Solar Panel Costs and Returns Prices for solar panel installations in Ireland including payback period, electricity generated, carbon footprint reduction and more.
Last Updated: 25th August 2023
What do solar panels cost in 2023?
Typical PV solar installation prices at a glance. These calculations include the 0% VAT rate on solar panels and installations, that came into effect on May 1st 2023.
| House Size | Cost (after SEAI grant) | Solar Array Size | Electricity Generation / year (South facing 30° roof) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-bed terraced house | €5,423 | 3.4 kWp (8 x 425w panels) | 2,964 kWh |
| 3-bed semi-detached | €5,617 | 4.25 kWp (10 x 425w panels) | 3,724 kWh |
| 4-bed detached house | €6,011 | 5.1 kWp (12 x 425w panels) | 4,715 kWh |
| 6-bed detached house | €6,789 | 6.8 kWp (16 x 425w panels) | 5,915 kWh |
(Click on the house links above or just scroll down to see full info about each house size)
These guide prices include both the equipment and installation. Adding a standard-sized solar storage battery (5.1kWh) would add around €2,400 - €2,800 to the price. This includes the price of the hybrid inverter which is needed to work with the battery.
Lets start with a disclaimer - this is just a rough guide to help you decide if you'd like to investigate getting solar PV panels installed on your house. Each property is unique, so if solar appeals then we would do a unique quote (for free) after visiting the property. That allows us to do a proper system design and calculate accurate numbers for you.
The numbers here though are realistic for average domestic solar panel installations in Ireland in 2023. We've not rounded down the prices, nor rounded up the production numbers. These represent average installations of household solar PV systems here in Ireland. We hope this helps you in the decision on whether to have that conversation about adding solar panels to your home.
Two-bedroom terraced house Typical solar costs and performance
Here are the solar costs and performance numbers for a typical two-bedroom mid-terrace house in the midlands of Ireland. We've assumed a property like this can fit a 3.4 kWp (kilowatts peak) system on its roof.
Cost to Homeowner: €5,423
That's made up of a solar PV system price of €7,643, less the SEAI grant of €2,220
Solar Array size: 3.4 kWp
That's 8 x 425w panels, totalling 15.7 m2, which covers the majority of the south-facing roof.
Generation: 2,964 kWh / year
The units of electricity generated per year.
Payback period: 5 years 11 months
Your system will have paid for itself in 5 years 11 months, then it's free electricity from then on. It's like a bank account paying 12.4% in interest every year.
CO2 saved: 1,023 kg / year
That's the same as 7,869 kms of driving, or 1.2 flights from Dublin to New York.
Download full example quote for a 2-bed mid-terrace house
Use the buttons below to download the full details as a PDF.
Three-bedroom semi-detached house Typical solar costs and performance
Here are the solar costs and performance numbers for a typical three-bedroom semi-detached / end-of-terrace house in the midlands of Ireland. We've assumed a property like this can fit a 4.25 kWp (kilowatts peak) system on its roof.
Cost to Homeowner: €5,617
That's made up of a solar PV system price of €8,017, less the SEAI grant of €2,400
Solar Array size: 4.25 kWp
That's 10 x 425w panels, totalling 19.6 m2, which covers the majority of the south-facing roof.
Generation: 3,724 kWh / year
The units of electricity generated per year.
Payback period: 5 years 2 months
Your system will have paid for itself in 5 years 2 months, then it's free electricity from then on. It's like a bank account paying 14.4% in interest every year.
CO2 saved: 1,285 kg / year
That's the same as 9,885 kms of driving, or 1.5 flights from Dublin to New York.
Download full example quote for a 3-bed semi-detached house
Use the buttons below to download the full details as a PDF.
Four-bedroom stand-alone house Typical solar costs and performance
Here are the solar costs and performance numbers for a typical four-bedroom stand-alone house in the midlands of Ireland. We've assumed a property like this can fit a 5.1 kWp (kilowatts peak) system on its roof.
Cost to Homeowner: €6,011
That's made up of a solar PV system price of €8,411, less the SEAI grant of €2,400
Solar Array size: 5.1 kWp
That's 12 x 425w panels, totalling 23.5 m2, which covers the majority of the south-facing roof.
Generation: 4,715 kWh / year
The units of electricity generated per year.
Payback period: 4 years 9 months
Your system will have paid for itself in 4 years 9 months, then it's free electricity from then on. It's like a bank account paying 15.7% in interest every year.
CO2 saved: 1,627 kg / year
That's the same as 12,515 kms of driving, or 2 flights from Dublin to New York.
Download full example quote for a 4-bed stand-alone house
Use the buttons below to download the full details as a PDF.
Six-bedroom stand-alone house Typical solar costs and performance
Here are the solar costs and performance numbers for a typical six-bedroom stand-alone house in the midlands of Ireland. We've assumed a property like this can fit a 6.8 kWp (kilowatts peak) system on its roof.
Cost to Homeowner: €6,789
That's made up of a solar PV system price of €9,189, less the SEAI grant of €2,400
Solar Array size: 6.8 kWp
That's 16 x 425w panels, totalling 31.4 m2, which covers the majority of the south-facing roof.
Generation: 5,915 kWh / year
The units of electricity generated per year.
Payback period: 4 years 4 months
Your system will have paid for itself in 4 years 4 months, then it's free electricity from then on. It's like a bank account paying 17.3% in interest every year.
CO2 saved: 2,041 kg / year
That's the same as 15,700 kms of driving, or 2.5 flights from Dublin to New York.
Download full example quote for a 6-bed stand-alone house
Use the buttons below to download the full details as a PDF.
The Battery Question
The headline numbers assume no battery. But they are a popular addition, and so for each house, we have done the full reports both with and without a storage battery.
What does a Solar Storage Battery Cost?
A typical solar storage battery (which can store about 5.1kWh of power) will add around €2,400 - €2,800 to the cost of a PV solar panel installation.
We have done the full proper quotes above both with and without a battery, which shows how it affects things like payback and power usage.
Who would benefit from a battery?
If you are mostly away from home during the day, when your panels produce most of their electricity, then a battery can be a choice worth considering as it stores some of that power for when you return later on. If your home is normally occupied in the daytime, then storage is less of a priority.
For all homes they really help smooth peaks and troughs. Solar produces nice steady power, whereas flick the kettle / turn on the oven then suddenly your house's electricity demand has just doubled for a short period of time.
Alternatives to a battery
There are also other ways to make use of excess power generated when you are not about - hot water diverters, overflow to EV car charging, feed-in tariff back to the grid (where you sell your excess electricity to the grid) for example. Just get in touch if you'd like to chat through the options and pros and cons of each solution.
Recent changes
As things currently stand, for people who are often out during the weekdays, then a storage battery will more than pay for itself over the lifespan of the system despite increasing the initial outlay.
Feed-in tariffs were implemented during 2022 in Ireland (see our page about Ireland's Solar Feed-in Tariffs for more info). All Irish utility companies have announced their solar feed-in tariff rates for 2022 and beyond which alters the value benefit of batteries.
Solar Storage Battery Calculator
See our awesome Guide To Solar Storage Batteries in Ireland - Everything you need to know, which includes a solar battery calculator so you can adjust to your own needs and see if the numbers add up for you.
How we did these calculations
We made some simple base assumptions for these calculations. Please do take the above figures just as a rough guide as there are a lot of assumptions we've made to generate these figures. These are all things we would customise for your home should you wish us to do you a solar PV installation quote.
Location: Midlands of Ireland
The location doesn't make a huge difference to solar output in Ireland, though we do take your exact location into account when doing custom quotes.
House and roof access: simple
We've assumed there's no complexity to accessing the property or roof.
Roof: south-facing, average slope (~30°)
If your roof is facing south-east, or south-west, then the production would be about 5% lower. If you are facing east or west, then production would be about 20% lower. Please note though there are some benefits to east / west facing solar panels as their production matches standard consumption patterns - the panels generate in the morning and evening, when more electricity tends to be consumed, so you might not need a battery and might get to use more of your electricity produced. Just contact us if you'd like to discuss such.
We'd not recommend PV solar in Ireland if your roof faces north.
Shading: minimal
Shading, from surrounding obstacles such as trees in neighbouring properties, or large chimneys on your house, can impact solar production. We have assumed there is minimal shading for these numbers.
Electricity Consumption: standard
We have assumed an average level of electricity consumption. We've also assumed a fairly standard pattern, where there is only some usage during weekdays but the property is occupied most weekend days.
Hot-water diverter: none
Another use of excess electricity is to heat your hot water via an immersion heater. Again we've not included this, but if you opt for it you'll likely get better value from your solar electricity system.
Electricity Supplier and Tariff: Energia Urban Smart Meter
We have calculated using the Energia Urban Smart Meter tariff. This is a great rate for those with solar due to the high feed-in tariff payments they give you.
Feed-in tariff: Energia - 18 cents / kWh
Feed-in tariffs were implemented in Ireland in 2022. Officially they are called the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) tariff. This is where you get paid for any excess electricity that you export back out to the national grid.
Each electricity supplier sets their own rates, with SSE Airtricity (24 cents / kWh), Pinergy (21 cents / kWh) and Flogas (20 cents / kWh) being the best so far.
Find out more about Solar Feed-in Tariffs in Ireland (CEG tariff).
Accuracy of Predictions
On our proposals, as well as on our rivals, you'll find lots of information — including some predictions about potential electricity generation and financial savings. Generation, in particular, is required by the SEAI (the people that give out the grants), so you should find that on every quote you get.
We just wanted to talk about the assumptions that are made, so you know the amount of salt you need to add to the various figures.
Electricity Production Figures
These are only indicative, but should be a reasonable guide. We do have to make a lot of assumptions here, and things like weather and shading are two variables that can affect your end output quite a bit. That said, we include a lot in the predictions that are specific to your home — the exact panel type, your location in the country (further north means less sun, we take that into account), the angle of your roof, the direction the panels are facing, typical inverter losses and more. So, they'll never be exact, but they should be in the right ballpark.
Financial Savings
These are more speculative. There's a huge amount of assumptions we have to make, and your own case may differ very significantly. So take these figures with a good dose of caution, they're notoriously hard to predict with total accuracy.
One of the main issues is usage patterns vs. generation patterns. With smart meters, electricity prices vary hugely throughout the day. Your patterns of generation and usage might mean that you are offsetting a large quantity of peak-rate units — great for you, as you are making a big saving. Your neighbour, with the same system, might be offsetting mainly low-rate units, so their savings could be a fraction of yours.
Financial Savings on Batteries
Here you have the greatest influence through which tariff you are on, and how you use your set-up. A "night boost" unit might be ¼ of the price of a normal day unit. So, someone who opts for those tariffs with their utility supplier, who then uses their battery to charge up every night on those super cheap rates, suddenly gets more than double the financial gain from their battery.
As always, we are only too happy to help — if you've questions about how to set up and use your system for the most financial benefit, please just ask.
