How much money can you save with solar?
Thinking about installing solar panels, but wondering if they're worth the cost? The good news is that going solar with Hive won’t just make your home greener – it can save you money in the long run, too.
Can solar really save you money?
Yes, absolutely – but it will take time for the investment to pay off.
Luckily the solar panels you get with Hive are guaranteed for minimum 25 years³, which should give you plenty of time to make enough savings to more than cover the cost.
Your solar savings come from four areas:
Generating free energy to use at home
Making smart use of battery storage
Selling spare electricity (with the Export and Earn Plus tariff from British Gas¹)
Saving up to 25% on electricity you buy with the Hive Solar Saver offer²
At the end of the article, we’ve included a detailed breakdown of these savings. It shows how an average 2-3 bed home in London can cut its annual electricity bill £823 to just £47 – an amazing 94.2% reduction!
Lower your bills by making your own energy
The simplest way that solar saves you money is by reducing the amount of energy you need to buy from the grid. Instead of paying for all your home’s electricity, now your panels will generate some of it for free.
Increase your savings with a home battery
With your solar panels generating free electricity during the day, you’ll need to buy less from the grid. But what happens at night, when there’s no sunshine for your solar panels to get energy from?
That’s where a home battery makes a big difference. With a battery installed, you can store energy made during the daytime to use later – or even save it to sell back to the grid when prices are high.
A battery does add to the cost of your installation, of course. Prices start from £7,465 for solar & battery – but the extra savings you’ll gain over time will make it a good investment.
Shrink your bills even more with a SEG tariff
If you have solar panels installed at home, it pays to sign up to Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff like the Export and Earn Plus tariff from British Gas.
This lets you earn money by selling any spare energy back to the grid for 15p per kWh. The more you sell, the more money you make – and the bigger the reduction you’ll see in your energy bills.
And enjoy an exclusive electricity discount with Hive
Go solar with us and you’ll enjoy even more savings. Available exclusively to Hive solar customers on a British Gas tariff, the Hive Solar Saver gives you up to 25% off all the electricity you buy.
Here’s how the savings add up
The amount you’ll save depends on a few different factors. For example, the more panels you have, the more electricity you’ll generate. And homes in the south of England will get more hours of sunshine per year than those in the north of Scotland.
But this breakdown gives you an idea of the savings you can expect.
Example home:
Average 2-3 bed house in London
Annual electricity usage: 2,700 kWh
Annual electricity bill: £823 (£220 standing charges + £603 for energy used)
The solar equipment:
4kW of south-facing panels
Home battery
Typical installation cost: £9,500
The tariff:
With the Hive Solar Saver 25% electricity discount
The solar savings:
Total electricity usage: 2,700 kWh
Standing charges: £220
Generated by panels: 3,965 kWh
Usage cost: £163 (including 25% Hive Solar Saver discount)
SEG earnings: £336
New bill: £47 [£220 + £163 - £336]
Total savings: £776 – or 94.2%
The savings explained
Our average 2-3 bed home in London uses 2,700 kWh of electricity a year, which costs £603. On top of this, standing charges of £220 make a total bill of £823.
With solar panels and battery from Hive, the home will use the same amount of energy and pay the same standing charges. But the amount of energy that’s bought from the grid will be much lower because the panels generate 3,965 kWh of electricity a year.
That reduces the usage costs to £218 – and the Hive Solar Saver discount of 25% brings it down further to £163.
With the British Gas SEG tariff, any spare energy is sold back to the grid at 15p per kWh – which earns £336 over the year.
All of this lowers the bill by £776 to £47 a year – a reduction of 94.2%. And at that rate, the £9,500 solar panels and battery will pay for themselves in the first 12.2 years of their expected 25-year lifespan!
Book a free survey to start saving
Ready to go solar? It’s easy with Hive. Expert installers will visit your home and recommend the right solar set-up for you.
They’ll give you a free fixed-price quote that includes everything you need to start generating and storing your own energy.
They’ll also give you a clear idea of how much electricity your panels will generate – and how long it could take for everything to pay for itself.
Get started on your solar journey today.
1. Based on a medium demand (2,700 kWh) property in London, with south-facing 10 panel 4kW arrays and a battery providing 35% of the home’s electricity needs. Excess energy is sold back to the grid at 15p per kWh using the British Gas ‘Export & Earn Plus’ SEG tariff. Saving includes ‘Hive Solar Saver’ discount of 25% on electricity unit rate in first year and savings will vary after that. Typical bill calculated using national average July- September 24 price cap rates. Actual savings will depend on location, installation, aspect and electricity use.
2. Hive Solar Saver offer is available to Hive solar and/or battery installations purchased between 22nd May and 31st September 2024. 25% discount applies for 12 months. For full details please see the Hive Solar Saver Terms & Conditions on the British Gas website.
3. The solar panels installed by Effective Home and Forster come with a minimum 25-year performance lifetime guarantee for the manufacture of the modules and the performance of the solar cells.
