SOLAR PANELS

[Compo]

Has anyone come across the deals that are enabling householders to have free photovoltaic cells. The way it works is that so much of the electricity generated is put back into the national grid and you get some free electricity in return.

Don't worry I have not signed anything yet but on the face of it I am eligible and it looks like a good thing to do. There is an understanding that you will not remove the cells for ten years

CoMpO

[Nature's Babe]

Hmmmmn, check it out Compo, cos if you purchase yourself you get free electricity and they still pay you, even if you use a lot of what is generated. Look at both options carefully before deciding and see what you pay in the light of your normal usage. I believe some solar cells are more efficient than others too, it's still a developing technology.

[Colin Miles]

Suggest you read this link.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/pro ... lling.html

[John]

Excellent link, Colin.
I always look for Jeff Howells's excellent column every week. He talks a great deal of sense.
Another beef I have about these solar panels is simply how long will they last? My guess is that after a very few years of weathering in our climate they will begin to deteriorate and output will fall markedly.
With the high winds we can get round here I think they would soon be down the bottom of the garden.

John

PS To my mind all this investment in renewable energy resources is a complete waste of money. We should be investing in improving existing technologies like coal-fired and nuclear which can deliver the energy we need in the quantities that we need - whether or not the sun shines or the wind blows.

[Shallot Man]

At 77 I think I would be better going for the free option.

[Chantal]

My parents are in their early 70's but have just paid to have solar panels and are already feeding back into the grid. They have a little gizmo that tells them how much money they make each day

They got their panels from the Mark Group and are exceptionally impressed with the service they have received from enquiry through to installation and after service. The installation guys even carefully placed the scaffolding so as not to damage any plants and were very quick, clean and efficient.

http://www.markgroup.co.uk/solar/

They'll soon be using my parent's home for publicity purposes too as they were one of the first to take up the option, long before I'd even seen it advertised.

They did already have a couple of solar panels, they've had them for years at they are very into helping save the planet.

If you have the money for the outlay, then it's a better investment than anything else on offer.

[Compo]

One of the plusses here is that it is featured on the Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert website, someone I have always respected for good advice....I am waiting for a sample contract to read before I make any decisions

CoMpO