Photovoltaics and Smart Home: Real Return on Investment in 2026

"Photovoltaics pays for itself in 6 years" — that sentence sounded good in 2020. What about now, after the net-billing changes? Let us calculate it honestly. ## 5 kWp installation for a 120 m² house (2026) - Cost: £4,400–£6,000 (after subsidies: £3,000–£4,400) - Annual production: approx. 4,800–5,500 kWh - Self-consumption without smart control: 20–30% - Self-consumption with a hot water heater or energy storage: 50–70% ## How much does it save - With 30% self-consumption: savings of approx. £440–£560/year → return in 6–8 years - With 60% self-consumption (smart home): savings of approx. £700–£900/year → return in 4–6 years ## What a "smart home" provides - Control of hot water heaters, heat pumps, and car charging during hours of overproduction. - Monitoring production and consumption — real data instead of sales promises. - Automatic sale of surpluses once consumption is met. ## When photovoltaics is NOT profitable - A heavily shaded roof / roof facing north. - Energy consumption primarily in the evening and at night without storage/batteries. - Planned roof replacement within 3–5 years (disassembly and reinstallation of panels is expensive). Compare installer quotes with a production simulation for your roof — post your project on LocalTrader.