How to decide if solar panels are right for your home

Solar panels have become pretty commonplace these days. You probably no longer do a double-take if you spot them on a neighbour’s roof.

If you have ever wondered whether solar might be the right fit for you and your home, you will need to consider more than just their upfront cost. How and where you use energy in the home is a crucial piece of the puzzle to working out how solar can help you save money on your electricity bills.

That’s where the free ivie app can help. Our Solar Journeys app feature helps homeowners figure out just how much they could be saving with the addition of solar panels. Solar Journeys combines information on your home and roof with average annual energy consumption data to help build a more complete picture for you.

In this blog we’re diving into some of the key questions you need to ask yourself if you’re considering solar, and how your home energy data can help you maximise your return on investment.

How do solar panels lower bills?

Solar panels are a great way to help lower your bills all year round, not just in summer – although that is obviously when you’ll see the most benefit. They’re especially suited to homes where energy is used during the day – so if you work from home, or spend time with family during the day, you could see real savings in your daily use.

Alternatively you can store up the power generated during the day with a battery storage system, to be used in the evenings when you return home. This can help to open up special tariffs for sending power back to the grid, and bring EV charging costs down even lower if you have an EV overnight tariff.

If you’re unsure about how solar power actually works, and how it can benefit your home, try our new Solar Journeys feature in the ivie app. It includes a Learn section, with quick and simple slides that break down how solar panels work, and what their many benefits are.

How much could I save with solar panels?

If you’re wondering about whether solar could be a good fit for you, there are lots of things to consider. One of our solar partners, Evergen, has summarised the biggest impacts to your home’s solar potential:

“Solar generation does not automatically sync with household consumption, so savings will vary depending on five things

•   The size of your roof and its inclination
•   The area where you live and which direction your roof is facing
•   The size and quality of your solar system and battery
•   Your household setting, lifestyle and appliances
•   Time of use tariffs – there are many different tariffs that can impact your costs”

The Explore section of the ivie Solar Journeys tool is where you can calculate how much you could potentially save. Answer some short, simple questions about your home’s roof, and the app combines these answers with average home energy data. It can then accurately estimate what you could save each year. 

The addition of home smart meter data is what sets ivie’s Solar Journeys apart from other solar sizing tools. How much energy you use, and when, is so important when considering what kind of solar set-up would suit your home the best. Simply sizing up how many panels can fit on your roof won’t give you an accurate savings estimate.

What to consider when choosing a solar installer?

In the Save section of the ivie Solar Journeys tool, we introduce our trusted partners and explain why we’ve partnered with them.

We’ve teamed up with Sunsave and Evergen to offer ivie users the best solutions for home solar set-ups. Here’s why we chose to work with them:

Founded in 2020, Sunsave is challenging what it believes to be the main blocker to more people installing solar panels: the upfront cost. While solar panels and batteries are now certainly cheaper and more efficient than they were a decade ago, there remains one huge problem – that the average solar system costs £10,270, while half of UK households have less than £5,000 in savings.

To overcome this they created Sunsave Plus, which doesn’t require a one-off lump sum. “Our mission is to make solar power accessible, so we created the UK’s first solar and battery subscription, where you can pay for solar with a fixed monthly payment and £0 upfront cost,” Alick Dru, Co-Founder at Sunsave explains. “We’ve selected the best kit in the market and created a 20-year Sunsave Guarantee, with 24/7 monitoring and free replacement parts for total peace of mind. By partnering with ivie we’re helping users understand that solar doesn’t have to be out-of-reach. Solar can help so many homes up and down the UK save money on their energy bills.”

Evergen has a long history within the world of domestic solar installations. It’s a family-owned business, started by a tech entrepreneur, and has been successfully installing solar panels for homes since 2010. The team has won multiple awards and accolades, including EUPD PV installer of the Year 2024!

“Our heritage and experience is so important. A solar system is an investment that should provide 25 years of savings and returns,” says Dale Williams, Evergen Managing Director. “However, unlike other home investments like double glazing or a fitted kitchen where you can see the installation, you are unlikely to see the solar panels on your roof or know if the electrics are safe. Trusting your installer will still be in business, and continue to offer support when you need it, is not a given – that’s why we’re so proud to be trusted by thousands of customers for over a decade to help them transition to solar panels. ivie’s similar dedication to home energy empowerment makes this an ideal partnership.”

Try Solar Journeys for yourself and see what you could be saving.
Download the ivie app for free now.