Solar Panels with Hive: Everything You Need To Know

Yes, solar panels are a long-term investment that can reduce your electricity bills. You can save up to £8,183 in the first year of getting solar with a British Gas export tariff plus the exclusive Hive Solar Saver discount⁴. And because solar energy is zero carbon, it’s a brilliant way of making your home greener too.

1. Based on a medium-demand (2,900 kWh) property in London, with south-facing 10 panel 4kW arrays and a battery providing 35% of the home’s electricity needs. Excess daytime energy is sold back to the grid at 15p per kWh using the British Gas ‘Export & Earn Plus’ SEG tariff. Customer also receives ‘Hive Solar Saver’ discount of 25% on electricity unit rate in the first year. Typical bill calculated using national average April 24 price cap rates. Actual savings will depend on location, installation, aspect, and electricity use.
2. Hive Solar Saver offer is available to Hive solar and/or battery installations purchased between 22nd May and 31st September 2024. 25% discount applies for 12 months.

You can generally expect modern solar panels to convert around 20% of the sun’s energy into electricity. Although you don’t need direct sunlight to get solar energy, your panels will produce a higher amount of electricity on a bright, sunny day than on cloudy days – and more electricity in summer than in winter.

As the sun shines onto a solar panel, its energy is absorbed by the photovoltaic (PV) cells. The energy from this makes electrical charges that move in response to an internal electrical field within the solar panel’s cell. This then causes electricity to flow, which can be used around your home.

You can expect your solar panels to last for at least 25 years. With Hive, you’ll get a 25-year warranty on solar panels, a 10-year warranty on batteries and a 10-year warranty on inverters.

It’s up to you. The more panels you have, the more electricity your system will generate. The minimum we install is four – and the maximum depends on the space available on your roof. However, our solar experts will be there throughout the process to advise you on the right system for your home and your needs.

Solar panel installation usually only takes a day.

A solar power system is made up of several panels, with each panel generating around 400W of energy in strong sunlight. Typical systems contain around 10 panels. For south-facing 10-panel systems in the UK, you can expect to produce between 3,500 and 4,500 kWh per year, depending on how much sunlight your home gets.

To put that into context, according to Ofgem, the average 2–3 bed house uses around 2,700 kWh a year – while a 4 bed home for 4–5 people would use around 4,100 kWh.

Yes, if you live in a house with a standard (not flat) roof, then solar can be an excellent home improvement. Our free survey will give you a clear idea of how much solar power you can expect to generate.

Without a battery, any energy you generate needs to be used immediately by your home – or sold back to the grid. But a battery gives you the option of storing energy so it can be used later. You’ll use less energy from the grid, which will mean lower electricity bills.

Just sign up to a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff and you can sell your surplus energy back to the grid.

An inverter is a device that converts electricity from Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC), which is the kind of electricity supplied by the grid and used by appliances around your home. The inverter is usually installed in your loft.