How to obtain subsidies and save on the electricity bill by placing solar panels on your building or single-family home

Spain seems to have definitely set a course towards photovoltaic self-consumption in homes. It is a trend that began in 2018 with the elimination of the so-called sun tax, but last year all the necessary conditions were met to cause a real boom in the installation of solar panels in countless buildings, urbanizations and single-family homes.

According to figures from the Spanish Photovoltaic Union, in 2022 20,500 installations of this type were made for residential use, which contributed 32% of the total new power installed throughout the year (2,507 MW), a figure that was 108% higher to that registered in 2021.

The truth is that the conditions that have caused this phenomenon will continue to exist in 2023, which is why experts predict that in the coming months solar panels will once again flourish massively on rooftops and roofs in our country to the point of doubling the figures for the last year.

Conditions such as the increase in energy prices, which makes self-consumption a refuge and a way to save money. Or the need that users feel to guarantee a certain energy autonomy in circumstances such as the invasion of Ukraine. Or a growing ecological awareness in a large part of the population, which leads them to bet on renewable energies.

Another important factor is what is usually called the demonstration effect.. Those hundreds of thousands of families that already have photovoltaic panels serve as an example to follow for those furthest behind, who act as authentic prescribers in relation to the advantages and savings of betting on self-consumption.

AID AND SUBSIDIES TO PLACE SOLAR PANELS

But, above all, the interest in the latter on the part of individuals and neighboring communities has to do with the opportunity to benefit from important public subsidies. Mainly those approved by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, which in June 2021 approved a package of 660 million euros to encourage the installation of self-consumption and storage systems with renewables. A year later, the Government increased that figure with another 505 million, which are the ones that will be distributed, until December 31, 2023, among those who incorporate solar panels, wind turbines or systems for energy storage or air conditioning with renewables in their buildings. .

Although with differences between communities, in the case of solar self-consumption the aid is up to 40% for individuals and up to 50% for collective self-consumption facilities.

To these subsidized amounts must be added the discounts that can be obtained locally after the installation of the panels. For example, on the Real Estate Tax (IBI), which reaches 50% for ten years in cases such as the Valencian Community. Or the Construction, Installations and Works Tax (ICIO), which is paid when carrying out any reform and which in communities such as the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, Catalonia, Galicia or Madrid is subsidized at 95% for solar panel installation works.

“The enormous availability of aid and subsidies, the fact that the return periods of the initial investment are lower and the situation of energy prices make the current moment perfect for the installation of solar panels in communities of owners , single-family homes and urban roofs”, say sources from Iberdrola, the company that leads the photovoltaic self-consumption market, managing 40% of customers in this modality and is the leader in the sector, among other reasons, because in 2015 Iberdrola It was the first company that began to bet on this type of solution, both for large industrial clients and for individuals.

In the opinion of its experts, the most outstanding advantages obtained by consumers who opt for photovoltaic self-consumption make up a very long list.. Among them, “obtaining significant savings on the electricity bill, the guarantee of a certain energy autonomy that allows avoiding price fluctuations, the revaluation of the home thanks to the improvement in its levels of efficiency” and, of course, , the peace of mind of supplying your home with clean energy, with all that this implies for reducing the carbon footprint of human activity.

How to install photovoltaic solar panels for self-consumption

There are so many incentives to bet at this time on installing solar panels for photovoltaic self-consumption, that more and more individuals and neighborhood communities are considering it in the coming months and are currently looking for answers to the endless number of Doubts that may arise: how much does the installation cost, where the panels are placed, what savings can be generated on the electricity bill, what happens with the energy generated by those plates and that it remains unused…

Solar panels on roofs: rental income

Whether you are a company or a community of owners and you have a roof available to install solar panels but you do not want to make an investment or installation, but you do want to contribute to generating renewable energy, Iberdrola offers an innovative solution known as a Solar Community. Iberdrola offers the owners of the roofs the possibility of obtaining income from the rental of their spaces that they have free for the placement of solar panels, an option that implies great advantages beyond the recurring income obtained by the owners of said surfaces for the lease.

To begin with, because it will allow them to have a solar installation for self-consumption in their own building without having to make any outlay for its installation, but also because they will be entitled to preferential conditions in the use of clean energy generated by these solar panels through from the Smart Solar Community. And, of course, for the reputational advantages of contributing to generating 100% green energy for the community and reducing its carbon footprint, impacting on an improvement in the brand image of the owner of the roof.

Additionally, these panels can supply clean energy to anyone who lives within a maximum distance of 2 kilometers. Those interested can calculate economic and environmental savings and join a Solar Community through https://www.iberdrola.es/smart-solar/comunidades-solares

Clean energy, but also cheap, since it is estimated that it saves up to 40% in the energy consumed. All this thanks to this new model, based on collaborative and local energy self-consumption.

“Iberdrola's solar communities make the sun available to everyone, whether or not you have coverage and are interested in making an investment in a simple and digital way”, underline the previously mentioned sources of the company. “In this way, it is now possible for 65% of the population that lives at altitude to have access to self-consumption and can change the way they are supplied,” they add. And the truth is that more than two thirds of the Spanish population lives at height, so it is a model that could cause a very positive impact on the environment without the need for installation or investment in housing.

Communities of owners and single-family: savings on the electricity bill

It is also an option full of advantages for communities of owners, who can benefit from great savings on the electricity bill both for the common areas of the building or urbanization and/or for each neighbour.

Likewise, solar self-consumption is loaded with advantages for the owners of a single-family home, where savings on the electricity bill can be up to 70%.

Iberdrola offers its self-consumption solution, Smart Solar, both for communities of owners and single-family homes

A turnkey solution, where its professionals take care that you do not have to worry about many of the parts of the process: they are in charge of carrying out a prior personalized study without commitment, they carry out the assembly and integral maintenance of the installation and, Unlike other companies in the sector, they also take care of all the necessary procedures to apply for subsidies at no cost to the interested party.

In addition, Iberdrola has two other great advantages. The first is that it offers payment facilities and the possibility of being able to monitor all consumption, savings and other details of the installation thanks to the Iberdrola Clientes app.

The most frequent questions when installing solar panels

It is enough to review the previous paragraphs to be aware of the enormous economic and environmental advantages that solar self-consumption has both for users and for neighborhoods and countries.. And there are still more advantages to bet on the installation of solar panels in the short term to benefit from the subsidies.

However, there are still many individuals and communities of owners who doubt whether or not to take the step due to ignorance of the available options and doubts about how the process develops.

For this reason, below we have compiled some of the questions that often arise among those who consider installing solar panels and generating photovoltaic energy from the roof of their single-family home, the roof of their facilities or the premises of their community of neighbors.

Where can solar panels be installed?
The best locations for photovoltaic solar installations are rooftops, decks or roofs of both buildings and single-family homes. It is enough that there is a space availability of at least 6 square meters without architectural elements around that can generate shadows during the day, since that would reduce the capacity of the panels to generate energy. From there, the optimal orientation for these is the south, since they are more productive when the light falls perpendicularly on them. How much can be saved on the electricity bill thanks to solar self-consumption?
Photovoltaic self-consumption can contribute to achieving savings of up to 70% on the electricity bill, either because the energy used in the home comes from renewable energy, or because companies like Iberdrola compensate you on the bill for the surplus energy you generate. and you do not use. How much does it cost to install solar panels?
The price depends on the number of solar panels and the contracted power, but there is the alternative of joining an Iberdrola Solar Community with an installation cost of €0, since it is the company that assumes the investment. What are solar communities?
Solar communities are photovoltaic installations that allow the supply of 100% renewable energy not only to the owners of the roofs where the panels are placed, but also to anyone who requests to connect to the grid within a maximum radius of 2 kilometers from each one. of the points where energy is generated. Being part of a solar community also has important advantages, since you can save up to 40% of the energy consumed without having to invest in your own installation. What types of aid and subsidies can I benefit from when installing solar panels?
The aid that can be obtained at the moment when installing solar panels for self-consumption are of two types. On the one hand, there are the aids that the Government has approved until December 31 of this year within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and that can amount to up to 50% of the cost of said installation.. On the other, the discounts that can be obtained at the municipal level by paying the Construction, Installations and Works Tax (ICIO) when placing the panels (up to a 95% reduction in that payment) as well as by paying the Real Estate Tax annually ( IBI) during the subsequent years (up to 50% for a maximum of 10 years, depending on the Community).

In any case, users interested in further information or answering questions about how to benefit from the advantages of photovoltaic self-consumption or install Iberdrola Smart Solar panels can do so by calling 900 92 33 33 or on the Smart Solar website itself.