Despite a drop-off in enquiries in 2020, solar PV enquiries were higher than thermal and batteries put together, making up 78% of all Solar Guide enquiries for the year.

Given the difficult times, with redundancies and furlough, some homeowners simply couldn’t afford to invest in solar. Meanwhile, others were cautious about mixing with others or had to isolate.

While solar thermal installations were supported by the government’s Green Homes Grant, unfortunately, this initiative didn’t offer any financial support for homeowners looking to invest in solar PV. Something that could have helped support the solar industry at this time.

Interest in solar is clearly still strong though. The same week national restrictions were eased (week commencing 6 July 2020) also proved to be our second biggest in terms of enquiries. So as life gets back to normal we can expect more homeowners to crack on with plans to install solar panels.

What’s the picture for solar so far in 2021?

We’re seeing the light and the end of the tunnel in 2021. And that’s encouraging homeowner interest in solar energy to return.

Solar PV has proven the popular choice over the years and demand for solar PV installers has started strong in 2021. Early projections suggest that enquiries could be up 32.8% (compared to 2020) by the end of the year.

Solar thermal is also looking strong with requests for installers currently on track to beat all 5 previous years. However, the increased demand in the early part of 2021 could be to do with the Green Homes Grant scheme coming to a close in March.

Solar battery installations are on the up too. Compared to 2020, requests for installers have risen by 32.5% in the first 3 months of the year. An indication that homeowners are keen to use more of the solar energy their panels are generating. No surprise when you consider that the ‘Big Six’ energy companies introduced average price rises of £96 to their standard variable and default tariffs from 1st April 2021.

Based on the number of enquiries we’ve received in the first quarter of 2021, we can estimate the projected demand over the whole year.

Did you know that in addition to reducing your fuel costs, installing solar thermal panels on your roof could earn you money through the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive scheme? Here’s how it works.

What is the RHI Scheme?

By installing solar thermal panels (or one of the other eligible renewable heating systems), homeowners, businesses, landlords, farmers, schools and hospitals in England, Scotland and Wales can earn money through the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.

The RHI scheme will close to new applications in March 2021.

The RHI payments you receive will be based on the estimated amount of heat your system produces (per kilowatt hour). Participants in the RHI scheme (who abide by its rules) will receive quarterly payments for 7 years based on the amount of renewable heat their system produces.

The RHI scheme was introduced in April 2014 in an effort to incentivise homeowners and businesses to reduce our usage of fossil fuels and our carbon emissions. The RHI tariff payments were intended to reimburse a proportion of the costs involved in installing renewable heating systems as they are typically more expensive than conventional fossil fuel systems.

RHI Scheme: Domestic and Non-domestic

There are 2 versions of the RHI scheme: domestic and non-domestic.

• The domestic RHI is for homeowners who are installing a renewable heating system in their home (including self-builds) and private and social landlords where the heating system will be providing heat for a single household.
• The non-domestic RHI is intended for commercial, industrial and public places such as schools and hospitals as well as for organisations operating district heating systems.

Which domestic renewable heating systems are eligible?

The RHI scheme is open to on and off-grid homes which install the following heating technology systems:

• biomass only boilers and biomass pellet stoves for space heating or both space and domestic hot water (not only for domestic hot water)
• air source heat pumps for space heating or both space and domestic hot water (not only for domestic hot water)
• ground source heat pumps for space heating or both space and domestic hot water (not only for domestic hot water)
• flat plate and evacuated tube solar thermal panels for domestic hot water (not space heating or heating a swimming pool).

You will need to have an EPC certificate which is less than 2 years old. Before buying solar thermal panels you should check that your chosen product is approved for the RHI (by checking Ofgem’s list of approved products) and find an MCS certified installer to complete the installation.

How much could you earn through the RHI Scheme for solar thermal?

The RHI tariff you receive for the 7 year period will depend when you make your application to the scheme as the payments are reassessed every 3 months.

The first applicants who applied to the scheme in April 2014 are paid 19.20p for every kW/h of heat their system produces. Unlike the FiT tariff for solar PV panels which was steadily decreased until it closed in March 2019, the RHI tariff for solar thermal has increased every year since it was introduced. Solar thermal has also always been the highest earning of the renewable heating technologies.

Your total RHI payments will vary depending on several factors including the size of your home and number of inhabitants, its EPC certificate and insulation levels and, of course, your lifestyle, i.e. how much you use your heating. The below table includes some average figures based on estimated figures but it should give you some idea of how much you might receive in RHI payments.

Green Homes Grants

Under the government’s Green Homes Grants scheme, between September 2020 and March 2021 you can apply for a grant to cover two-thirds of the cost of installing solar thermal panels.

Many UK homeowners want to reduce their heating bills and carbon footprint by installing solar thermal panels, but most do not have the money available to cover the upfront costs. To address this, the government is introducing the Green Homes Grants scheme which will give UK homeowners up to £5,000 (£10,000 for the lowest income households) towards the cost of installing a solar thermal heating system.

Are solar thermal panels worth it?

The cost of installing solar thermal panels depends on the number of people in your home and how much water you’re likely to need, but the average system typically costs between £3,000 – £4,000. Industry recommendations suggest that you will need around 1m2 of panels per person living in the home.

It’s important to note that these costs will also be impacted by the complexity of the installation, i.e. how simple it is to integrate the technology into your existing plumbing and the size and brand of your solar water cylinder.

However, you will also need to weigh up the cost of installation against the potential energy and carbon savings that a solar water heating system could deliver for you. The Energy Saving Trust give the below figures as an estimation but specifies that financial savings and carbon emissions will vary from household to household.

Depending on the type of fuel they are using to heat their domestic hot water at the moment, a family of 4 in a 3-4 bed semi-detached home with a medium heat demand of around 12,000 kWh per year could see the following financial savings by switching to solar panels.

Interested in solar thermal panels for your home?

If you think a solar thermal heating system could be the right choice for your home, your next step is to get quotes for installation. It’s always best to compare prices and professional advice to make sure you get the right system for your needs.
We can put you in touch with up to 3 MCS certified (or equivalent) solar installers for free no-obligation quotes. Use our simple online form and get solar thermal quotes today.