My solar PV first year payback calculation

Cardew

Fred_Bear wrote: »

Originally Posted by Fred Bear
I have telephoned the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (0800 915 0990) this morning and they confirmed that the grants (Max £2,500) will continue until April 2011 at least. This applies to all the UK.


This post #100 last September.

My understanding is the extension to April 2011 is only for public buildings e.g schools etc.

Every bit of information I have seen for private housing states that it is 31 March 2010 when the FIT's start.

http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/Grants-for-your-home

DECC's Low Carbon Buildings Programme householder stream is due to be open until end of March 2010 for electricity technologies (solar photovoltaics, wind turbines and small scale hydro)

Cardew

Grolsch30 wrote: »

Can anyone confirm that the Government grant of £2500 will end in April of 2010?

If this is correct it would put me in a predicament as we are hoping to move into a New build later this year and would like to install a PV system (C21e solar tiles).
If one applies for a grant how long would the grant be valid for by that I mean how long is the application valid before it expires.
Could I apply before the deadline and wait until August/ September before using the monies from the grant?

If you look at the link I posted above http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/Grants-for-your-home
it gives the timescales for installation of the system

Grant Offer Validity Period

• 4 months for existing buildings
• 6 months for buildings under construction

So as I read it you would have until the end of Sept 2010 to fit the system assuming you got the grant at the end of march 2010.

Zanderman

Cardew wrote: »

If you look at the link I posted above http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/Grants-for-your-home
it gives the timescales for installation of the system

So as I read it you would have until the end of Sept 2010 to fit the system assuming you got the grant at the end of march 2010.

Scheme closed prematurely on 3rd Feb as I understand it: This is what it says on http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/Grants-for-your-home/Announcement

Closure of the Low Carbon Building Programme Phases 1 and 2 to new applications for electrical microgeneration technologies

The Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) Phase 1 and Phase 2 has closed to all new applications for grants for electrical microgeneration as of 5pm, Wednesday 3rd February, which follows the publication of the Government’s decision document on the Feed-In Tariffs (FIT).

The LCBP Programme has been running since 2006 and has provided a firm basis for the manufacture, assembly, supply and installation of microgeneration technology across the UK with over 14,500 grants provided to householders and 3,000 grants provided to schools, churches, communities and other not-for-profit organisations to date.

The publication of the of the FITs consultation on Monday 1st February in advance of the FITs tariff introduction scheduled for April 2010, will provide additional certainty for the industry to continue to develop and expand.

The total funding for LCBP is finite and the closure to applications for electrical microgeneration technologies will allow the remaining un-allocated funding to be focussed on thermal microgeneration in the run-up to the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentives (RHI’s) scheduled for April 2011.

The Low Carbon Buildings Programme is the £131 million grants programme providing assistance for the purchase and installation of both electrical and thermal microgeneration technology for householders under Phase 1 and schools, churches, communities and other not-for-profit organisations under Phase 2.

LCBP has shown its commitment to electrical microgeneration and has committed, to date, over £62 million (64%) of funding to it of which £54 million has been committed to the buoyant Solar PV market.

For further details about the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 please visit http://www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk/

This is because of the forthcoming Feed-In Tariffs (more on those on the MSE thread here) and the fact they were running out of cash for the old scheme...

John_Pierpoint

albyota wrote: »

Absolutely, just as if you were to get a home improvement loan to build an extra room in the roof, an extension, a conservatory, this would always be factored in when the estate agent values it. when you sell a house a HIPs pack is required and if your house is rated as an 'A' it is likely to sell easier than an identical house rated as a 'C' or 'D'. What is happening in Scotland is the govenment are now giving out low interest loans to purchase this technology and you get the grant too.....oh and the feed in tarrif. if we are to become less reliant on fossil fuels and not have to import as much from volatile countries, then the people who can install these systems (grant assisted) should be rewarded as they will be helping all of us from the ever rising fuel prices / power cuts.

I cannot speak for Solar PV panels on the roof BUT I have a friend who has recently sold with Solar Thermal (hot water) panels of which he was a proud owner.

I have also been monitoring a neighbourhood, where the owners were offered deep discounted Air Source Heat Pumps under the legislation that gives "deprived" neighbourhoods a grant to prevent fuel poverty. This being the alternative to Night Storage or red propane cylinders.

I have also recently sold a small detached Victorian "icebox" gas centrally heated but uninsulated property.

In all three examples, it is clear that the estate agents make no effort to promote the HIP/EPC and in the example of the two sales the buyers were not the slightest bit interested in the Energy Performance Certificate.:eek:
So what ever you do when selling you house DON'T drone on about stuff the buyer is not asking to buy, you will probably have to "apologise" for the funny stuff up on the roof.

Now turning to the subsidised community, that you and I paid for through our taxes, the majority of these houses now have ASHP's but some owners, especially landlords refused to cooperate with the programme of cavity wall filling, deep loft insulation, and ASHP radiator central heating; so these houses can be used as a control.
There are 6 very similar houses in this community up for sale. The type of heating makes absolutely no difference to the asking price.
The very people (next step down the ladder is "trailer trash") who should care about their heating bills if not their carbon footprint, won't even be told about the heating. The only thing that makes any difference is "repossession" - these 2 of 6 definitely chain free, are for sale at a discount price to shift them, even if you do need to read the HIP to discover who is selling.
Only one of the 6 houses for sale refers to the "eco" advantages of ASHP, but it is obvious that the estate agent is feeling his way and is almost apologising for the confusing concept and he fails to mention the insulation measures and electrical overhaul that accompanied the upgrading of the heating.
We can hope that the rest of the market will wake up to the benefits of low fuel bills over the next few years, but don't rely on cheap electricity bills translating into a 5 - 10 K improvement in your asking price.

I posted a few more details here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=30824083

BTW an "A" rating should mean zero carbon - you won't get one of those. In the 6 examples above some got "C" or "D" with fatuous suggestions about further improvements such as solar thermal, now squeezed out between heat pumps and solar PV.
One managed to get high marks for energy saving but low marks for CO2. - perhaps that was a typo.

John_Pierpoint

[FONT=&quot]

Cardew wrote: »

Does anyone know what happens to FITs if you sell your solar equipped house?

If you are getting the 36.5p, and sell house after x years, does the new owner get that rate, a reduced rate or does it lapse?

The benefit is linked to the house not the owner (like planning permission usually).
There is a government proposal to link any loan for the purchase of the solar PV to the property too.

I would like to thank Cardew for pointing out the weasel words used by salesmen selling these and similar home improvements ("Mr customer this gives you a return on investment of (think of a number) 12% - How much are you getting on your savings?")
You are not buying an investment like Tesco shares, you are buying an annuity.
You hope and expect Tesco to still be in existence and paying dividends that keep up with inflation in 25 years time.
Spend the same money buying Solar PV and you may just have managed to pay off the loan to install it, when the panels become so much junk strapped to the roof. The return dies with the panels.

That said, in 25 years time I likely will be pushing up the daiseys, after a short spell in the funny farm, so perhaps a tax free inflation proof annuity is just what I need.
What do you think kids - will it make the house easier to sell ?
Will it mean extra IHT? .

[/FONT]

John_Pierpoint

One final thought for those who installed prior to July 2009.
Has the time come for a "re-installation" without ladders and scaffolding?
Or are your homes all now registered on the EPC database?

windynook

Iam thinking about installing pv Solar Panels or a small wind turbine , with the feed in tarif and export tarif confirmed it should be a good investment,the only problem I have is Iam west facing the installers say this des not matter but i am not so sure,

Mcfi5dhc

windynook wrote: »

Iam thinking about installing pv Solar Panels or a small wind turbine , with the feed in tarif and export tarif confirmed it should be a good investment,the only problem I have is Iam west facing the installers say this des not matter but i am not so sure,

These are very different types of technology, and rarely are they both suitable.

Basically, if you don't live in a rural area, or by the sea, forget about a wind turbine - it'll never pay itself back even with the new FIT (some of those in housing estates use more power than they generate!). Though I take note of your username - must be windy there then!

As long as the solar company is MCS, then you may be ok - it would certainly generate plenty of power, just not as much as a south facing installation. At a rough guess, you'd lose 1/4 of the power, but this is pure guesswork. They will give you an estimate of the yearly power, which you can consider.

However, the really important bit is to check with the DECC if you will get the full FIT for a west facing PV installation. Do this before anything else.

windynook

on top of a hill facing the north sea

Mcfi5dhc

windynook wrote: »

on top of a hill facing the north sea

Easy decision then IMO!