Questions and answers about installing solar panels at home or in the neighborhood community

Euskaraz irakurri: Eguzki panelak nire etxean: ohiko galderak

If you are considering getting a photovoltaic installation in your home or in your neighborhood community, you probably have some doubts about the process of doing it, about the installation itself, or about the help and grants that can be obtained from solar panels. That’s why we give you below the answer to multiple questions related thereto.

* I live in a community of neighbors; If we install solar panels, will I pay the bill in full?

No. As required Mark Garciacommercial manager of the residential sector of the company Zuia Ingeniería, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, a photovoltaic installation for a community of neighbors regularly covers the common general costs of the community (lift, lighting, garages, etc.), making it in an interesting option, but it is normally not enough for each of the neighbors’ entire electricity bill.

* Do all neighbors have to agree?

No. According to the Horizontal Property Act, one third of the neighborhood community must give permission. It is, of course, advisable that a simple majority approves the work.

* Can solar panels be installed on any roof?

The solar panels can be placed on any surface: slate, tile… The necessary accessories can be added to the panels so that the installation is one hundred percent adequate. That is, the roof is not a problem to place the panels.

Joshua Salazar, manager of the company Ekidom Energías Renovables, from Berriz, indicates that the most important thing is that the roof is sunny, free of obstacles and shadows and that the slope is about 30 degrees. It also specifies that if the orientation is north, it would be a major obstacle to installation.

* Can the municipality refuse the municipal building permit?

Yes, as Marcos García, from Zuia Engineering, informs us, although the municipal permit is for minor works, in buildings with a special protection regime, for example because of their historical value, or because they are located in areas such as the Casco Viejo de Vitoria-Gasteiz or Laguardia, Zuia Engineering specifies, the license may be denied. Sometimes too, when access to the roof requires very important conditions, such as interruptions in the circulation on busy roads. In the latter cases, it must be taken into account that if the consistory gives its approval, the price to be paid will be higher because of the amount of machinery and equipment to be mobilized.

* Is it profitable to install solar panels on our roof?

Yes, without a doubt, according to Marcos García. As indicated Jose Carlos Ortegaresponsible for the industrial section of Zuia Engineering, if we live in a single-family house, it can save 50 to 60% on the electricity bill by stopping buying electricity from the grid.

In addition, if there is a battery in our installation that stores solar energy that we do not use during the day, and if we can use it at night, and also the surplus, that is, the surplus, we supply it to the electricity grid, receive We pay compensation that increases the savings, up to 70% or more, says Marcos García.

José Carlos Ortega elaborates on this problem: when we talk about neighborhood communities, this profitability decreases, because the size of the roof is usually not large enough to achieve the above values. In any case, it is a way to reduce the cost of electricity bills, protect us from price fluctuations and reduce our carbon footprint.

Josu Salazar also notes that, with a home photovoltaic installation, the bill variable can be zero. In this way we would only pay the fixed costs.

* From what amount that I pay on my receipt is it profitable for me to install solar panels?

Approximately from 60 euros. As a basis, we can estimate that the more we pay for electricity, the faster we can depreciate our photovoltaic installation. If our bill is more than 120 euros, explains Marcos García, we can pay it off in five or six years, and it is very likely that we will pay it off in at least 12 or 14 years. It should be taken into account that the solar panels have a 25-year warranty and that there are very important subsidies for these installations, says José Carlos Ortega.

From a consumption of 3,000 kilowatts per year, depreciation takes place after five or six years from the commissioning of the installation.

* When will it become profitable to have solar panels at home?

In the words of Marcos García, probably five or six years after the installation started, and at least twelve or fourteen years after that. If we take into account that the useful life of the panels, according to Josu Salazar, can be more than 40 years, the return on investment is clear.

Joshua Salazar and the expert in renewable energy and professor at the UPV/EHU Aitor Urresti They also place the time when the plant will start to become profitable in less than ten years, between five and ten years.

* What is the investment we intend to make?

We contacted Ekidom Energías Renovables and Zuia Ingeniería to know the data. Josu Salazar sets the minimum investment at 3,000 euros and the maximum at 15,000; yes, they are amounts that take into account the VAT, which is 21%, and the subsidies received. It indicates that 90% of the installations they perform are in between these amounts.

Marcos García estimates the minimum investment, both for neighborhood communities and for single-family homes, at about 8,000 euros and the maximum at 20,000, but he also points out that with the help of the Basque Energy entity it would finally be around 6,000 minimum and about 12,000 maximum.

* What are the tools offered by the Basque Energy entity?

The utility currently offered by EVE, through December 31, 2023, is described on this website. These are incentive programs for the implementation of installations linked to self-consumption and storage in various sectors with renewable energy sources, including photovoltaics, on the one hand, and renewable thermal systems on the other.

* Is it complicated to recycle the materials from which solar panels are made?

The answer is provided by Josu Salazar, of Ekidom Renewable Energy, and it is negative. Solar panels do not have complex recycling, because they are made of glass, aluminum or silicon, among other things. Naturally, Josu Salazar recommends the intervention of a waste manager.

* I don’t see many solar panels in my area; Will I see more in the near future?

We handed this question over to Aitor Urresti, professor at UPV/EHU and expert in renewable energy and energy transition; in his opinion, “although it is not yet very clear”, the price of electricity “can still rise a little, and then it will stabilize or tend to fall. In addition, this type of installation”, referring to photovoltaics, “They’re getting cheaper, and there’s a good amount of aid and subsidies, which will give these technologies a definite boost.” In this way, “which is currently the exception”, points out Aitor Urresti, referring to a building with photovoltaic panels, “in the short or medium term, about ten or fifteen years, it will be just the opposite: the exception will be to buildings that do not have photovoltaic panels,” he says.