Compelling reasons for installing solar energy on your home.

Compelling reasons for installing solar energy on your home.

Recently, the arguments for installing solar panels on your home have all been coming from the environmentalists. With warnings of Polar ice melting by 2060 leaving Polar Bears homeless, temperatures rising around the world causing untold damage to our present way of life and claims that the UK has already been subjected to gas rationing during the cold weather of Christmas 2009.

Scientific communities have verbally clashed with media as each side has sought to discredit the other over the scientific accuracy of global warming - all trying to separate fact from fiction.

However, if the science has left you more confused than ever, there is another side to the solar energy / renewable energy story - one that hasn't been given a very big voice.

The financial rather than the environmental aspects of installing renewable energy generating methods to your property, whether that's a domestic home or a business.

Yes, the initial installation costs may be high but when you factor in the various schemes and grants available to you (either directly or via your installer) from Government and local council sources, then what's referred to as the 'payback period' (the period of time it takes you to recover your installation costs through energy bill savings) shortens considerably.

Add to this the current feedback about solar panel installations lasting past 30 years (when they were originally given a shelf life of between 20 and 25 years) and things look decidedly better.

Property professionals are now also reporting that homes with some form of renewable energy generation installed on them are commanding a better selling price and with good reason to.

OK so the original installer may not have enjoyed a long enough period to get their investment returned in full, but as a 'second owner', you may have paid more for the property but your payback period should be even shorter.

Then there's Feed-In tariffs - with the UK expecting an announcement any day now, on what the tariffs are likely to be set at - i.e how much per kWh you'll be paid for any renewable energy you put back into the National Grid - the tariffs are expected to start in April 2010. They work on a fixed period of time so the sooner you're able to join the scheme, the more your shorten your payback period even further.

Supporters of renewable energy are keen to point out (and it's been mentioned here on the Solar Panel Quoter Blog before) that renewables do offer some form of payback - it may not be quick to recoup it's outlay but it does have offer a payback - period.

Your existing oil, gas or electric suppliers offer zero payback. In fact, you've only got to look at the history of price increases to realise that far from getting cheaper, the outlook for traditional fuels is only going to be higher prices.

There is one more thing worth mentioning - national renewable energy generation is still very much in its infancy, Despite the wind turbines you see dotted around the skyline, and the proposed large scale wind farms out at sea, currently, the UK is only generating a fraction of its energy from renewable sources.

Sure, targets are in place to be met by 2020 (which is only 10 years away now), but the truth is probably that for now, generation on an individual basis will make the most difference to an individual homes needs and fuel bills.

Personally, if the feed-in tariffs get introduced (as planned) later this year, then I think the UK will see a big surge in solar panel installations, like we've already seen recently in Germany and Italy where such tariffs were introduced.

That's good for the economy too.

If you'd like to find out more about the costs of getting solar panels installed on your home, you can use Solar Panel Quoter to get an instant online price guide. Our service also extends to putting you in touch with local recommended and approved solar panel installation companies, who can use their wealth of knowledge to ensure that you get the right system to meet your requirements.

You can use solar energy to provide hot water for your home, power underfloor heating and even heat your outdoor pool. Photovoltaic solar panels can be used to generate electricity which can be fed directly into your home's power supply, connected to the National Grid to put surplus back into the network or stored for back up use.

Many Motorhome (RV) owners are discovering that installing a smaller solar panel system on their vehicle means less dependence on sites with hook-up facilities, and lowers their site fees in general, whilst still providing for all their creature comforts.

And that's just considering solar energy. We haven't even touched on other renewable energies like ground source heat pumps, hydro generation (if your property is located next to a stream) and wind turbines, although wind turbines need more consideration with regards siting and effectiveness on a larger scale than individual households, but for a small-holding, if you've got the room?

Is your future energy outlook sunny?

photo credit: lars k jensen