Contrary to what some may say, significant trade-offs will result from this. Many consumers may not really notice, either because the “unit cost” of these trade-offs has no monetary value, or because the cost appears to be separate from the green transition.
Let’s start with the tradeoffs you’ll actually notice. With many new technologies, costs are not input, but time or availability. While electric cars can be charged at home, potential buyers should also be aware that refueling is not just five minutes away from services.
Instead, it represents a time investment of at least 40 minutes, and that’s assuming you immediately have access to a fast 43kW fast charger when you arrive to charge your vehicle.
Also with solar panels, the monthly savings on your total energy bill must be put in addition to the (obvious) fact that solar panels only work during periods when the sun is shining.
This means that while you can take advantage of almost unlimited energy during periods of light, nights and low light winter days (when you need heat and light the most) you are again at the mercy of the national grid.
Again, solar panels have their advantages. But when you also factor in the high up-front installation costs, the costs and benefits need to be weighed sensibly: the most common household size is a 4kW solar panel system, which comes with a price tag of £6,000 (and will take around 29 square meters of roof) .
And as has been well documented recently, heat pumps also have costs, both in terms of time and effectiveness. Heat pumps operate at lower power than their gas-fired equivalentsmeaning they generate heat more slowly and at a lower level (i.e. cooler hot water).
Again, this is hardly a catastrophe. But once you factor in the fact that your solar panels probably won’t provide power for the longer periods of time you need the heat pump, users shouldn’t expect their energy bills to be converted by them.