Can solar panels heat a UK house? Solar panels are growing in popularity, mainly down to two key issues. Firstly, the availability of home batteries such as our Duracell Energy Home Battery, enables people to store the energy generated through the solar panels during the day, ready for them to use at night. This has long been one of the main hurdles to the uptake of solar panels. Secondly, rising and unstable energy costs are making the investment in solar panels far more attractive than previously. Not only this but more and more people are becoming conscious of the impact of their behaviour on the planet, and are looking for alternative forms of energy in order to reduce their carbon footprint. One of the easiest changes you can make is to put solar
panels on your home, combine them with a battery storage unit and you can power your home using energy from the sun.
Types of Solar Panels for Heating
If you are thinking of investing in solar panels for your home, it is worth considering how they will work best, and whether it would be effective to install them in conjunction with another system.
Solar Thermal Panels
Solar thermal panels simply use the heat from the sun to warm up the water in your household. This can then be used for hot water for using, or for sending through the radiators to warm your house up. These differ from solar PV panels which transform the sunlight into electricity, which can then be used to power your home.
Solar Panels with a Heat Pump
You can use a combination of solar panels with a heat pump. Heat pumps have been more commonly used on the continent, but are becoming increasingly popular over here. The heat pump draws warmth from the ground or the air, which can then be circulated through your home. This combined with solar panels gives you a robust and long-lasting heating system that reduces your reliance on fossil fuels.
Solar Panels with an Electric Boiler
You can pair your solar panels with an electric boiler, rather than a traditional gas boiler. Electricity is more expensive than gas, however, by generating your own electricity to power it, you can create a feasible and environmentally friendly household system.
Solar Panels with Infrared Panels
You could combine your solar panels with infrared panels. Infrared panels work by heating the person, not the air, the sensors in the panels seek out the bodies in a house and send rays directly to the person. If this doesn’t sound too space-age for you, it can be an effective and economical way to keep warm.
Solar Panels with Electric Space Heaters
Electric space heaters are not the most effective way to heat a home, however, they are useful occasionally and can be used to take the chill off a room or heat a chilly spot. They are notoriously power-hungry, but if you are generating your own electricity then they can be used as an occasional or short-term solution.
Solar Panels with a Diverter
A diverter can be used to send excess power to your immersion heater to heat hot water. However, if you have a home battery, you may be better off storing your excess power for use later on in the day, or even selling your excess power back to the grid using the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) scheme.
How Many Solar Panels Does it Take to Heat a House?
A typical three-bedroom house will require around 10 solar panels to provide a large enough solar panel system to run a home. These solar panels will need to be paired with a home battery to give the most efficient system. By investing in a home battery, it ensures that the energy generated through the day when most households are typically at work, can be saved up until the evening, when it can then be discharged and used to power the home. Equally, heating is needed in the dark cold evenings, not during the day, so being able to store power throughout the day is vital to be able to create an economical and practical energy solution.
Costs of Solar Panel Heating Systems
As with everything the costs of your solar power setup will vary according to different factors. If you only have a few solar panels and no home storage battery it will be cheaper, than having a complete system with 10 solar panels and a home battery. In general, costs to install solar panels for a three-bedroom house are estimated between £3000 and £8000 depending upon the size and complexity of the set-up.
Challenges of Solar Heating in the UK
The main challenge of using solar panels in the UK can be combated by investing in a home battery. The long-standing issue with solar panels has been that they generate energy during daylight hours when it is the evening that energy is mainly needed for the standard household. The development of home batteries has overcome this, allowing households to store their energy for the evening when they need it most. The other issue is our inherently grey miserable English winters, however, as solar panel technology has improved, the panels have become more efficient and they can draw some power from the sun even on very gloomy days.
Maximising Efficiency with Solar Panels
The location and angles of your solar panels are crucial to maximising their efficiency. It can be worth having the angles adjusted for the winter to enable you to catch more of the lower-lying winter sunlight. Ensure that your solar panels are clean and free of debris, and invest in a home battery so that you maximise the use of the power that you generate.
Store Your Solar Power With a Duracell Energy Home Battery
Make the most of your solar power with a home battery. Duracell Energy home batteries, EV chargers, and inverters all work together with our impressive app to give you complete control of your entire household energy system. Embrace a greener tomorrow, with Duracell Energy home batteries today. Simply use our online quote calculator to help you choose the best solar battery storage set-up for your home.