Hi,

       following the UK Governments announcement of its clean energy loan scheme, the sales of solar panels are predicted to rise. The idea of the scheme is of course very sound, however I think we need to be aware of possible exaggerated claims for the benefits to be achieved.

Let us remember that if you go to a solar panel provider then you are likely to be charged from $12,000 (£8,000) to $20,000 (£14,000) for supply and installation. This of course does not have to be the case as you can build your own panels for a fraction of this cost as I mentioned in my previous post.

The benefits are real in that you can save from 50%, 80% on your electricity bill and even eliminate it altogether. Once you eliminate your bill you can than sell your surplus electicity back to the grid, and there are tarifs already in place to do this.  Caution is advised however as I have seen figures bandied about of earning $1,348 (£900) selling the surplus electricity back to the grid.

What should you do? Well the first thing to do is to look at your electricity bill over the last year to assess just how much electricity you consumed.  For example  typical systems are generally around 1.5-2kWp, which would be enough to provide almost half of the average family’s annual supply. This would require an array covering 10-15 square metres of roof area.

Therefore the second thing to assess is just how much roof space you have available on which to erect the panels.  Other important factors concern your location, is it exposed to the sun, are there any obstructions such as tall buildings or trees obstructing the sun. There are of course two types of solar panels, panels using photovoltaic cells to generate electricity and flat panel or avacuated tube panels to heat water.

If you are in an area which is exposed to wind then you may want to consider a small scale wind turbine. You can check the wind speed in your area through your local met office or wind association. In the UK it is said that a wind speed of 4 to 6 metres per second is required in order to make a wind turbine viable.

I trust that this has been helpful. There are great saving to be made on your electricity bills, just be careful and do your homework before deciding which is the best green energy scheme for you.