Solar panels and energy crunch forum

It has recently been announced that the government will be implementing a new solar panel grants scheme for solar thermal systems in April 2011. As with the current feed-in tariff introduced today, the scheme will be open to homeowners, who install this solar technology retrospectively.

The incentive is expected to provide a return of around £400-500 per year, which does not include the savings you make on your bills too. Solar heating systems can provide you with hot water for your home, business and swimming pools if you are lucky enough to have one. In some cases, they can be incorporated into your heating system if you wish.

This system will realistically provide you with nearly all of your hot water requirements from March to September and contribute during the winter months considerably too.

A properly installed system by an accredited installer will easily serve your home for 25-30 years.

Learn more at:

http://www.solar-panels.biz/evacuated-solar-tubes-installations.php

I did end up getting a solar water heating system fitted, and I have to say that from April to September last year I only turned the hot water on three times (on those occasions I had people staying so the shower was used a lot). Other than that the solar panels did all my hot water. Obviously there are swings and roundabouts with solar (heavy cloud/wet summers will not be as strong as sunny ones obviously!) but I reckon if anything 10 years will be pessimistic with what I have, the calculations I did after 12 months show I will get payback after about 8 years. And thats without this new scheme coming into effect.

The Renewable Heat Incentive - RHI

Get paid to produce your own heat for your home for the next 25 years.

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is a government backed scheme which are planned to be introduced in the UK in April 2011. Although these details are still to be finalised, at the time of writing. This new scheme will be designed to encourage people to generate heat from a renewable source such as solar panels, by offering financial support. Not only will you be paid for the heat you generate, but you will also reduce your overall household energy bills, thus protecting yourself from future energy price rises and reducing your carbon emissions.

The scheme is open to everyone in England, Scotland and Wales for homeowners, tenants, businesses and Schools. You will be able to claim the tariff from April 2011. Anyone who has installed a solar heating panel system, after July 15th 2009, will be able to claim the Renewable Heat Incentive when it begins next year.

Under the RHI scheme, you will be paid up to 18p Kw h for the heat you generate with your solar panels, whether you use it or not. This schemes proposed to be degenerative, so taking advantage sooner rather than later will give the best rewards to pioneering users.

What the above posts do not illustrate, is the protection you will receive from future energy price rises, because you will not have to use your current, expensive energy source like oil, electricity, coal and gas.

These are inevitably going to increase substantial time as the worlds resources are increasingly dwindling and harder to exploit.

The payments are guaranteed by the government for 10 - 20 years depending on which technology you choose. Solar heating systems command the longest time at 20 years.

The estimates on payback times for solar panels under this scheme can be as low as 9 years, but every household is different. I just think about what our energy bills are likely to look like in 10 years time, and this is enough to prompt me to get an installation. My system get installed in two weeks time.

Times are changing the world has woken up to global warming and future energy shortages, but it will be consumer demands that drive the changes.

I now accept that the era of cheap energy is finished.

Energy pricing is rocketing. Solar panels with their unique, long lifespan, mean people like me can invest, to reduce energy consumption and dependence on expensive fossil fuels.

I am a time served plumber, so can I install my own system and get this incentive?

Solar water heating panels are by far the most popular green technology, under the previous renewable energy subsidy schemes. The technology works exceptionally well in the UK (in my home too) and can supply between 50 to 70% of your hot water needs, so i am glad it receives this support.

I welcome the launch of this innovative financial Solar Heating Incentive scheme to subsidise low carbon heating. Heating is responsible for 46% of UK carbon emissions, and the RHI aims to cut that.

The £860m Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) announced by energy secretary Chris Hulne will provide a massive boost for green energy in the UK. The RHI rewards households and businesses, that install solar heating panels such as evacuated tubes through a system of tariffs. The scheme can be afforded by a levy on fossil fuel energy companies, allowing the UK to transform itself into a low carbon economy.

It is also expected to increase investment in renewable heat technologies by £4.5bn over the next decade and support 150,000 jobs in the heating industry.

This is a real, significant announcement that marks a significant step forward for the solar panels industry.

Companies and home owners using the RHI scheme will receive a return on the outlay of roughly 12%.

The feed In tariff for solar heat pays a reasonable price for all units of heat generated irrespective of whether the owner uses the heat generated or not. A large proportion of the heating generated will also be used in the home, negating the need to buy that portion of gas or electricity to heat. Surplus heat generated that is not used straight away, will be saved in your tank/cylinder. All installations benefiting from the feed-in tariff will have to have a meter, so there will not be any estimating.

This incentive scheme is a massive positive toward the encouragement to set up micro generation across the country.