Anyone in the Yorkshire area or adjoining counties may be interested in this. I'm pretty sure it's genuine - seen it mentioned in a number of places. Sadly I'm currently outside the catchment for them - but it looks like a good thing for those that are close enough.
Basically - free electricity via solar panels. From the website, the company gets paid for producing the electricity and you use as much of it as you wish.
I'm not part of the team on this, nor am I specifically recommending it. I'm offering the link for interested people to investigate themselves.
I am curious to know if anyone already has elctricity/water heating solar panels and what they think of them.
Sounds damn good!
Why on earth it isn't made mandatory for all new builds to have solar panels is beyond me especially as the cost would be a fractional element of the whole.
I may have look into how this or if this applies to blocks of flats
Thank you Foxy. We're in an area it's going to be launched in - we are south facing and have space for them so we've applied. Fingers crossed, we could do with reducing our electricity bill!
*Her*
Nice one Foxy! I've wanted solar power for ages! My mums had it for years for her water and heating and its well worth it. I'll read this very carefully. Though I have seen on Watchdog a while ago some similar scheme that's very tying long term. Too good to be true springs to mind. But worth looking at.
Thank you for the link Foxy, I have sent the online application form, shall report back if I hear anything.. I have friends in Scotland who have had solar panels for about 15 years and their leccy bills are so low now.
Microgeneration is a government sponsored initiative which I believe is being run all over the country. There's more info .
Apparently you don't have to have a south facing roof (although it does work better) and electricity can still be generated under cloud cover - it just needs daylight to work.
I also heard that planning departments are directing developers to add solar panels, use sustainable materials, and provide things like rainwater collection systems, bike sheds, and recycling storage facilities etc to all new builds.
Sadly at £2000 per installation there is no way I can pay to have solar panels unless it's free. Do the maths about how long that would take to pay for itself if it halves the cost of your monthly electricity bill.
But I would love to see if I can get a small wind-turbine fitted to the garden wall at the end of my garden.
If you have money to buy the photovoltaic panels you will be eligible for what is called a 'Feed in Tariff'that was launched in April this year.
This tariff is 41.3 pence / Kilo watt hour. This is Tax Free and Index linked for 25 yearsand is backed up by government legislation
On top of this, you get free electricity. It does mean you have to change your lifestyle slightly and use dishwashers and washing machines during daylight hours when you are producing your own electricity.
Also any surplus electricity can be sold back to the grid at 3 pence / kilo watt hour.
Usually Domestic properties will pay back in about 12 years, depending on size, cost etc
Return on investment on schemes that I have been involved in is at about 9.5%, far far more than you would get in bank, building society or government bonds.
Early adopters will get the best returns, as future schemes will not be paid out at the above rates.
In my opinion whilst the renting the roof out svhemes are ok, its those companies that are really going to benefit, so if you have cash think about doing it for yourself.
reports are also that having photovoltaic panels could increase property prices by 5%
I thought that to benefit from solar power in your own location; you needed to store the energy in batteries. using it later when you required it. obviously requiring a small building to house all the batteries.
power that is produced from the solar panels can be used directly or switched to the grid. obviously a saving can be made. but having power stoarge really capitalises on the principles of sustainable energy.
so that aspect doesn't seem to be considerd in most of the advertising for this idea.
none that i have been involved in used batteriies, just sold surplus to the grid.
No reason why you couldnt have a bank of batteries to store, though you would need a lot of space
I just wonder what the implications are. it seems convenient to say it gets switched to the grid, but its almost like throwing away surplus energy?
after all performance will be unpredictable and variant in the UK climate.
so i just wonder if its all a glorious folly?
I dont think the climate really affects them all that much. My mums solar power only needa daylight to be efficeint, not necassarily sunlight And as it runs her central heating and hot water systemsis most needed in winter. It's never let her down in the 25 years she's had it for.
Hi the money guy martin 1ewis has an artic1e about this on his site and how to get free so1ar pane1s...There is a company ca11ed isis that are offering it to any homes in the uk....I think I read the criteria was that you have to have a south facing roof and it has to be a minimum of 6m x 3m xx hope this he1ps someone....we are current1y 1ooking into the offer...
now we will finally know exactly where the north/south divide is in the uk
