High upfront costs and a lack of awareness of financial incentives are some of the biggest stumbling blocks to the adoption of home solar power in Ireland.
A survey carried out by EnergyEfficiency.ie found that 63.5% of people felt that the high upfront cost was the largest barrier to having solar panels installed on their homes.
Another concern among respondents was whether or not the climate in Ireland was suitable for solar power, an issue raised by 16.9% of people.
There is also a lack of awareness of financial support and incentives available to encourage the installation of solar PV.
Only 54% of respondents were aware of direct grant funding of up to €2,100 from the SEAI to help homeowners with the cost of solar panels.
Even fewer were aware of fringe benefits such as the ability to earn up to €400 tax-free selling electricity back to the grid (4%), the removal of VAT on home solar installations (6%), or planning exemptions for rooftop solar (3%).
In fact, 16% of those surveyed had not heard of any of the listed solar panels incentives.
James Dorrian, Managing Director of EnergyEfficiency.ie said that this shows that there needs to be a greater push to educate people on the benefits solar power can provide for homeowners, and what supports are available for them.
“The fact that there is a large cohort of people who are interested in getting solar panels, but know nothing about the existence of any incentives, financial or otherwise, shows that the message isn’t getting across the way it should.”
Mr Dorrian also said that now was the wrong time for the government to be scaling back grants for solar PV, that it risks taking the momentum away from growing interest in rooftop solar.
“There are policies at odds with one another of encouraging the growth of microgeneration of solar power, but slowly chipping away at the incentives for it.”
“The SEAI grants for domestic solar PV were slashed by €300 at the start of this year, and will be cut by the same amount each year until they are gone.”
“This is apparently due to the fact that falling prices will make them unnecessary, but you can’t ignore the encouragement they give to people who are on the fence about getting solar panels installed.”
Under the Climate Action Plan 2023 the government wants to achieve up to 5GW worth of solar capacity by 2025, across both large scale and microgeneration, and 8GW by 2030.
“Instead of reducing grants, the government should be pushing them into far greater prominence in order to encourage a faster uptake of solar.”
“It is a very minor cost to the government in the scheme of things, especially when compared with the huge benefits which come from microgeneration in reducing carbon emissions and taking strain off the national grid.”
Among those surveyed, 80% said that they did not have solar panels installed in their homes, and 20% did.
Despite their concerns, the survey showed that solar power is viewed positively in Ireland, with 83% of those who did not already have solar panels installed stating that they intend to get them in the future.
Among those 33% said that they intend to get solar panels within the next two years, and 16% have more immediate plans to have solar installed within six months.
Those who already own their own home were more likely to respond that they are planning on installing solar PV in the immediate future.
Of those surveyed who had solar panels installed already, all of them agreed that it had been a good financial decision, with savings of up to €150 a month on their electricty bills.
For those with solar PV systems which cost between €4,000 and €14,000 savings ranged from €50 – €150 each month.
The average cost of a solar PV installation for a home was €9,093, and the average monthly savings on electricity from having solar was €95.5.
“These figures show that solar panels can pay for themselves in eight years for the majority of Irish homeowners,” James Dorrian added.
“People should know that for all we talk about the gloom and the rain, Ireland is well suited to solar power, and having solar panels installed is a good financial decision.”
Other concerns which are keeping people from embracing solar power are fears of the maintenance requirements (11.8%), and a lack of information on the topic (6.3%).
Why Do People Get Solar Panels?
Reducing your electricity bills was the biggest advantage of having solar panels (69.9%), far ahead of any other reason.
People also looked positively at the environmental benefits of solar panels (15.8%) and having energy independence (9.1%).
Those who already have solar panels installed are more likely to cite the environmental benefits of going green, while those who have yet to get them looked more favourably on energy independence.
All of those who had solar panels installed said that they would recommend it to a friend or family member, suggesting a high level of satisfaction with their choice.
