Heating Film and Solar Panels – They Complement Each Other!

Heating film heats with electricity and solar panels produce electricity, so the two fit together well: energy produced on the roof can replace part of the electricity used by the heating and thus reduce the heating cost. How much, today, is decided by the heat demand of the house, the way solar electricity is settled and when the electricity is consumed – which is why it is worth sizing the two systems in one plan.

Why do the two systems come up together?

Behind solar orders there is often the intention to keep the running costs of the house as low as possible – which is also the mindset of passive houses. Many people still find solar panels expensive at first glance; looked at together with heating film, however, the real question is how the investment and the running cost are distributed over the long term.

It may seem odd at first why both would be needed. If you only want to reduce the heating cost, an electric heating system alone may be enough: heating film warms the surfaces and can be controlled room by room. What solar panels add is that the house produces part of the electricity it uses itself.

What does the heating cost, and what do solar panels change?

In our own experience, an old-type, uninsulated house, not renovated apart from its windows and doors, could be heated and kept at a constant temperature with electric heating for HUF 240,000 a year at 2022 prices. That sum may be different today: it depends on the electricity price, the condition of the house and usage habits. For current consumption data, see our page on the consumption of heating film.

When the article was published in 2022, most households with solar panels were on net metering, meaning that surplus fed in during the summer was also credited against winter consumption. For new systems in Hungary this has ended:

• Gross metering. Since 1 January 2024, for new household systems the meter records electricity fed into the grid and electricity drawn from the grid separately, and the two are settled separately.
• Net metering running out. Only a system for which the request was submitted by September 2023 and which was commissioned by 1 January 2026 can stay on net metering – and even that for 10 years at most.

So even with solar panels it cannot be promised that the heating cost disappears. Solar panels help heating the most when production and consumption coincide in time – for example in the transitional seasons, in rooms used during the day. In winter, when heating needs the most electricity, solar panels produce the least; this must be taken into account in sizing. Our article on the myths and real savings of solar heating walks you through the calculation, and our solar page summarises the basics of solar panels.

A further consideration: a preferential heating tariff cannot be counted on with heating film. According to MVM Optimum, the H tariff is for heat pump heating; it does not apply to infrared panels or other heating that produces heat directly from electricity.

Is underfloor heating harmful to pets?

No. Electric heating built into the floor is no problem for dogs or cats either – in our experience they actively seek out the warm floor. Our own pets have grown so fond of it that they jump up on the sofa less often.

How to choose an installer?

In the two years before this article we worked together with a solar company on projects where heating film and solar panels were installed together. In Budapest you can also try infrared heating in person in our showroom at 1039 Budapest, Rákóczi u. 4.

Because of increased demand and grants, the market has many companies starting out with little experience. When choosing an installer, it is worth checking the following:

• Do they have references you can look at, both in infrared heating and in solar installation?
• Do they meet you in person and make a quote with knowledge of the site, not just from phone details?
• Do qualified installers do the work, and who handles the grid permitting?
• Are the heating and the solar system sized in one plan, starting from the actual heat demand of the house?
• For solar panels, membership of the Hungarian Solar Panel and Solar Collector Association (MNNSZ) can be a consideration.

If you would like to plan heating film and solar panels together, we will give a specific proposal based on an on-site survey (available in Hungary).