The average UK household spends over £1,300 on energy each year. Unfortunately, much of the energy used is wasted, pouring out of homes through drafty doors and windows and uninsulated walls, floors, lofts and basements.

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  Solar Buying Club Benefits

8-12% p.a. R.O.I. on solar PVTax-free, index- linked paymentsIncreased property values and rent levels.Reduced energy bills.Installers you can trust. Impartial adviceFree solar feasibility report Peace of mindAfter care serviceReduced CO2 emissionsHelp protect the environment. 
Research by Energy Savings Trust, reveals 54% of buyers would be willing to pay more for an energy efficient home.

50% of sellers believe homes with ‘greener’ features will be easier to sell.

78% of those surveyed, believe having a ‘poor ‘ energy rating could lead to buyers haggling down the price.

54% believe a 'green' home will be more important than a fashionable home, in the future.

SAVE ENERGY,
MAKE MONEY.

What is the Feed In Tariff?
The Feed-In Tariffs were introduced in April 2010. The tariffs allow homeowners and other property owners to invest in electricity generation in return for a guaranteed payment both for the electricity they generate and export.

Generation Tariff: You earn a fixed income for every kilowatt hour of electricity you generate and use in your property. For installations which take place after 1st April 2012, the rate will be 21p per kWh for domestic solar PV installations up to 4kWp capacity, subject to your property having an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) level ‘D’.

Any properties below band ‘D’ will be paid 9p/kWh until the energy efficiency measures needed to improve the property to band ‘D’ are in place. If the property is not brought up to band ‘D’ rating within a year of application, then the 9p/kWh tariff will apply for the whole of the 25 year period.

Export Tariff: You earn an additional fixed income for every kilowatt hour of electricity you generate and sell back to the Grid of 3p for every kWh.

PLEASE NOTE: Homeowners only qualify for the full FIT payments if they use an MCS certificated product installed by an MCS* certificated installer. DIY applications do not qualify for FIT.

Who pays for the tariff?
The feed in tariff is paid by energy suppliers such as British Gas and Scottish and Southern Energy. The payment is guaranteed for 25 years. You do NOT have to purchase a solar system from your current energy supplier to benefit from FIT payments.

How much does a solar PV system cost?
That depends on the system you install. Systems are measured in kWp. The higher kWp the more energy you will produce but the more expensive it will be. As an example, quotes from installers for a 2.KWp system for say a 3 bed semi range around £5,000. This excludes any discount we can obtain for you from our partners.

Integrated solar PV tiles are another option where the solar PV tiles form the actual roof covering. Costs vary but generally prices are about twice the cost of PV panels.

Is my house suitable for solar PV?
If your home has a south, south east or south west facing, tiled roof with ideally a pitch of 30 - 45 degrees and no shading, then it may be suitable. East and West are also OK but are less efficient. If you wish to install solar panels on land or on a flat roof, planning permission will be required. Other considerations include:

• whether scaffolding can be easily erected.
• if the roof is in poor condition. Loose tiles need to be replaced.
• If your property is listed or in a conservation area, planning permission will be required.
• If your property is tenanted and / or in a block of flats, landlord permission will be required to install solar panels.

If your home is not suitable for solar electricity, we will tell you.

How much profit could I make over 25 years?
If we assume a 3kWp system costs £7,500 (excluding any discount we obtain) and produces around 2,500kWh of electricity per year, this would generate a Feed-In Tariff payment of circa £500 p.a., a payment of perhaps £38 for electricity sold back to the National Grid and a fuel bill saving of around £160 per annum.

This adds up to a total benefit of circa £700 per annum, which means that the system could pay for itself in about 10.5 years.

Assuming inflation at 3%, current electricity prices (12p per unit) rising 6% per annum and that 50% of the electricity is exported, your system could generate income and energy bills savings of around £18,000 over 25 years. You net profit after deducting the cost of the system (£7,500) could therefore be around £10,000.

This estimate doesn’t account for the fact that fuel bills will almost certainly rise at a greater rate than inflation, so the true fuel bill saving could be much higher.

Projected returns on investment before any discount we secure, are around *8 -12% p.a. which compares to current interest rates on savings of around 2- 6% p.a. (* ROI achieved will depend on various factors including the size of the system installed, purchase/installation cost and whether you are e.g. a 25% or 40% taxpayer.)

Could installing solar panels improve the value of my property?
A survey by the Energy Saving Trust suggests that buyers are prepared to pay up to £10,000 more for an environmentally friendly house and that 70% of all buyers consider energy efficiency to be of high importance when buying a home.

When will I have to pay?
Most installers require a deposit upon signing of the contract. Members of our buying group pay in arrears on 30 day terms.

Could I get a loan to cover the installation cost?
Yes, but if you have enough equity, you may be better to increase your current mortgage. Interest rates are low at the moment and a mortgage will always be cheaper than an unsecured loan.

Do I Need Planning Permission?
In England you will not need planning permission unless your property has a flat roof, is in a conservation area or it is listed.

AFTER CARE
After installation, the appointed installer will help you prepare the paperwork to claim the Feed In Tariff from your electricity supplier.

Solar panels have no moving parts so breakdown is rare. All panels installed have 25 year performance guarantees are Microgeneration Certificate Scheme (MCS) certified and installed by an MCS certificated installer. The installers arrange for certified electricians to connect solar PV systems to the National Grid.

Installers are required to provide an annual cleaning and maintenance service and solar certificate if homeowners are moving.

What is solar PV?
Solar PV produces electricity from the sun without any of the toxic side effects of conventional electricity production.

With a Solar PV array of panels on your roof, your property will use the emission free electricity at the time of production and under the Government’s Feed in Tariff scheme, the excess unused electricity will automatically be exported to the National Grid.

 

The average household will produce more power than needed in the summer months so this surplus can be exported to the National Grid.

How solar PV Works
A Solar PV panel is a device which produces electricity when exposed to light. A number of these panels are fitted together, normally on the roof and connected to the fuse board in your property. An inverter converts the electricity generated from DC to useable AC.

During the hours of daylight, the PV array will produce energy that is fed to the lights and plug sockets, etc. If you don't use all the electricity you produce, the surplus is fed back into the National Grid and it will be used by other homeowners.

If you need more electricity than the array is producing, then this will be provided by your current electricity supplier. This happens automatically, so you wont notice anything different other than smaller electricity bills.

How much Energy Will Solar Panels Produce?
As a rough guide, the typical home uses around 3,300 kWh of electricity per year, though this will vary depending on the size of the home and of the family.

A typical 3 kWp system will produce around 2,750 kWh per year while a 2 kWp system would produce around 1,850 kWh per year.

The amount produced will depend on the type of system installed and which direction the panels face. South facing panels are best as these will be exposed to the most sunlight.

Will I be able to use all of the energy produced?
This depends on a number of factors, such as the amount of electricity you currently use, the size of the system you install and the cost of your current tariff, however typically you might expect to produce upto 50% of the electricity you need over a year which means a 50% saving on your annual bill.

However you will be able to sell energy you don’t use back to the Grid under the Feed-In Tariff Scheme.

If you use most energy during the day, such as using a washing machine or having a bath or a shower, then you will use more of the energy you generate yourself.

Will I require any extra equipment if I want to sell electricity back to the grid?
Yes, you will require an export meter which will be fitted by the installer.

Do we have enough sun in the UK for solar?
Yes. It works in low light conditions, even in UK wintertime, but the amount of power produced will vary with the amount of daylight.

The brighter the sunlight, the more energy solar panels will produce, and they won’t produce energy at night but they will still produce a useful amount of electricity on a cloudy day. For example a sunny (but cold) day in January can produce the same amount of electricity per sunlight hour as in July.

Do solar panels have to be roof mounted?
No, they can be mounted on a free-standing frame in the garden on a vertical wall or on a
flat roof (the performance may be affected if not at the optimum tilt) .Solar panels are often located on a flat roof or even the ground by using an A frame panel mount.

How long does the installation take?
The roof work takes one to two days, depending on how many panels you have. The internal electrical work takes about a day. Installation is around two to four weeks of you agreeing to install.

Will scaffolding be required?
For most installations scaffolding will be required. This is to protect workmen whilst working on the roof and to comply with health and safety legislation.

What Maintenance Do Solar Panels Need?
Solar panels are low maintenance, and other than occasional cleaning, no maintenance is really required. In fact, they are cleaned by rainfall. Notwithstanding this, we recommend panel cleaning and inverter inspection every 5 years.

Panels have no moving parts. They do not emit any toxic chemicals. All fixing methods are approved for use on new-build or existing roofs.

What guarantees are offered?
All solar panels are accredited under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme and are guaranteed by the manufacturer to at least 80% performance after 25 years. Your system should be producing free electricity for many years after the MCS guaranteee has expired.

Inverters are normally guaranteed for 7 years. Extended warranties are available at additional cost.

Installers also offer a 5 year workmanship warranty. In addition they guarantee to investigate and rectify any query or complaint about your system in the first 5 years free of charge, with no call out fee.

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