You may have heard of free solar panel schemes, often known as rent-a-roof schemes, and be wondering whether this sounds like it is too good to be true. Well, in many cases such offers can be well worth consideration, but there are a few things to think about to make sure it is worthwhile for your home.
Free solar panel schemes have come about thanks to the availability of feed-in tariffs, whereby income can be generated from electricity produced using renewable energy sources. A tariff is payable for all electricity produced, including that used on site, with an additional payment for energy exported to the National Grid. Rent-a-roof schemes usually involve a solar installation company placing panels on the roof of a home or business at no charge and allowing the householder or business to benefit from the electricity produced on site. The installation company will in turn earn the income from the feed-in tariffs.
The obvious benefit to the householder or business is the free electricity generated in daylight hours, but savings will vary dependant on usage patterns and energy requirements. It is certainly worth looking carefully at usage in conjunction with likely output from the solar panels to see what kinds of savings are likely. Whilst the cost of solar panels is quite high, it will certainly be worth considering whether it may be possible to make this investment (perhaps with the help of a loan) on the basis that you as the consumer can then also benefit from the feed-in tariffs.
If the figures for free solar panels look attractive it is important to look carefully at any agreement offered by the installation company to make sure there will be no complications in the future. The Energy Saving Trust website contains some useful ‘questions to ask’ in this respect.
For more information on solar power including visit our free solar panel offers page.
UK Energy Saving - October 2011
