For most Surrey homes, yes, with a couple of honest caveats. Right now there is 0% VAT on solar and battery storage until 31 March 2027, you can be paid for the electricity you export, and a battery lets you use far more of what your panels make. Payback is typically somewhere around seven to ten years. It is a long-term investment rather than instant free energy, so the real question is whether the maths works for your home. Here is the straight version.
The money: 0% VAT, but not forever
Since 2022 the government has applied 0% VAT to solar panels, battery storage and the labour to install them. That relief runs until 31 March 2027, after which it is expected to rise to 5%. On a typical system that difference is several hundred pounds, so if you are going to do it, doing it inside that window saves you money for the exact same install.
Worth knowing: since February 2024 a standalone battery, added on its own without solar, also qualifies for 0% VAT. So you can start with a battery and add panels later, or the other way round, without losing the relief.
Getting paid: the Smart Export Guarantee
When your panels make more than you are using, the surplus goes back to the grid, and the Smart Export Guarantee is how you get paid for it. You pick an energy supplier’s export tariff and get paid per unit exported.
Two things to be clear about. First, to register for SEG your system has to be installed by an MCS certified installer, so check that before you sign anything. Second, export rates are modest, roughly 5 to 15p per unit on most 2026 tariffs, while buying electricity from the grid costs more like 25 to 28p. That gap is the whole reason batteries matter.
Why a battery changes the maths
Without a battery, a typical home only uses about half of what its panels generate, because the panels produce most during the day when the house is empty. The rest gets exported for a few pence. A battery stores that daytime surplus so you use it in the evening instead of buying from the grid at the full rate. That pushes self-use from around half to 70% or more, which is where the real savings come from.
A battery also lets you play the tariff game. On an off-peak tariff you can charge it overnight when electricity is cheap and run the house off it during the expensive evening peak, whether or not you have solar.
Is your home a good fit?
Solar works best on a roof with decent sun exposure and little shading, and pays back fastest in a home that uses a fair amount of electricity. Homes where someone is in during the day, or that run a heat pump or a lot of appliances, tend to see the strongest case. A proper survey looks at your roof, your usage and your options, and that is the only way to get a figure you can trust rather than a sales estimate.
The honest caveats
Solar is a long game. The savings are real and they last for the 20-odd year life of the panels, but the payback takes years, not months. Be wary of anyone promising the earth or pushing an oversized system with a hard sell. A system sized around your actual usage will always serve you better than the biggest one someone can sell you.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need solar panels to have a battery? No. A home battery works on its own by storing cheap off-peak electricity and using it at peak times. Add solar as well and it also stores what your panels make.
Do solar panels work in winter? Yes. They generate less on short, dull days than in summer, but they still produce power all year round.
How long until solar pays for itself? For a typical home, usually around seven to ten years, after which the electricity is effectively free for the rest of the panels’ life. Your usage and system size move that figure.
Can I sell electricity back to the grid? Yes, through the Smart Export Guarantee, but the system has to be installed by an MCS certified installer to qualify.
Thinking about it for your home? We design and install solar and battery storage across Surrey, sized around how you actually use energy, with an honest quote and no hard sell. [See our renewables work] or get in touch.
Figures are general and correct at the time of writing. The 0% VAT relief is set to run until 31 March 2027.
