PV Solar Systems

Why install Solar PV?

• Solar pays for itself

A solar electric (PV) system for an average house costs between £8k and £15k. The new feed-in tariffs are projected to give you an annual tax free return of around 10% on that investment for a 25 year period and a break even time of about 9-12 years.

• Reduce your electricity bill dramatically

When you begin to generate your own solar power, your electricity bill will drop. How much depends on how and when you use electricity (including putting washing machines on timers so that they work during the day when your electricity is free). If you are a ‘medium user’ (3300 kWh/yr), with a 2.5kWp PV system, you could cut your bill by a third.

• Save more every year

Savings are likely to increase over time. The average energy bill for a typical home more than doubled over the past 5 years. With solar PV, you’ll be protected from some of this increase by being partly self-sufficient.

• Increase your home’s value

35% of Energy Saving Trust’s 2009 survey said they would be willing to pay more for a home where some of their energy supply came from renewable resources; almost half said would like to know if their home is suitable for renewable.

• Reduce your carbon footprint

Solar power is a ‘clean’ energy resource and it’s not going anywhere. An average solar PV system will replace ‘dirty’ fuel sources and save around 20% of a home’s carbon footprint per year (around 1000kg CO2).

• It’s easy

Home improvements can be a pain to live through. Solar PV isn’t like that. It usually only takes 1-2 days to install, and this mostly happens outside on the roof. Even the power supply is only broken for a a few minutes whilst the new connections are made.

* Energy Saving Trust’s working assumption is that 50% of the solar energy produced by a home is used in the home.

How a solar PV system works: