Are you seriously considering installing solar panels in your home? So before embarking on this investment, take a few minutes with us to calculate the profitability of your future photovoltaic installation. Relieving your wallet, while helping to fight global warming requires a minimum of preparation.
In France, all photovoltaic installations can be profitable. You just have to adapt the size of the installation, and therefore the level of investment, to your geographical region and your production objectives. We have already looked at estimating the yield of your solar panels, now let’s move on to calculating their profitability. However, before getting to the heart of the matter, let’s look at what you are going to do with this green electricity?
How to calculate the income or savings made by a photovoltaic installation?
Once your electricity is produced, you have three choices:
- self-consumption which consists in producing and consuming all the solar energy produced. This saves on your electricity bill.
- The total sale energy produced, something very simple to implement, EDF being obliged to buy green electricity produced by private individuals.
- The sale partial energy where part of the electricity produced is consumed, the surplus being sold to EDF.
If you plan to resell all or part of your production, here are the current EDF Solar Purchase Obligation prices (from February 1 to April 30, 2023).
| Power | Feed-in tariff for a Total Sale | Feed-in tariff for a Surplus Sale |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ 3 kWp | €0.1313/kWh | €0.2349/kWh |
| ≤ 9 kWp | €0.1313/kWh | €0.1996/kWh |
| ≤ 36 kWp | €0.0788/kWh | 0.1430€/kWh |
| ≤100 kWp | €0.0788/kWh | €0.1243/kWh |
| >100 kWp | €0.1287/kWh* | €0.1287/kWh * |
Note that if you have an installation less than or equal to 3 kWp (which generally corresponds to 10 standard panels), you will not be taxed! On the other hand, if it is higher, you will have to declare your income.
What are the aids to promote photovoltaics?
Whether it’s saving on your electricity bill or selling your green energy production, in both cases the financial gain is far from negligible.
Especially since the State grants numerous aids, which are most often calculated on the installed production capacity. This may be the EDF purchase obligation, the photovoltaic self-consumption premium, the reduced VAT for photovoltaic installations, the Eco-PTZ or even MaPrimeRénov’.
For example, the self-consumption premium is degressive and distributed over the first five years of operation. Its amount depends on the power of the installation:
- Less than or equal to 3 kWp: €500/kWp;
- Between 3 and 9 kWp: €370/kWp;
- Between 9 and 36 kWp: €210/kWp;
- Between 36 and 100 kWp: €110/kWp.
Added to this is the help of local authorities, so do not hesitate to inquire. Be methodical, accessing these grants is sometimes a real obstacle course.
How to calculate the profitability of your solar panels?
Now we have enough information to calculate the profitability of a solar installation. We must first look at the income generated by our production, or the amount of savings in the event of a self-consumption installation.
How to calculate the income or savings generated by your solar installation?
Here is the calculation to do: Power produced over a year X Price per kWh EDF Solar Purchase Obligation in total sale = income from your solar installation.
If you produce 1,000 kWh per year with a photovoltaic installation less than or equal to 3 kWp in total resale, this gives us 1000 kWh X 0.131 3 euro/kWh, or 131.3 euros in income.
In the context of self-consumption with sale of the surplus, you will have to subtract your electricity consumption from your production. Not to mention that the price of the partial sale is higher than that of the total sale.
In the context of self-consumption only, you only have to multiply your electricity production in kWh by the price per kWh of your energy supplier. So, if you produce 1,000 kWh and the price of electricity is 0.25 euro/kWh, then you will save 250 euro on your annual bill.
How to calculate the profitability of your photovoltaic installation?
Now that we have our estimated income or savings, we can tackle the profitability calculation. First, let’s start with the cost of your installation which includes the purchase of the panels and their installation. We will take as an example a 3 kWp installation for a cost of 8,000 euros.
Then, you will have to withdraw the amount of aid that will be paid to you, which we estimate here at 1,500 euros as part of a self-consumption project.
We therefore have an investment of 6,500 euros which we will divide by the income or savings generated by our installation. Here we will take 250 euros of savings per year.
6,500/250 = 26 yearsknowing that the solar panels have a lifespan ranging from 30 to 35 years and are guaranteed for an average of 20 to 25 years.
These calculations are complex and almost every photovoltaic organization or company offers more or less complete calculators.
That of the BDPV association is quite complete, integrating your address, roof pitch and many other factors for a simplified profitability estimate and the possibility of checking the relevance of an estimate.
You now know how to calculate the profitability of your photovoltaic installation. We must not forget that in addition to generating financial savings, each installation contributes to the fight against global warming. Do not forget to add to this the cost of maintenance. Indeed, a properly maintained installation will produce 7% to 15%, or even more over time, of energy than an installation that is not maintained.
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