September 1st, 2010
The BBC breakfast journalist, Phil Lavelle, has visited an Intelligent Energy Solutions customer in Loughborough this morning.
Stephen Adshead talked about how he has made a very shrewd investment taking advantage of the governments new feed in tariff. Phil contrasted this against another homeowner who agreed to a free solar panel installation.
In summary, a free solar panel installation allows the homeowner to save some money off there electricity bill. A purchased system enables the home owner to actually profit from the installation, with much greater financial returns than the free system.
Stephen talked about how the system would generate over £1500 per year in annual revenue, with a free installation the installer takes the vast majority of this benefit and the homeowner has to sign a long 25 contract agreeing the lease of his roof space.
The BBC interview can be found here:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11149092
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August 5th, 2010
Recently there are has much publicity, for example on Radio 4, discussing the financial benefits of solar panels. The latest addition to this discussion is the advent of ‘free’ solar panels. Sounds like a great idea!
For many people a ‘free’ solar panel installation is certainly the right decision. However surprising as it may sound, they are not for everyone. Individuals who either plan to sell their house or have future financial prospects may find a better more financially rewarding solution by actually buying a solar panel installation.
You could be forgiven for wonder why anyone would want to pay for an installation of solar panels if ‘free’ installations are available? The answer is simple, the solar energy that falls on your roof everyday is a fantastic resource that can give you massive financial returns. ‘Free’ installations require the home owner to give up all their rights to harness the true value of this energy, the installer takes all of the benefit (government’s Feed In Tariff) for themselves and the home owner gets the relatively small benefit of some free electricity.
To makes things clearer we can provide some figures. An Intelligent Energy Solutions solar PV installation can start from around £6500 (inc VAT). This system would generate about 850kWh per year. With the governments ‘Feed In Tariffs’ this equates to a total revenue and savings of about £460 per year with a 7% tax free return on investment. This means that to receive the same return on investment as leaving the money in the bank you would require 11.5% bank account (for a high rate tax payer). For larger systems IES can provide a return on investment equivalent to a 16% bank account paying the home owner in the order of £1700 per year. It is for this reason that large investment groups are so keen to use your roof for the realistic saving for you of about £150-200 per year.
To sign up we also expect that homeowners will need to provide a long term legal commitment that the panels will remain on the roof for probably 30 or more years. This can impact significantly on simple things such as maintenance, but could also have more significant implications if you come to sell your home. In 10 years time, solar panels will have reduced in cost and outputs increased, who would buy a house that had an antiquated system that they were legally forced to live with for a further 20 years while another company took all the benefit?
In short you may better off buying a system now that will provide you with an excellent return on investment and have no legal future complications for your property. If you do not have the funds available at present you would be best advised to wait until a time comes when fund are available or even consider borrowing the money as this still makes financial sense.
If you plan on staying in the same property for the next 30 years and you can see no possibility that you will ever have a few thousand pounds to invest then a ‘free’ installation could then be the right decision for you. Frustratingly, many people are entering into these complex legal agreements with no knowledge of the value of the energy on their roof or the possible future complications that this could cause.
For an independent view click here.
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July 8th, 2010
Installing Solar PV panels has shown to increase your home’s value, shows research carried out in Europe and the United States. The research shows that homes typically sell for £6,500 to £13,000 more than comparable homes without PV. The value is often more than the initial investment to install the system to begin with.
A survey on 2,700 adults in the UK found that, a third of those questioned, responded that they would be willing to pay more for a house with a solar photovoltaic installation, and more than half of those questions would also be interested in looking to whether solar panels would be suitable for them and their home. These findings would suggest that despite the initial outlay costs of installing solar panels, it seems that adding a renewable energy option to your home will go to add financial viability. Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust suggested that it also seems that Britons are willing to pay more for a property with a renewable energy source, which could be as attractive, if not more, to a house hunter as a new fitted kitchen.
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June 2nd, 2010
The Government announced that heat generation grants from the Low Carbon Buildings Program (LCBP) are now closed to new entrants.
On the face of it this is bad news for heat generating renewables, however most of us were already aware that these grants would be brought to a close within the next 8 months due to the impending Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). In addition many felt that the LCBP grants were too small to properly influence a buyers decision, meaning that anyone claiming the grant would have made the purchase anyway. From this respect it should and will not deter people from making the decision to fit a heat pump or solar thermal panels.
What does this mean for the RHI?
The new government have not given any specific guidance in respect to the RHI at this stage. Closing the LCBP grants does mean that there are extra funds to inject into the RHI. There is also wide acknowledgement that to make a significant impact on the CO2 output from domestic homes we must focus on the methods used for home heating and hot water. The majority of CO2 emitted from a domestic home can be contributed directly to space and water heating and this is an area which now has no direct government stimulus to modify homeowners behaviour. Having said this for many people fuel prices alone provide a massive incentive to heat our homes more efficiently.
The government also made clear this week that they intend to stick to targets to make all new home built from 2016 to be zero carbon.
Posted in Heat Pumps, News, Solar Water Heating | No Comments »
May 24th, 2010
With the subject of FiTs and ROCs flying around everywhere, it’s hard to know – Who’s entitled to what…
FiT: Came into force in the UK on April 1st 2010.
ROC: Came into effect in the UK on April 1st 2002.
All technologies commissioned on or after 15th July 2009 are entitled to the new government incentive of 41.3p/kWh produced under the FiT scheme. All technologies before this date are only entitled to 9p/kWh. This only applies however, to those that were receiving ROCs.
If you don’t fit into this category, then things begin to get a little complicated. Take a look at our FiT and ROCs eligibility flowchart which can help you get to the bottom of any queries. Answer the questions accordingly to find your answer.
Unfortunately if your system was installed before 15th July 2009 and isn’t accredited under RO then you will not be eligible for the FiTs.
Any installations from July 15th 2009, installed by Intelligent Energy Solutions, are eligible for the FiTs!
The following websites may also be of benefit to you, to see if you are eligible:
- http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/renewable/feedin_tariff/fits_lcbp/fits_lcbp.aspx
- http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/renewable/feedin_tariff/feedin_tariff.aspx
- http://www.goodenergy.co.uk/how-to-go-100-green/feed-in-tariff/guide-to-fit/
Posted in News, Solar PV Panels, Wind Turbines | No Comments »
May 12th, 2010
Intelligent Energy Solutions launches their new factsheet for the Feed in Tariff (FiT). The factsheet includes:-
- Information about the feed in tariff for both photovoltaic and wind power systems
- List of frequently asked questions
- A worked example of how to calculate the available revenue/savings
- A guide as to how to apply for the FiT
You can view the fact sheet here. If you have any problems downloading please contact us.
Posted in Solar PV Panels, Wind Turbines | No Comments »
May 7th, 2010
The primary question that most people are interested in at this moment in time is “What are the costs associated with Solar Panels?”
The first thing to determine is which type of panel you are most suitable for you. As a general rule of thumb we would advise that solar thermal panels (for heating domestic water) are the lowest investment cost starting from around £3000 (inc VAT, after £400 grant). PhotoVoltaic panels can offer a much higher rate of return but requires a larger initial investment.
PV solar panels historically were less cost effective than solar thermal panels but due to the massive government incentives that came into law at the beginning of April this year (2010) PV panels are very much the panels of choice for the discerning investor.
As an example a 4kW PV system can cost around £18,500 (inc VAT and scaffolding), this will generate around £1800 per year in revenue and savings, this gives a return on investment of almost 10%. It is also worth remembering that this revenue is tax free which, for a high rate tax payer, is the equivalent to a 16% bank account.
Posted in Solar PV Panels, Solar Water Heating | No Comments »
April 7th, 2010
How affordable is solar energy today?
The government has and is making massive changes to how solar panels operate in commercial and domestic premises.
Solar Photovoltaics
With the new Feed In Tariff (FIT) paying up to 41.3p/kWh for every unit of electricity generated solar photovoltaics (PV) are now an investment that cannot be ignored. For example a 4kW PV system can now offer a Return on Investment of up to 10% tax free. This makes solar PV more affoardble than ever.
Solar Thermal
Does this leave solar thermal systems out in the cold. Well, not for long. The government outlined a new Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) that is planned to come into law in April 2011. This scheme plans to pay 18p/kWh for every unit of heat generated by the system. The RHI will certainly put solar thermal system back on the map.
So our conclusion is that Solar Panels have never been so affordable.
Posted in Solar PV Panels, Solar Water Heating | No Comments »
March 8th, 2010
Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband has announced a "green loan" energy plan for homes, to help people pay for improvements to their homes to make them more energy efficient. Home owners can borrow up to £10,000 to make improvements to their home.
Consumers will be offered long-term loans to install insulation, solar panels or other green technologies, which they can repay through energy bills, spreading the upfront cost over a number of years. The loan remains attached to the property where the technology was installed, allowing the resident to move house, knowing the new owner has taken over the repayment for the technological system.
The Pay As You Save (PAYS) scheme, which was first announced last year, has already been trialled by around 500 homes. Loans are expected to be available from 2012.
Posted in News, Renewable Energy | No Comments »
February 28th, 2010
The government has announced a new feed in tariff for low carbon heating technologies. This is planned to come into effect in April 2011 and will guarantee payments for those who install solar thermal systems.
Under the proposed tariffs the installation of a solar thermal system will provide an income of 18p per kwh of heat produced.The installation of solar thermal panels in an average semi-detached house with adequate insulation levels could be rewarded with £250 a year plus an additional saving on fuel.
This makes already solar thermals even more attractive from a financial and environmental point of view.
The consulation documentation can be found here:-
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/rhi/rhi.aspx
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