Solar PV returns better than expected!

We contacted Eco Environments for a quote on under floor insulation and
landed up with solar panels, how did that happen?  Easily really. Having a
long friendly chat with David Hunt on the 'phone led to our interest in
solar PV being discussed and the offer of a free survey and quotation at
the same time as they quoted for natural sheep’s-wool insulation.  They
came, they saw, they did some explaining and we were impressed.  The
quotation followed swiftly and we gave the immediate go-ahead for the
insulation but had to think quite a lot about the initial outlay for the
solar panels.  David explained about the Feed-in Tariff scheme and it did
seem too good to be true.  As it was before April 2010, there was also the
possibility of a £2,500 grant towards the cost and details on how to apply
were included in the application.   The application to the Energy Saving
Trust for a grant took 5 minutes to fill in and we received an award
within 15 minutes of submission.  Armed with this and with much more
confidence in the yet to be implemented FiT scheme, we committed ourselves
to the installation of a 2.58 kWp system expected to generate about a
third of our electricity needs. 

The installation process was a breeze.  On the first day the scaffolding
was up (and down again before day’s end, so no worries about security) and
the panels secured to the roof.  The inverter was installed in the loft
and the necessary electrical wiring run into the consumer unit with
minimum of fuss.  I work from home and, with the exception of the
tea/coffee runs; I hardly noticed they were there.  Day 2 involved
finishing off and installing the generation meter alongside our
electricity meter.  This second meter tells us how much we've generated
and it's this reading we need to give to our supplier, Npower, for them to
make payment to us.  David came around later and provided all the
necessary paperwork for submission to the grant people as we can only
receive our once installation has been completed and certified.  The
installation also includes a wireless "sunny beam" monitor giving
information on electricity being generated by the panels in real time. 
It's been 6 weeks since installation and it's still on my desk and it
still gets more attention than any other gizmo.

All in all, it's actually quite a simple system; panels on the roof with
wires into a box in the loft and more wires into our home electrics, so no
moving parts and negligible maintenance.  There are a few forms to
complete but nothing taxing, we would (and do) recommend a system to
anyone interested in doing their bit or simply in an investment that
doesn't depend on the banking sector! - Lee Jones
What it will save them/make them financially and over what period of time

“Originally, the estimate was around £1,000 per year income/saving, making
payback in a little over 11 years and a return on investment of around 5%
per year over the 25 years of the scheme.  The system has, however,
exceeded all expectations and we're on track to generate nearly £1,500 in
2010 but that's only using April and May's generation figures, better will
come in the summer.  This translates into around 9% annual return, tax
free.  If electricity prices rise more than predicted then the savings
could be much higher.  To put this into perspective, the savings we may
make this year will cover our entire electricity AND gas bills.” Lee Jones

With thanks to David Hunt at Eco-Environments for providing the case study.

Contact David on 0845 68 68 111 or e-mail info@eco-environment.co.uk