With electricity prices rising in France, people are increasingly turning to solar panels to save costs, and become more self-sufficient and environmentally-friendly.
But are they really good value for money?
Advantage: Technology more common
The number of solar power systems connected to the grid in France has doubled in the past four years, states electricity network provider Enedis. This has come as electricity prices have risen by 44% in the past two years.
Its figures show that at the end of 2023, there were almost 835,000 installations nationwide, up from 628,000 a year earlier (an increase of a third in 12 months).
From 2016 to 2020, solar capacity in France increased by 10%-13% each year. However, in 2021, it shot up by 28% year-on-year, and again by more than 20% in 2022 and 2023.
Systems that provide completely off-grid power - meaning that the owners (theoretically) never need to buy power from the grid - have soared in popularity, with installations rising by 77% in one year by mid-2023 to 326,000, Enedis states.
Read also: Why the price of home solar panels is dropping fast in France
Advantage: Increasingly profitable
The rising cost of electricity is making solar panels look increasingly better value for money.
Until now, it was estimated that solar panel systems would pay for themselves in 10 to 12 years with a rise of around 5% per year, said Jérémy Simon, France Rénov energy advisor at the Loiret housing agency, l’Agence départementale pour l'information sur le logement (ADIL).
However, an annual increase of 20% in electricity prices changes the calculation considerably. Yet, the profitability still “depends on your needs”, states Mr Simon.
Read also: The rules for solar panel kits in France and potential savings
“Make your calculations carefully, and find out everything you can before you do anything else,” warns Joëlle Constanza, president of consumer magazine UFC Que Choisir in Indre-et-Loire. UFC-Que Choisir believes that solar panels become profitable over 20 years on average.
Profitability increases as the tariff for kWh also increases. For example, in 2023, the tariff rose from 10 to 13.13 cents for surplus electricity, and from 20.22 to 23.49 cents for the sale of all electricity produced.
Advantage: Aid available for installation
You may be entitled to Enedis aid of €1,000-1,500 for off-grid installations, and if you produce surplus electricity, you can also sell it back to Enedis. You can also choose to sell all of the electricity that you produce, for even more income.
Ms Constanza suggests that the latter option could be the most attractive.
“As consumers continue to pay for their consumption, they know how much they are spending, and can keep up their energy-saving efforts,” she said.
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Disadvantage: No extra state aid
“There are no subsidies for solar panels from the State, the region or the départements,” said Mr Simon at ADIL.
“The Centre-Val de Loire region does offer aid of one euro for every euro invested, but this is only available for shared energy projects via associations or citizens' companies,” he said.
This means that the bulk of installation costs will likely fall to the homeowner entirely.
Read also: Solar panels in France for €1 with grants: is this still possible?
Disadvantage: Off-grid systems could be less reliable
UFC-Que Choisir “does not advise” moving completely to off-grid power generation via solar panels.
“In winter, for one thing, it's not possible,” said Ms Constanza, referring to the fact that the winter in France rarely provides enough sunlight for solar panels to work to any kind of useful capacity.
“You could have storage batteries, but they're very expensive, they pollute, and they probably won't even be enough. It seems like a losing proposition to us, and perhaps even ruinous,” she said.
Disadvantage: Eco-friendly misnomer
Mr Simon advises that solar panels alone will not save you money or be better for the environment.
“The best energy is the energy you don't use,” he said. He also said that ADIL would “systematically question the home's insulation and energy efficiency” before installing any panels.
“Installing solar panels to heat a thermal sieve is pointless,” he said.
Disadvantage: Risk of scams
People looking for good deals on solar panels and installation could be vulnerable to too-good-to-be-true scams.
Mr Simon at ADIL advises that “you should always come back to us, or to a trusted third party, a France Rénov advisor, to take a look at the quotes and see if they are credible”.
Scams are on the increase, he said, and fraudsters may do everything from quote much too low (and do low-quality work), or much too high (to scam you out of money).
“I've recently had people sign up for a quote, only to find that the company had quoted them €35,000 installation for something worth only €10,000 or €11,000,” said Mr Simon.
Scams often come from people who target victims via direct marketing, such as unexpected house-to-house calls or phone calls out of the blue. But most professionals “currently have their order books full”, said Ms Costanza. “They don't need to canvas.”
The best way to find a craftsman near you is still to use the RGE directory, available on the France Rénov website. A RGE professional has a reconnu garant de l'environnement (RGE) qualification, meaning that they are properly trained to do the installation.
Reliable information on installing solar panels can also be found on the Photovoltaique website.
