One of the most valuable things to arrive in the home improvement world in the last five years were the free solar deals that rose out of the Feed In Tariffs introduced a few years ago. Unfortunately, the tidal wave of companies offering free solar panel installations fell by the wayside when the incentives were slashed in 2011, even though delayed until 2012, slowing to a trickle of providers who have been willing to accept much smaller returns on their investments.
The simple fact that some companies are still providing the installations for free shows that the returns are still greater than the costs, especially for homeowners that also benefit from the free power they generate – something the investors have never seen a gain from.
Many people have misconceptions about solar technology, believing that they don’t get enough sun where they live to make installing the panels worthwhile. By way of an example, fitting solar panels in Norwich will provide no greater gain than anywhere else in the country, just because there tends to be a lot of sun.
As we talked about when referring to the Green Deal, you can often get a loan under the scheme to help pay for your panels, but it’s unlikely to cover the full cost. As a supermarket likes to say though, Every Little Helps, and it could mean finding thousands of pounds less up front, and you can use the savings on your electricity bill to repay the money you borrow.
Most of us would love to live a greener life, and solar is the perfect way to do that, save money on your bills, earn extra income, and even become immune to daytime power cuts! Of course, it’s wise to do your research first, as not every household will be able to make the numbers work to be better off as a result of their solar investment.