Benefits of Solar PV (Photovoltaic Efficiency)
In a constantly changing world and with many uncertainties (especially surrounding Fossil fuels and the disputes over when they will run out), Solar PV Systems coupled with the attraction of the government initiated feed-in tariff makes this the new “must-have”.
Feed in Tariffs explained
There are no longer any capital grants for domestic systems, that is to say where the grant pays part of the capital cost at the installation stage.
Instead, these programs have been replaced with a “reward structure” that pays you for every unit generated by renewable means as you go along.
The amount that this is depends on the date that the system is installed, but is guaranteed to remain at that rate (plus is index linked so rises with inflation) for a 25 year period.
For example, a system that is installed before April 2012, is below 4KW and is retro-fitted to a domestic property will give a feed-in tariff rate of 43.3p.
When compared to the current average standard rate paid for electricity of 14p, the significant feed-in-tariff benefits become clear.
The feed in tariff rates will decrease as the initiative gets older. This is easily illustrated in our table - please click here to view
As well as the FIT payment for every unit generated, if the unit is used on site you also do not have to buy the unit in and save the cost of buying that unit. If the unit is exported from site (into the national grid) you qualify for an export payment of 3p per unit.
These figures are generally estimated by the electricity supplier as a 50/50 split based on the total number of units that you have generated.
Solar PV compared to other renewables
Compared to other forms of generating renewable energy (such as solar-thermal – using solar radiation to generate hot water, or wind – using wind power to turn a turbine and generate electricity), what makes Solar PV so appealing is the lack of moving parts and that the systems are pretty much maintenance-free as well as being silent in their operation.
Having solar power in your home can make a considerable difference to the overall profitability of a system when maintenance bills for the other systems start to mount up over their lifetime.
