For most retirees, a modest £8,000 pension pot could mean a few extra pounds a week, or perhaps a one-off holiday. But for Keith Stork, his rainy-day fund was a way to prepay his energy for the next decade. And he’s already enjoying serious savings.
The 76-year-old decided to install solar panels and high-tech batteries in the home where he has lived with his wife, Elizabeth, for the past 40 years.
Sustainability-minded, he wanted to do his bit for the environment and believed it would be more economical year-round. It was an analysis that has paid off.
Between January and December last year, Keith spent about £862 on electricity, but he also sold any extra electricity back to the grid and earned £332, which only left him £530 out of pocket.
That essentially meant that he was only paying £44.17 a month for his electricity – and that’s with having his heat pump working almost continually, keeping the house cosy and warm.
A simple solution
Keith had already replaced his 15-year-old boiler with a heat pump, thanks to the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, when he spotted an Octopus Energy advert for solar panels.
Keith and Elizabeth Stork (pictured) at their home of 40 years, where a strategic £8,000 investment in solar energy with Octopus is now powering their retirement
‘I rang them up and asked about it,’ explains Keith. ‘Mainly because I had looked at solar panels in the past, but thought it might not be worth it as I wasn’t using enough electricity in the house. But with the heat pump, I thought it would be more economical to get some power back in the summer months and put it away for the winter months.’
Investigating whether solar panels and batteries can work for your property is a simple process, whether you go online or simply call the friendly Octopus team.
Online, you can enter your postcode to estimate the cost of installation and the potential savings. Once you’ve agreed to your tailored quote and signed the installation agreement, you pay a deposit that’s used as part-payment for your system.
And from there, Octopus takes care of everything from installation to setting you up on the right tariff for your personal circumstances.
Keith got the ball rolling with that initial call and found the whole process seamless.
The couple streamlined their home energy by pairing a heat pump with solar panels for year-round savings
‘As soon as I rang, they talked to me about the cost for solar panels and a battery,’ he explains. Once Keith had decided to go ahead, the installation only took two days.
‘There were just two of them, and they did it all on their own,’ he says.
‘Then they set it all up on my phone and entered all the details and showed me how to use it. To be honest, it’s really quite easy.’
An ’appy home
What Keith loves most about his setup is the fact that he can manage his own energy usage from his phone.
His strategy is simple: use the panels to power the home during the summer, and use the batteries to store cheap energy during the darker winter months.
He can also sell excess energy back to the grid at the highest rate while drawing down from the grid when energy is at its cheapest.
‘The batteries mainly allowed me to store my solar energy,’ he explains. ‘And when you’ve got a battery, you can manage your usage.
Keith uses an app to automate his savings, scheduling battery charges during off-peak price dips to secure half-price electricity
Rooftop panels do more than power the home; they allow Keith to sell excess energy back to the grid
‘I can charge my batteries at 4am, then use that half-price battery power at 7am. Then I’ll charge again at 1pm using my smart tariff rates, which will give me three more hours to charge at cheap rates. Then I’m not using electricity from the grid at tea time, when it’s at its busiest. It goes on like that, meaning I use half-price electricity every day.’
Keith finds it easy with the app and has everything set up automatically.
‘I can see when the price dips are and set up to charge at those particular times, it makes life easy,’ he explains.
Keith has become such an advocate for solar energy that he helped his daughter install solar panels on her home.
‘On average, on a nice summer’s day, I generate around 28kWh, which is not bad,’ explains Keith. ‘I’m in a slightly awkward position, so I don’t get sunlight on my panels until mid-morning.
‘My daughter has solar panels and faces east, so she gets the sun first thing in the morning, so she beats me. But I think with 28kWh on a summer’s day, that’s perfect.’
A smart investment
When it comes to his solar investment, Keith has done the maths and worked out he’s much better off.
‘There is that initial outlay,’ explains Keith. ‘But I think of it as paying upfront for my electricity and making savings.
‘For example, on January 18, I spent £3.64 using a smart tariff. At the standard price, that would have been £7 every day. So if you look at it that way, I’ve saved more in a week than I would have got as a pension from that pot. I’m more than happy with my savings.’
The low-down on solar: Installation costs and maximising value 
By switching to solar and battery storage with Octopus Energy, homeowners can reduce annual electricity bills by around 85 per cent – and some may turn a profit
When you’re considering installing solar panels and a battery, you want all the information upfront so you can make an informed decision. That’s where Octopus Energy can help.
According to Octopus the average, medium-energy-use home could save around 85 per cent on electricity bills with solar and battery.
This is based on using a standard tariff with Octopus’ fixed export rate. It means an annual energy bill could be as little as £155 compared to £943 without solar and battery on a standard tariff.
It’s worth remembering that solar and battery savings aren’t one-size-fits-all. They depend on things like your roof size, angle and location, how much electricity you use – and when. The system you choose and the tariff you’re on also have an impact.
After a free consultation, Octopus can provide a tailored estimate based on your home and habits so you have a clearer idea of what you might expect.
So how much does it cost to install solar panels and batteries?
It will all depend on how many panels you need and the size of battery you want.
To give you a guideline, an eight-panel installation with a 5kWh smart battery costs £8,518.
You can pay in full after installation, or opt for a fixed-term loan, paying the amount monthly. Octopus connects its customers with DivideBuy, which offers a range of flexible finance options. Octopus Energy is a credit broker and not a lender.
Find out more and explore your solar options, or verify claims, at Octopus.Energy