When the Feed-In Tariff (FiT) was introduced in 2010, it did a good job of creating a solar industry and reducing the installed cost of systems. It did this by offering an incentive of receiving payments for generating their own electricity.

It is estimated that almost 1 million homes in the UK now have solar panels fitted (source: Solar Trade Association)

When the FIT scheme came to an end on 31 March 2019 it sparked rumours that solar may no longer be such a hot option.

The current government is looking into replacing the feed-in tariff under its Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) and from 1st January 2020, the large energy companies are obliged to offer tariffs for solar.

This is good news for the industry and means you should definitely consider solar panels as an option, if you still need convincing, here are three great reasons why.

1.    Save money

The cost of solar panel installation has come down considerably in the years since the introduction of FiT.

Fitting solar panels is now, on average 25% of the cost of when the tariff was first introduced in 2010 when it was around £20,000 to buy and install panels, but now it’s about £5,000.

And long term it’s a great investment. Using the sun to generate your energy will payback over time in some instances reduce your energy bills by 50% and more.

The even better news is that the installation of solar panels is classed an ‘energy efficiency measure’ and will raise the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating of your property, which can increase the value of your property.

2.    Future proof your home

The technology is getting better and better. Lots of the main suppliers including LG and Panasonic have improved the technology meaning that with regular care – we recommend that solar panels are cleaned twice a year –  they can last for up to 25 years (with a slight degradation of performance of around 20% over 25 years)

It also provides the bedrock of a great system that you can build on and be able to use additional energy created for your own need.

With FiT, homeowners were generally restricted to installing 4GW but with these restrictions now lifted, you can go bigger and installing 5.2GW on a roof can generate up to 5000kWh per year on an unshaded south facing roof.

The benefit of this is that you can build onto it in the future with extras including storage batteries, charge hot water cylinders, electric car chargers and heat pump technology.

Household solar batteries allow people to consume their own electricity rather than export it, and could provide power in the event of a power cut (back up battery systems)

Electric Vehicles are growing in popularity, the number of new cars registered increases month on month energy generated through solar panels could power an electric car charger – no more expensive fuel bills.

An air source heat pump runs on electricity and is a good alternative to LPG or oil or electric heating. You could use some of your solar power to run the heat pump, on sunny cold days.

3.    Making a clean choice

If you have concerns regarding the future of planet Earth, you will be conscious that every day we continue to use fossil fuels to provide energy the more we are adding to our carbon footprint and the climate change crisis.

Renewable technologies like solar power, give you a choice. It is estimated that once 10 million people have solar power in the UK one third of households could be utilising solar energy meaning 40% of the total volume of electricity would be generated from the sun in the summer.  How fantastic would that be?

Generating your own energy means you will reduce your dependence on fossil fuels and protecting you from rising energy costs.

Solar panels need to be installed on your home by an MCS certified (or equivalent) installer and the average installation can be done in one day.

And with companies like Nationwide Building Society earmarking £1billion to give customers cut-rate ‘green’ mortgages and loans for eco-home improvements it could be a more affordable option for more people.

If you are interested in installing solar panels call our renewables team for a free survey and quotation.

The post Future proof your home with solar panels appeared first on Gregor Heating, Electrical & Renewable Energy.

The key points:
> A fast track review of the FiT scheme will see a reduced tariff applied to all installations completed and registered after 12th December 2011
> Installations completed before this date will be unaffected
> Installations after the 12th December will continue to receive the current higher rate until the 31st March 2012
> As of the 1st April 2012 the reduced rate will apply to all installations completed and registered after 12th December

Climate Change and Energy Minister Greg Barker said:
“My priority is to put the solar industry on a firm footing so that it can remain a successful and prosperous part of the green economy, and so that it doesn’t fall victim to boom and bust.”

Since the DECC announce the review our team of energy specialists have been working to ensure all existing installations booked with Gregor will benefit from the current rate as we endeavour to move all current installation bookings for completion before 12th December.

If you are concerned about how the review will effect your installation please call your dedicated installation manager at Gregor who will be happy to discuss on an individual basis in more detail.

The full report is available to download from the DECC website, visit http://www.decc.gov.uk or click here for the pdf report

The decision comes after concerns for the cost involved in the higher FiT rates, there is limited funding allocated for the FiTs scheme to control the impact on energy consumers who pay for the scheme through their bills.

The DECC reports:
“If the Government took no action, by 2014-15 FITs for solar PV would be costing consumers £980 million a year, adding around £26 (2010 prices) to annual domestic electricity bills in 2020. Our proposals will restrict FITs PV costs to between £250-280 million in 2014-15, reducing the impacts of FITs expenditure on PV on domestic electricity bills by around £23 (2010 prices) in 2020.”

The post Feed in Tariff review – what it means for you appeared first on Gregor Heating, Electrical & Renewable Energy.