Your guide to solar power, grants and feed-in-tariffs across Cheshire and the surrounding area

Welcome

This website is designed to help you understand the benefits and practicalities of solar panels, by cutting through the jargon and explaining in layman's terms everything you need to know. At first the different types, installation and grants related to solar panels can seem bewildering and impossible to understand. So we seek to explain in an easy step by step guide that should be easy to follow and understand. We explain the technologies behind the solar panels, how much they should cost you and what grants and feed-in tariffs are available to you.

The demand for solar panels in the UK is just beginning to take-off as the advent of feed-in tariffs has meant that they now represent one of the best investment opportunities around today. We will go into further details on how the feed-in tariffs can generate a 8-10% return on your investment further down the page, but first it is important to distinguish between the two different types of solar energy systems available.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems

Solar Photovoltaic systems convert sunlight into electricty for use in the home. They are larger than solar water heating systems and can generate around 40% of a households electricity needs. A typical "good" domestic systems should cost between £10000 and £14000. Solar Photovolatic systems now qualify for Feed-In tariffs (or clean energy cashback scheme), whereby households are paid for the electricty they generate. These payments are guaranteed by the government for 25 years and should amount to around £800 a year, in addition to the savings made on household bills. This means that installing Solar Photovoltaic systems should give a return in excess of 8% per annum. Click here for a full guide to Solar Photovoltaic systems and how to apply for a survey.

Solar Water Heating

Solar water heating systems use the free heat of the sun to warm hot water. The solar panels, fiited to the roof, collect heat from the sun and use it to warm the water which is stored in a hot water cylinder. A "good" solar hot water system should cost you between £4000 and £6000. Click here for a full guide to solar water heating systems and how to apply for a survey.

The Sunday Times, 23rd May 2010 - classifies Solar Panels as "one of its 5 ways to make a 10% return on your money"

PriceWaterHouse Coopers predicts the "UK Solar PV market could grow five fold in 2010, and 30 times over to 2015"