Eco_Nicholas

Yes. You need and inverter to convert the DC current generated by the panels to AC, and to connect back to the main grid so your unused electricity can be used by other homes. You don't need batteries, as the electricity is either used or it goes back to the grid. The energy providers pay the incomes because they have to by law. It isn't their decision. The reason why the government is doing this is because they signed the Kyoto agreement, and part of it is to guarantee that 15% of all UK households are using sustainable energy by October 2020. If they fail then our country is fined a huge amount. The problem with solar energy is that the installations are very expensive, so they introduced the Fit to make sustainable energy an attractive option for all UK households. Currently there are less than 2% of UK households with sustainable energy.

Let me guess. You are a salesman. Right? You keep telling fibs, Mike-S.

Its a good thing too. The free solar panel system has been engineered to sound like the quick and painless option, because it implies that its more difficult to own your own system. Fact of the matter is that its no more difficult to purchase your own system, because the only difference between a free system and a purchased system is that you sign over your Generation income that you earned to a company instead of benefiting from it yourself. A solar-installation doesn't take 10-15 years to pay off. It can do if you have an expensive and low yield system, but solar companies offering free systems would not choose this type of roof to commit to. Although it is possible to choose to pay the loan in the shortest time possible, which would take an average of 9 years, it is preferred by most customers to negotiate with their energy supplier and loan company to take out a loan that spans the full 25 years, with a fixed amount being used to pay off the loan, and the rest being paid into the customer's own account. This way they can benefit from day one, without the hassle of worrying about your loan repayment.

Everything I have said is verifiable and comes from a good place. I do work for a company that supplies sustainable energy solutions, but I am employed as an advisor. Be sure to take a look at http://www.ofgem.gov.uk (The comapny behind FiT) and http://www.fitariffs.co.uk (A really good, digestible site on FiT from Ownergy) to keep up to date on what's happening to the government initiative, and how homeowners are supposed to benefit from it themselves. Additionally, don't be put off by people telling you that you need equity in your house to invest in sustainable energy. The bottom-line is that you do not, because the installation itself provides the necessary equity and more besides. The best deals tend to be with a bank that you have been with for a long time. I suggest that you approach them and explain that you are thinking about installing solar-pv, that you have heard about the 'free-installations' vs. 'paying up-front' debate, and would like some advice on the best option to choose.

Having a solar installation on your property will raise the price of your house in accordance to the code for sustainable homes. The extra money will cover the cost of your loan and the new owner will have purchased the solar installation along with your house. This is true of all renewable energy solutions; hydro, wind, underfloor heating, water-recycling toilets and more. You are welcome to take the installation with you to your new property if you grew particularly attached (believe it or not, it has been done before), but this isn't advisable as you would be better off using the added value to your house to pay for an installation designed for your new home.

You can negotiate with your energy provider as to what happens to your income, in precisely the same way as you ask your work to pay half your income into your parents' bank account, or in the case of free solar installations; to have your Generation income paid directly to a solar company. Most companies offering solar installations will help you with this step, and from what I have experienced, most homes benefit from choosing to have their Generation income (the big one) to pay off their loan, and have the Export and Usage/Savings income taken off their bill: where cases of the customer being in credit, the money is either paid into their account or used to help with their next bill. Once the loan is paid off, the household tend to have 16 years of tax-free annual income on top of the money they are saving.

Your reasons for advising people to throw their money away are your own, but you weren't just speaking for you. You spoke for 'many other people' too. I can't see the reasons why people feel prejudice towards taking out a loan being many, afterall we live in a society rife with remortgages, buy now pay later schemes and paypal. Its not unusual to hear rumours of nightmares where people have lost their homes after missing a single payment and having to deal with the embarrassment. In my experience, people that have been conned can attempt to conceal it due to an insecurity they have in adhering to society's pressure of being seen as 'being with it' at all times, because it can be difficult to cope with the thought of being the only person in your friend-set that has been conned. By encouraging your friends into being conned too, you can say, "Its a mistake that anyone could have made." It can help people convince themselves that there is truth in their own lie, and this is especially apparent in people that have earned the reputation, and have a desire to keep it. In other cases, they tend to come from companies that use tactics to scare people into becoming their customers, and their stories end up being spread by word of mouth. Even if people were scared about taking out a loan, in the case of Solar Panels the repayments are guaranteed, so there isn't the worry that they won't be paid back. Also, taking out a loan and paying it back improves your family's credit rating, which is always a good thing. Read any of the big brands (REC, Suntech, Sanyo) solar panel datasheet. They are all available online. Most panels come with a 10 year guarantee of operating at above 90% efficiency, and a 25 year guarantee of operating at above 80%, so if they go wrong you'll be covered by the manufacturers own guarantee if they break. It's because they are so reliable and durable these days that the manufacturers can afford to make big promises. Your hassle-free guarantee has been passed on from the manufacturer. The biggest performance problem is if the panels get dirty then they generate less electricity. This won't affect most people as the coating on the panels is very good at resisting dirt and grime, but it will affect people with flat roofs, as it beomes difficult for the dirt to escape. Our company is seeking to incorporate a cleaning service into our plan, and I'm certain that other companies will follow our lead. Its also worth noting that a system costing £20,000 (about a 5.7kWp) I estimate would have made you over £80,000. Its a lot of money to throw away, let alone to recommend your friends to throw away.

Banks are more than happy to cover the outlay, because the income scheme is backed by the government. This is usually true, even if you have a poor credit rating, and taking the loan can be used as a speedy way to improve it. You can also negotiate with your energy provider how much of your income is paid towards the payback of your loan and how much is paid to you, this way you can reap the income benefit from day one. The incomes give on average four times the return on the original outlay, so they are well worth the investment and are tax-free. It's also worth bearing in mind that if you don't then you'll end up paying even more through paying for other people's incomes, and then there's the fine our country will receive if 15% of all UK households fail to embrace renewable energy. Most Solar Panel Manufacturers guarantee their panels to operate at 90% efficiency for ten years, and 80% efficiency for 25 years. This means that after 25 years, your system is guaranteed to be working at over 80% efficiency. This is brilliant news! We recommend Smart Solar, as they have managed to make brighter lights that use less power for a decent price. They even sell solar-powered pond features and other neat gadgets for your home and garden.

One of the most attractive reasons to invest in a Solar Panel installation is to receive the tax-free income from your energy provider. All Energy providers that have in excess of 50,000 customers by law, have to pay their customers an income based on how much electricity they use, regardless of whether they use it themselves or not, and the reason for this is to increase the number of households in the UK investing in renewable energy to meet the target of 15% of all UK households (current figure is below 2%) that the government promised by 2020 (the country will be heavily fined if we fail). The money for the incomes is then paid for by distributing the cost into the price of electricity for households that do not have renewable energy systems installed. Those Homebase kits may sound attractive, but in order to be eligible to receive the incomes I spoke of earlier, the panels must be installed by an installer with MCS accreditation, otherwise you are most likely doing yourself out of tens of thousands of pounds. Make sure your installer is MCS accredited before you sign anything.

Addition: There will be the following reductions in Feed-in tariff rates starting from August 1st 2011. - 19p per kWh for 50-150kWp systems in new and existing houses - 15p per kWh for 150-250kWp systems systems in new and existing houses - 8.5p per kWh for 250-5000kWp systems in new and existing houses - 8.5p per kWp standalone systems e.g. electricity farms up to 5000kWp.

The Savings/Usage income is the reduction in the household's electricity bill, but you're absolutely right; running appliances like a washing machine (around 0.6kWh per wash) or a tumble dryer (2 or 3kWh per cycle) during the daylight hours with a solar installation will save you a lot of money (not to forget the planet's resources). However, as far as money is concerned, the main saving is the Generation income (See my previous post for figures), which is what the free installation companies are taking from their customers. Banks are more than willing to give loans to cover the installation, because the scheme is backed by the Government (see my previous post), and one thing I almost forgot to mention is that energy providers will negotiate the incomes e.g. a customer could choose to have the Generation and Export incomes to pay off their loan, while they see the Savings/Usage income come off their electricity bill. This would be in effect the same as a free solar installation, except they get 15 or so years (about £20,000) of additional income extra. Especially since I chose a modest 1.68kWp system. Many semi-detached houses can accommodate a 4kWp system, and houses with bigger roofs can support over 10kWp. To cut a long story short, the Generation income is currently (Monday, 25th July 2011) banded at the following rates: - 43.3p per kWh for systems up to 4kWp on existing houses. - 37.8p per kWh for systems up to 4kWp on new houses - 37.8p per kWp for 4-10kWp systems on existing houses - 32.9p per kWp for 10-100kWp systems - 30.7p per kWp for 100kWp-5MWp (5000kWp) - 30.7p for standalone systems e.g. electricity farms The incomes are tax-free too. My colleague, Richard Hughes thought of the perfect analogy, "If say, 25 years ago you knew that a £20,000 house would rise in value to £120,000 then you would buy it, wouldn't you?"

Its a pleasure. I was worried for a mo that I had waffled on for too long, but there's just too much to it for a quick paragraph.

Hello, I thought you might be interested to know that it is not the heat of the sun that is converted into electricity. It is the radiance of the sun that urges the silicon to produce a usable current, and is called the photo-electric effect; discovered by Albert Einstein granting him the Nobel prize in 1921. The heat on your roof is probably due to an inefficiency in your roof insulation and I would urge you to have it checked by someone with a thermal imaging camera. That heat needn't go to waste ether, because instead of it being absorbed by your roof, you could install solar-thermal units or air-to-heat pumps to heat water, saving you the cost of electricity and extending the life of your boiler. Personally, I would recommend that you wait for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to be introduced (RHI is similar to the Feed-in tariff, but for heat instead of electricity), because that way you will be able to make some extra money too! RHI was due for release this year, but the date has been pushed back again. The Government can't seem to settle on a date. Best regards, Nick

Hello, I'm Nick, a Renewable energy advisor for Eco Infinity Ltd, and I'll explain why the free solar panel offers are set-up to con you out of your money. The reason why companies are offering free solar panels is because it is free money for them that was originally intended to go to you, plus depending on the small print in your contract, by owning the rights to your roof it is very possible that they would be free to make further alterations to your roof without further permission required: Allow me to explain.. You have undoubtedly already heard about the Government backed initiative called the Feed-in tariff. So first off, why does it exist? It has been introduced, because less than 2% of all UK households generate their own electricity, and part of the Kyoto-Agreement contract that the Government signed states that 15% of all UK homes must generate renewable energy by the year 2020, otherwise the country has to pay a very expensive fine. If the tax-payer has to foot the bill, then it is likely that the Government will lose favour with the general public, and will probably guarantee that they lose in the next election. So, what do you get for generating your own electricity? The Feed-in tariff is a 25-year income plan for home-owners that generate their own electricity, and it is paid for via a charge hidden in the electricity bills for people that do not generate their own electricity. When you generate your own electricity, your energy provider pays you three tax-free incomes; one for all the electricity you generate (Generation income), one for the electricity that you use (Savings/Usage income) and another for the electricity that you do not use (Export income). When you join the plan, your rates are fixed to those of the current time and are then index-linked so that they rise over the 25 years (for many home-owners, the Generation income begins at 43.3p per kWh, Savings/Usage income begins at 22.41p per kWh and Export Income begins at 3.1p per kWh). As more people get the systems installed, the Government get closer to their 15% target and therefore the scheme is required less and less until it is no longer necessary. That is why the rates of the Feed-in tariff offered to new customers drop over time, and this is why it is better to invest sooner rather than later, and also why businesses such as ourselves are putting most of our effort into Solar PV at the moment. How much will you earn, and how much does it cost? A small 1.68kWp system that might be installed typically on the roof of a terraced house would earn you about £28,300 over the 25 years of the plan (£770ish in year one, rising to around £2300+ in year 25 due to inflation). In order to get free Solar-panels, the company responsible for the installation will get you to sign your roof over to them for 25 years. So, not only do they have rights over your roof, but they also claim your Generation and Export incomes that are rightfully yours, leaving you with only the Savings income (for an average household, this would be roughly £150 saving in year 1 rising to about £1000 in year 25), which sounds really attractive so far, but what companies haven't told you is how generous the Generation income is (the one they make you sign over to them). For that same 1.68kWp system, the Generation income weighs in at around £600 a year in year 1, rising to just over £1200 a year by year 25. The Generation income is based on how much electricity is generated, regardless of whether you use it yourself or export it back to the grid, so you don't even have to use the electricity to benefit from it, and you would have received this on top of your savings if you had paid for the installation yourself. You would have also received the Export tariff, which is based on the electricity that you don't use being exported back to the grid for other homes to use. The Export tariff begins at around £20 in year 1, rising to about £40 in year 25. The Export tariff is the smallest of the three incomes to encourage you to use the electricity yourself. The cost for an installation of a 1.68kWp system would be just shy of £7,000, which sounds expensive at first, but your bank is very likely to cover the cost of the installation; even if your credit rating is low, because the tax-free incomes are government guaranteed, and so the loan is guaranteed to be repaid. You might either seek to get the loan paid off quick, which would mean that you would wait 8 years before you receive your money, or you might choose to make the loan last the full length of the plan, meaning that you start receiving money straight away, but pay more interest to your bank. Either way, you make far more funding the installation yourself over what you would save by choosing a free solar panel installation. Its also a chance to take out a loan and pay it back, because doing so will improve a poor credit rating more quickly. In addition, Paying for it yourself also means that you get to keep the rights over your roof, and you not only get your solar-panels for free, but you end up making a lot of money too. I'm not into pushy sales tactics, so I'll keep my company-plug short and sweet, but we are a local company that offer the highest-quality professional service, free house-surveys, quotes, advice, system-design, competitive prices and offer £100 for every friend you recommend to us that results in a sale. I hope this information has been of value to you all. If you have any further questions or would like a free no-obligation survey of your house undertaken, then feel free to contact me via an email to [email protected], call my mobile at 07703685273 or PM me. If you would like a quick estimate, you can email a Google Earth pin of your home's roof to me, and I'll take rough measurements using the Google Earth application, and email the results back to you asap. Best regards, Nick