Despite the money they can save households on electricity bills, just one in 10 European roofs has solar panels.
Britain may be famous for grey skies and rainy days, but its sunshine could still help residents shave more than €1,000 a year off household electricity bills.
An analysis of more than 15 million UK homes by solar software company GreenSketch estimates that an optimised rooftop solar and battery system could save the average household around €1,100 a year – what the company calls a ‘sunlight salary’.
Even in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the average savings topped €930.
The findings show that household savings depend on more than sunshine alone. Electricity prices, the angle of your roof, when you use power, battery storage and payments for electricity sent back to the grid are all important factors.
Solar and Battery Eco-system (Image: Fox-ESS.com)
Grey skies aren’t a barrier to solar power
Researchers used satellite imagery to model individual homes, accounting for the slope of rooftops as well as their orientation, local electricity use and hourly solar generation.
Southwest Wales had the highest average estimated savings at around €1,160 a year, followed by southeast England at about €1,150. In Northern Ireland, the best returns were found in the east rather than the south, which GreenSketch says shows that local weather and geography can affect solar generation as much as geolocation.
Read more: EuroNews
