Installing Solar Panels is an Investment In Your Future

Installing solar panels is good for the environment, of that there’s no doubt, but for most people, altruistic motives are not enough incentive to make such a big – and relatively expensive – change. There are, however, other excellent reasons for choosing to install solar PV panels on your property. In fact, installing solar panels in the UK is an investment that can pay off for you in lower electricity bills and guaranteed, tax-free income.

How Solar Panels Help Secure an Energy Future

Unlike some countries, the UK doesn’t have large swaths of land on which to install solar panels and solar plants. That doesn’t mean, however, that solar energy production doesn’t work for the UK. In fact, the Department of Energy and Climate Change estimates that up to 80 percent of UK homes have the potential to generate electricity from solar panels – a scheme that offers a number of advantages for both the country and individual homeowners

Solar panels installed on individual homes are more secure than large solar installations. It’s a simple fact of life – and one that’s well worth noting in today’s world. A large solar plant generating electricity for thousands of homes is a tempting target for terrorists. Homes that rely solely on energy generated by a central power plant are at risk of losing electricity from any type of disaster – man-made or otherwise – that knocks a power generator offline. The solution to that is called “distributed energy production,” which translates into lots of renewable energy installations – solar panels and wind turbines, generally – scattered around the country. When the entire country is not reliant on centralized power generation for its electricity, everyone is more secure and less prone to power outages.

In addition, every installation of solar panels reduces the country’s reliance on outside sources of energy. While the startup costs – the cost of the solar PV panels and solar installation costs – can be high, those who install solar PV systems for their homes will realize significant savings each and every month. DECC estimates that the average household can save up to 40 percent on their electricity bill over the course of a year.

To sweeten the deal, the government has devised the Feed-in Tariff Scheme, which pays homeowners for every unit of electricity generated by their solar panels, even the energy they use themselves. When you install a solar PV system, you’ll not only benefit from free electricity from the sun, you’ll get paid to generate that electricity. In addition, if you produce more electricity than you use, you can feed the excess back into the grid and be paid an additional amount for that electricity.

The Feed-in tariff is set at the time you install your solar panels and is guaranteed for 25 years – and as long as you live in your home rather than let it as a landlord, the income is tax-free.

In short, between the electricity savings and the amount be paid for the electricity generated by the installed solar panels, DECC estimates that the average homeowner will recover the entire cost of their solar PV installation within 10 to 11 years. The expected life of a solar panel installation is 20 to 25 years, which means that for half of its useful life, the savings and income are pure profit. Now that’s an investment.