Could a new home solar scheme be the best long-term investment for your home?
Posted by DavidM in Buying green, Green business, Save energy, Solar | 3 February 2011
Many people have been put off using solar power on their homes by the high up-front costs and long payback periods. The introduction in April 2010 of the government-backed Feed-in Tariff promotes the installation of renewable energy sites. Under the scheme solar panels on home roofs earn every qualifying installation 41.3p per kWh of energy produced, regardless of whether it is used by the homeowner or not. The tariff is guaranteed for 25 years and is index linked if you install a Solar PV System.
With the introduction of the Feed-In Tariff solar energy providers are offering new models the cut or eliminate the up-front costs. These are proving very popular with UK households. Ofgem figures show there were 10 times the number of solar installations in 2010 than in any preceding year, making UK the fastest growing solar market in Europe.
This week we received a press release from Sunshare offering a new variant on the Feed-In Tariff offerings, aimed at protecting UK homeowners against rising energy bills with a guaranteed return and lower up-front investment. SunShare’s new scheme launched on in January 2011 and allows UK homeowners to invest in solar panels for their home for only a part of the upfront installation costs. Qualifying UK homes that install solar panels with SunShare will benefit from free electricity and will also be able to earn more than £1000 a year from the government backed Feed-in Tariff scheme.
Mark Wynn, MD of Avonline PLC, the company that launched SunShare, suggests the new scheme could be one of the best long term investment options, given that interest rates are at an all time low. “Any household that‘s looking for a guaranteed long term investment will struggle to find a better option. Qualifying UK homes can get a fully installed solar PV system for as little as £3,999. The homeowners who make this investment will subsequently reduce their electricity bills by up to 40%. They will be able to earn over £1000 a year from Feed-in Tariff payments, add value to their home, protect themselves against escalating energy costs and reduce their carbon footprint, just to mention a few of the benefits.”
SunShare predict that up to 5,000 homes will benefit from their unique scheme in 2011, reducing CO2 by 10,000 tonnes a year. Mark Wynn points out that households considering the scheme should act fast: “The government will review the scheme in 2012, which is likely to see the Feed-in Tariff rates changed from April 2013 for any new homes applying for it. There is therefore a window of opportunity now for consumers to take advantage of the current rates on offer, which will be guaranteed for 25 years.”
Mark is confident that 2011 could be another record breaking year: “Trying to take on the whole responsibility and costs for a solar installation for your home can be a daunting task and this may have put off quite a few households who considered benefiting from The Feed-in Tariff scheme last year. However, with a unique scheme like Sunshare, upfront installation costs for homeowners will be significantly reduced and a professional partner will take away all the hassle of the installation, ongoing maintenance and the continuous paperwork associated with the Feed-in Tariff throughout the duration of the scheme."
"In fact we see SunShare as more of a partnership with our customers, where we simplify the whole process and lower the barriers of entry for UK consumers and subsequently share the benefits of this great government backed scheme.” You can find out if you qualify for this scheme by visiting http://sunsharesolar.co.uk.
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.reallifenews.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1301
