How to make your home more energy self-sufficient
Do you want to reduce your reliance on the energy grid, protect yourself from volatile prices and become more self-sufficient at home? This article explains five areas you should look at.
1. Generate electricity by installing solar panels
With electricity prices remaining high, you could save £300-900 a year on your electricity bills by installing solar panels, sell your excess power via an export tariff – while adding value to your home and reducing your home’s contribution to climate change.
Depending on the size of your solar array, and how much of electricity you use, you could pay back your initial investment in under ten years.
With solar panels lasting over 20-25 years, that’s years of savings to look forward to.
How many solar panels do you need?
The number of solar panels you choose to install is limited by your budget, your roof space, and the type of electricity meter you have (single phase or three phase). There are also limits on how much households can export back to the grid without approval from the local district network operator – most households are able to install up to around 12-16 panels or 4kW. A 4kW system will generate around 3,400 kWh of electricity per year.
It makes sense to install as many solar panels as your budget and space allows – as the labour and scaffolding hire make up a large proportion of your install costs. This will also future proof your needs as a household for electricity-intensive upgrades like an electric car or electrified heating.
You’ll be able to see the solar energy you are generating, as well as how much energy you are using in real time using an app on your smartphone or tablet – meaning you can make sure you get the best value from your home-grown energy.
2. Up your insulation
Making sure your home is well insulated is incredibly important in becoming more energy self sufficient. It will help you to use far less energy to heat your home, reducing your heating bills and increasing your comfort. Your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a good place to start to see what home efficiency improvements need to be carried out.
Loft insulation
Up to 25% of a home’s heat can be lost through the loft. Adding proper insulation here can be very cost effective – most homes will recoup the cost in energy bill savings in only two years.
Wall insulation
- Cavity walls (two walls with a small gap in between) can be insulated from around £1000, with the work paying for itself in only three years.
- Solid walls (one thick wall) are more expensive to insulate as it can involve adding an additional insulating layer. This work starts from around £8,500, but can be carried out on a room by room basis or bundled with other home improvements to lower the cost.
3. Electrify your heating
Electrifying your heating is a really important step in becoming more energy self-sufficient and reducing your reliance on oil or gas.
Choosing a heat pump is one of the most impactful ways to reduce your individual carbon emissions. This is because electricity, even if it comes from the grid rather than your own rooftop, is much lower carbon than directly burning oil or gas. What’s more, getting a heat pump can also reduce your monthly bills.
How much electricity do heat pumps use?
While the best modern boilers are around 90% efficient, our heat pumps are on average 360% efficient. This means that for every unit of electricity they use, they produce 3.6 units of heat for your home.
Because of their efficiency, getting a well-designed heat pump system is likely to lower your monthly bills, while increasing your comfort.
Can you run a heat pump on solar panels?
As they run off electricity, heat pumps are compatible with solar panels and battery storage; and these technologies will hugely help to offset the costs of your heating. Even with solar panels and battery storage, you will still need to draw some electricity from the grid to power your heat pump – particulalry during the colder, darker winter months. But you can make this cost effective by joining a specially designed heat pump tariff.
4. Electrify your transport
Switching to an EV is another great way to sever ties with fossil fuels, and have greater control over the energy you use.
How much electricity your car will use depends on how far you drive. Cars in the UK drive an average of 20 miles a day – that’s around 5kWh or £2 on your energy bills each day if you’re on a single-rate tariff – substantially cheaper if you are on a specially designed dual-rate EV tariff.
Owning an EV leads to cheaper monthly bills and a lower carbon footprint compared with filling up with petrol or diesel. And if you charge up with the power you generate at home, you’ll be adding miles for free.
5. Store the energy you generate
Battery storage is often installed alongside solar panels to help households to use all of the energy they generate by storing it for later use.
The average home uses about 8kWh of electricity every day, and household batteries can vary in size from 1.2 kWh to 16 kWh.
If you’re considering a battery, it’s a good idea to get one that could cover your evening and night usage, or a cloudy day where not much electricity is being generated.
Battery storage also sets you up to benefit from dual rate smart tariffs, like our Smart EV and Smart Heat Pump Tariffs. You will be able to charge your battery from the grid during off peak hours, and then use the cheaper electricity on cloudy winter days when your solar panels aren’t generating much electricity.
You will be able to manage your battery storage capacity, and view how much you are generating, using and storing using an app on your smartphone or tablet.
The future is electric
As clean technologies develop, there are more and more ways to make our homes energy self-sufficient. From installing heat pumps and solar panels; to providing smart meters so you can see exactly what you’re using, Good Energy is here to help you switch away from fossil fuels, cut your bills and protect our planet.
*The figure of 4,000kWh is an indication of how much electricity a heat pump might use. It will vary from house to house and depends on local weather, the ductwork and insulation, the property’s condition and size as well as a correctly designed heating system.
