Heatwave and rising energy costs spur unprecedented demand for solar panels

Clean energy company Egg has seen enquiries for solar panels up 830% in the past four months, compared to the same period last year. 

The company puts the increased interest down to the consistently sunny weather enjoyed across the UK during this summer’s heatwave; and trepidation around rising energy costs.

“We’re used to seeing spikes in interest for solar panels during sunny spells, but the level of enquiries we’ve received this year is unprecedented,” says Gareth Greppellini, B2B director of Egg. “There have been many weeks since the start of May when we’ve dealt with over ten times the volume of customers we had in the same period last year.”

Egg’s busiest week came at the end of May 2022, when news broke that energy regulator Ofgem had warned MPs that the energy price cap was expected to rise from £1,971 to £2,800 in October 2022. Over 12% of new solar panel enquiries collected over 16 weeks were received by Egg in that one week alone. 

Since then, estimates for the October price cap have been further revised, with Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley announcing most recently that the price cap would rise to £3,549. 

“There’s a sizeable upfront cost for solar panels, but it’s crystal clear that energy prices are likely to stay high into 2024 and possibly beyond,” added Greppellini.

“We’re hearing from customers that they’re looking to invest and start saving as soon as possible; and given the wait time for solar panels to be manufactured and delivered, they’re wise to start the process now.”

Egg offers home solar panels from £8,157, including expert installation. This lead-in price is based on eight panels, the minimum typically required to generate enough solar energy to meaningfully reduce reliance on the grid. Egg also supplies and installs batteries so customers can store and use solar-generated power when the sun is not out - including overnight - for an additional cost.

Egg’s solar panel solutions are bespoke for each customer, based on their anticipated energy use, the location of their home and the direction of their roof, amongst other considerations. Across the industry, the current wait time for solar panels from manufacturers is several months, so new Egg customers starting the journey now are being offered installation dates in early 2023. 

Existing Egg customers have reaped the benefits of this summer’s good weather through reducing their reliance on the grid. To give one example, Egg data shows that its customers generated an average of 11.2 kWh from their solar panels on 29th August 2022 alone. Industry estimates indicate this is more than enough solar power to cover the daily electricity usage of the average household.

Egg has been designing and installing solar panel systems for over ten years, winning Residential Project of the Year at the 2021 Solar and Storage Live industry awards. Egg customers are able to check their eligibility for solar panels and receive a headline quote within minutes by responding to a few quick questions online at www.crackingenergy.com. They will then speak with an expert to discuss their requirements in more detail before Egg sends a specialist engineer to conduct an in-person home survey, which includes some quick technical checks on the roof and electrics and allows for accurate measurements to be taken.   

Along with solar panels and batteries, Egg also provides and installs EV charge points, meaning domestic customers with the suite of all three products can store solar power in a battery that is then used to charge their electric car.