Feed in tariffs

pjdj

Please can someone tell me the best place to get information about Feed in tariffs? Is solar hot water excluded (Sunday TImes last week suggested not) and if you go for PV panels how do you find a reliable supplier?:j

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

There are lots of posts in the 'Green' forum on this issue. Or go to the Energy Saving Trust.

Feed -in Tariffs are only for electricity generation - mainly PV panels.

To qualify for feed-in tariffs the installer must be MCS approved. This doesn't mean they won't rip you off in the prices they charge so you need to shop around. Also don't be fooled by some of the claims for PV. Whilst the returns can be attractive, the installations are very expensive - from £10,000 to £20,000. So it is a very long term investment.

Solar Thermal does not attract feed-in tariffs at the moment and essentially are a joke in money saving terms(stand by for outpourings of indignation). Next year there are proposals(the renewable heat initiative) to give a subsidy for these systems and this might remove them from joke status.

Pincher

In the UK, we seem to be stuck in some kind of fashion victim mode,
where green means three times the price elsewhere.

I'm getting the house ready for solar for when prices come down eventually, but it does not make financial sense to me right now.
If you think saving the planet is worth paying a bit more, see above under "fashion victim". Versachi Del Boy will be happy to take your money.

pjdj

Cardew

The reason I'm interested in PV is that our solar saves us around £600/year. It works very well - you just have to be disciplined in how you use it ie not expect hot water to be the same temperature every day and just top up as much as you need. And use the washing machine on sunny days!

There are 6 of us here so maybe not such a good deal for a smaller family

Cardew

pjdj wrote: »

Cardew

The reason I'm interested in PV is that our solar saves us around £600/year. It works very well - you just have to be disciplined in how you use it ie not expect hot water to be the same temperature every day and just top up as much as you need. And use the washing machine on sunny days!

There are 6 of us here so maybe not such a good deal for a smaller family

Here we go again.

The average person saves £55 a year with solar thermal according to WHICH and the Energy Saving Trust.

The Government commissioned tests of 8 solar thermal systems(flat plate and evacuated tube) and the average annual output was 1,000kWh. That, if you have gas, saves between £30 and £50 a year, oil £40 to £60.

How much do you think people spend on Hot Water a year? £100? £200?

Even the most lying of solar salesmen(and there are lots of them about - ask any Trading Standards office) only claim to save 50% of hot water costs over the year - virtually nothing in winter!

You do not save £600 a year! even £100 would be unbelievable good! Even if your panels produced double the Government tests - so 2,000kWh you would save on average £110 even if you could use all that hot water in summer.

Several people on MSE who have inherited(in one case fitted) solar thermal admit that £50 a year savings is about average.

Sorry to be blunt but people having bought something that is a joke in Money Saving Terms feel compelled to mislead others.

Or perhaps you can explain how you feel you save £600 a year?

kkjamor

Good Energy do offer a payback scheme for Solar Thermal check out HotRocs at https://www.goodenergy.co.uk