Heatwave & Energy Costs Drive Record Number of ‘Solar Panels’ UK Searches

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As U.K. temperatures soared above 30 degrees daily recently, new research from The Eco Experts reveals that UK based searches for ‘solar panels’ hit its highest point ever during this time.

According to Google Trends data, on Thursday 11th August the UK user search interest for solar panels hit a score of 100 – the first time it has ever done so. This is an increase of over 100% from the previous two months’ average score (49.5).

The week (8/11/2022) started with a search interest score of 58 but rose quickly to its peak score on Thursday, due to the strong sunshine the UK was experiencing throughout the week.

Google Trends Solar Panels Data for Past 90 days:

With news of even more energy bill increases to come this year, many UK residents are clearly interested in capitalising on the weather by using solar panels to help to cut down their energy bills. Recent data from The Eco Experts National Home Energy Survey (April 2022) shows that 60% of UK residents want to go greener due to rising energy costs.

The previous peak search score of 91 for ‘Solar Panels’ came in March 2022, the same month the 54% increase in the energy price cap was announced.

The Eco Experts editor Charlie Clissitt commented on the findings – “’Obviously the rising energy bills and the unusually hot weather are extremely bleak situations, but it’s encouraging to see so many people in the UK turning to this green alternative. Solar panels are quick to install, easy to maintain, and are looking increasingly sensible. The average three-bedroom property would break even on a solar panel system in about 11 years, but after the October rise in the price cap, you’ll break even in just 7 years.”

To help with this surge in search interest around solar panels, The Eco Experts has recently launched a new solar panel calculator for UK homes that follows the latest Government 0% VAT rates on renewable energy solutions. By inputting the number of bedrooms a property has and the UK area where the home is located, the calculator works out the number of panels needed, the cost of installation, the annual savings, and how many years it takes to break even.

Google Trends Solar Panels Data Since 2004 (start of Google Trends data):

Source for costing your own solar panels:

https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/solar-panels/cost

✔ The average solar panel system for a three-bedroom house costs £5,420

✔ Solar panels could reduce your annual energy bill by £534

✔ VAT on solar panels has been cut from 5% to 0% for the next five years

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