Solar PV for the Home Owner
Electricity prices are rising fast and it seems likely that they will continue to do so, perhaps at an even faster pace. The situation is made more serious because oil supplies are threatened by instability in the Middle East – no one knows how long the current slump in oil prices will last – and our electricity supplies are threatened by indecisive government energy policy.
So we should all be looking for ways to secure our electricity supplies and fix our electricity prices.
And that is exactly what Solar PV does.
Why Solar PV?
Solar PV is the perfect way to reduce your energy bills, cut CO2 emissions, and ensure that at least part of your electricity requirements will be met whatever is happening to the grid.
Installing a Solar PV system allows you to take control of your energy requirements with the following benefits:
- Receive a substantial income from the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) just for generating electricity
- The generous government FiT provides a 20-year, guaranteed, index-linked income stream
- Consume 100% of the electricity you generate free of charge
- Cut your carbon emissions
- Fix the price of a significant proportion of your electricity costs and thereby hedge against rising energy prices
- Sell any excess power you don’t use to earn additional income
- The Return on Investment including FiT income, energy savings and export payments is likely to be at least 7% and can be as high as 10% over 20-years. STILL better than an ISA !!
- Have you got an Immersion heater (even if unused)? Then you can add on a brilliant but simple device that senses when power is leaving your property (the Feed in part) & redirects it to the immersion instead and so will heat your water for FREE.
- It will NOT draw power in from the grid, even if, say, only 1 kW is available for a 3 kW immersion element.
Choosing the right solution
The are many considerations in choosing the right Solar PV system with criteria broken down into 4 main categories:
- The Solar PV Modules or Panels
- The Inverter
- The Mounting System
- The Design, Installation, Service & Support
“Seamless operation, I couldn’t
believe it was done so quickly
and so efficiently.”
How Energy Efficient are you?
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Planning Permission
No planning permission is required for roof-mounted installations with the exception of listed buildings and conservation, or areas of outstanding beauty. Rarely there is a restraint on a property, usually when a major conversion has been done, some barn conversions for example.
Please Click Your Roof to allow us to give you our assessment of the possibilities for Solar PV for your property. We will be delighted to talk to you about what we can do for you and to carry out a free, no-obligation, onsite survey.
Investment & Returns
The table below gives a guide to the price for a complete installation based on the number of panels. These prices are intended to be a guide only, based on a simple installation on a straightforward roof. Clearly prices will increase with the level of complexity. Otherwise the figures shown are an all-inclusive price, including VAT.
We can confirm all the details following a no obligation onsite survey and thereafter produce a full financial illustration showing all the income, savings and payback projections.
* based on 250w panels – higher output panels are more common now, so 10 x 285 watts can occupy the same space as 10 x 250 giving more output
The projections above are for our entry-level Bronze package; please ask us about the additional advantages of our Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum bundles.
Solar panels will give the best yield if set between 35-40 degrees facing south. However, we have many successful installations performing well on an east/west axis; the reduction in production efficiency can be as little as 15% in most cases.
The returns from a solar PV system come from three sources:
- The Generation Tariff (an element of the Feed-in Tariff) – you get paid to generate electricity. For every unit of electricity you generate you get paid a fixed amount. The payment usually comes from your electricity supplier, it is guaranteed by government for 20 years and is RPI-linked.
- Savings – you are allowed to consume, free of charge, every unit of electricity you generate. For every unit of free electricity you consume there is a saving of the price you would otherwise have paid to your supplier.
- The Export Tariff – if you are unable to consume all the electricity you generate you export the excess back to the grid and receive a payment for it.
The Feed-in Tariff rates are reviewed by government quarterly – for the latest, take a look at our FITS page.
Business revenue generated by the Feed-in Tariff is subject to tax. Capital Allowances are usually available for the SolarPV system capital cost.
You will need an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) Level D in order to claim the Feed-in Tariff, which we can organise for you.