Martin Lewis MSE says households with solar panels handed £740 a year

Money expert Martin Lewis' MSE team says households can get paid up to £740 a year if they install solar panels on their roof.

With energy prices rocketing over the past few years, and many drivers turning to on their driveways, more and more households are looking into installing solar panels to see if they can save money.

With the average cost of solar panel installation now totalling £7,000, a lot of people will be working out back-of-the-envelope maths to see if putting them on their roof makes financial sense.

Martin Lewis' says there are several ways you can get paid with solar panels which will help make that investment back over time and in theory start to repay your outlay.

They said: "Solar panels could help you save £100s a year on your electricity bills. Using the energy you generate can mean big savings for some households.

"The biggest gain comes from using what you generate - you could save up to £340 a year on your bills.

"You could get paid up to £400 a year for any excess energy you generate, but SEG tariffs differ widely (though you're free to switch between 'em).

"Crucially, the amount you get back depends on the company and ranges from just 1p per kWh to 40p per kWh (Octopus Outgoing Agile can pay more than this, but the rates fluctuate every half an hour) - so make sure you go for the best paying tariff you can."

Taken together, the savings combined with the pay-out from your energy supplier could make you £740 a year once the panels are up on your roof, which would mean, at max payback, you would make your money back and start to make a profit on your panels in under 10 years (9.4 to be exact), while the average life expectancy of solar panels is 25 years, so you'd have another 15 years of profits thereafter.