Free solar panels - are they good for me?

By Chris Verity


The easy premise for the "free solar panel" installation is that an advertisement supplier offers to fit a Solar PV system to the consumers' roof at no cost on condition that this income through the If you've seen a commercial for "free solar panels" you might have ignored it as yet another marketing gimmick but apparently there are methods for consumers to acquire a domestic solar PV system installed at little or no cost.

Due to introduction of the UK feed in tariff of 2010, these days there are significant monetary gains to get produced from generating "green" electricity from Solar Photovoltaic Panels. Return on investments can occasionally be over 10% p.a. you can find written quoted returns in the marketplace reaching of up to 27% p.a. (gross) for 50kw systems. Considering the fact that form of potential return, it's no surprise that a small business with good cash reserves may browse make use of the Feed in Tariff.

Feed in tariff is "signed over" on the installer, and therefore for 25 years (within the UK feed in tariff) the PV installer collects every penny from the electricity generated from the solar power systems.

It's clearly beneficial to the installer since they receive guaranteed, double digit, index linked returns of what may perhaps be among the best low risk /hi return investments accessible in the United Kingdom at this time, but what about the individual, how do they benefit?

Generally, the buyer is going to be entitled to fully use the electricity generated from the solar panel systems, and enjoy lower electricity bills along with a certain freedom through the inevitable boost in cost of power. This decrease in expenses to the consumer may be the major deciding aspect in choosing to use a "free solar panel" system installed at their house.

Nonetheless, what the consumer gets out of the offer the longer term depends greatly on what the solar PV supplier has drafted their contract, and it's this agreement together with the supplier which needs to be reviewed thoroughly before any permanent action. As an example, now and again, the supplier may make a fixed charge per unit of electricity used; this might normally be under the current utility company rates, but now it makes the "fee solar panels" deal less attractive. It's also crucial to check if there are any "hidden costs" involved, such as future servicing & maintenance, accidental harm to the panels, faulty hardware or workmanship etc.

Consumers might also have to inform their building insurer, risking a rise in premiums to cover the solar PV system if your installer does not include some type of insurance cover on the panels.

In the past, it's understood that UK homeowners move house typically every 7 years, which means the moving homeowner will need to look for a buyer who is pleased to take over the prevailing contractual agreements which are in place for the solar power systems. Does this caveat help your house be more or less appealing to any buyer?

If, after weighing up all the pros & cons, you feel until this offer is for yourself, be aware that the companies offering "free solar Panels" are choosy about which properties they are going to select to install the system, which means you might or might not even be eligible.

Due south facing roofs with large open areas, no shading plus in excellent condition is really what the Solar PV installer will appear for, because this combination should provide the optimum return on your investment for them.

Switching to Solar energy can be considered one of the smarter things to do, and in regards to value for money, right this moment it's looks difficult to match in terms of risk versus reward, not to mention the general benefit in reducing reliance on non-renewable fuels and lowering carbon emissions, however, if you're planning on "free solar panels" spend some time to review all the details to hand before acting.




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