SOLAR PANELS – Information sheet
There are 2 different types of solar panel.
- Solar Photovoltaic – Electricity Generating
Solar photovoltaic panels cost about £12000.00 to install. They generate electricity by gathering heat from the sun. You can sell any electricity that you do not use back to the national grid. This scheme is called a Feed in Tariff.
Feed in tariff information
The Feed in Tariff is a government scheme that pays you for generating your own electricity.
The tariff pays you 41.3p per kilowatt hour (KWh) for any electricity generated, known as the “generation Tariff”
The house holder also gets an extra 3p (kWh) for any energy that is not used and sold back to the grid, known as the “expert tariff”.
This Government scheme is guaranteed for 25 years and linked to inflation (RPI)
So ultimately what is the financial benefit?
The Energy Savings trust say that house holders could save up to £920 per year, made up of £770 generation tariff
£30 export tariff
£120 from reduced electricity bills.
Your pay back period is approximately 15 years according to industry experts.
Other useful information
Average householders use 4500 kWh of electricity every year
Solar photovoltaic panels will generate 40% of the requirements or 1,850 kWh.
About half of the 1,850 will be sold back to the grid, 925kWh.
The average solar panel install is 2.2 Kilowatts
Average output is 5kWh per day, depending on the weather.
The generation tariff and export tariff will normally be paid every quarter by the electricity supplier.
The electricity suppliers pay for the Scheme by raising everybody’s electricity bills by about £8.50 per year between 2011 – 2030.
All the income is tax free.
2. Solar Thermal – Hot water generating
Solar thermal panels will cost about £4000 to install. They generate hot water by gathering heat from the sun. They will generate much of your hot water in the summer months and will save you approximately 10% on your gas bill. |
