Solar Panels

More reasons to install solar panels

Being green

Installing solar panels on your home will help cut your carbon footprint, by as much as 1850 kg/year. This is as much as driving 6000 miles in a car, the equivalent of driving from London to Capetown. With the government Climate Change Act 2008 and the EU 20:20:20 targets, we are aiming to produce 15% of our energy from renewable sources by 2020.
The electricity generated from solar photovoltaic cells is a renewable form of energy. The mixture of Silicon and the doping agents in the cells creates a structure with some free electrons which when ‘excited’ by the light energy of the sun’s rays will create a current.
The panels themselves have a carbon payback of 2-4 years for monosilicon panels, meaning that you are truly contributing to a carbon neutral future.

Earn money

The governments Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme has made installing solar a very attractive to many homeowners. Through the introduction of the Feed-in Tariff the UK has bought itself in line with many other countries around the world in offering a similar schemes. Feed-in Tariff payments are provided by your electricity company, so there is no worry of the government backed scheme running out of money. Currently you are paid 43.3p/kWh for every kilowatt hour you produce from a system under 4 kilowatt peak. This is going to be reviewed and in April 2012 is expected to decrease to 38.5p/kWh for the same system size. However once you register your installation, you receive that rate for the next 25 years, so if you were to sign up before April 2012, you would receive 43.3p/kWh for 25 years. In addition you receive 3p/kWh for every kilowatt hour you export to the national grid.
Suddenly systems that previously might have taken 25 years or more to pay back from a reduced energy bill can pay themselves back in 9-11 years and then earn you money for the rest of the 25 year period.
The scheme is designed to offer you an 8-12% tax free return on your investment every year. It is also index linked against the RPI, so the payments will rise with inflation.

Energy Security

The rising costs of fuel are likely to take their toll over the coming decades. We have already seen petrol prices rise past the dreaded £1 per litre that we all swore we would never allow. No one can be sure how much energy costs will increase over the next 25 years, but it would be nice to know that you were protected against these increases, even if only partially protected. On top of this, with all the gadgets and must have appliances around the home, the average electricity usage has risen from 3,600 kWh per year to 4,500 kWh per year in recent times.

By installing Solar PV on your home, you will be safe in the knowledge that for the life on the panels (and they can last 40 years or more) you will be generating free electricity that will reduce the rising cost of your bill. The FIT payments can also be seen as a means of covering your electricity (and gas) bills over the next 25 years, meaning that on some of the bigger systems closer to 4 kWp, you might be able to use the money to pay both (the FIT from a 3.96 kWp system is around £1400), and have some money to spare.

Added value

Adding solar panels to your home can also increase its value when you come to selling. We can expect the environmental concerns of the population to increase over coming years, with increased focus on reducing our carbon emissions to meet global and nation targets. The idea of buying a home with built in energy security is going to appeal to people more and more as time goes on with the solar panels adding to the intrinsic value of your home.