Solar PV panels worth £10-12,000, installed on your roof, free of charge – it sounds too good to be true, but is it really?

The ‘rent a roof’ model, as it is known, is proving attractive to installers and investors. A Shade Greener, Homesun and Isis Solar are just three of companies offering the service, and more will follow. So it’s good for business. But is it a good deal for the consumer too?

First let’s look at how it works. The company looks for homeowners with a south facing roof that is strong enough to install solar PV panels. They install a system free of charge, and agree to maintain it for 25 years. In return you sign a contract agreeing that they should receive the feed-in tariff income on all the electricity that installation generates for the full 25 years.

An average household solar PV installation is around 2kWp. It generates an income of around £800 from the feed-in tariff which, under a rent a roof scheme, will be assigned to the installation company. You will just benefit from a reduced electricity bill as a result of using some of the free solar electricity generated.

This saving may be up to £100 a year (on this size installation). The rule of thumb says that most people use half of the electricity they generate in the home, and half is exported to the grid. However, how much you actually benefit will depend on how much electricity you use during the day when the sun is shining. If all members of the household are out at work or school all day, then you’ll probably save less that that.

If you’ve got the capital to invest, and you want solar panels, it makes more sense to install the solar panels yourself and benefit from the feed-in tariff. Even if you have to take out a loan for the up front cost, Consumer Focus reckons it’s a better financial deal than renting your roof.

The government is due to introduce the Green Deal soon which will provide up to £6,500 finance for increasing home energy efficiency. The money will be paid back over a long period out of the savings in energy bills. It’s not clear yet whether solar panels and other microgeneration technologies will be included in the scheme, but if so the green deal will also be a better way of financing solar PV installations than renting your roof out.

So, if you don’t have capital, and don’t want to, or can’t afford to, take out a loan, is it a good deal? On the face of it, it could save up to £2,500 in electricity bills over 25 years (at today’s prices – although it’s likely to be more as energy prices rise). But I’d want to know more about all sorts of things before I went ahead. (I will be researching these over the coming weeks, so do keep an eye on the blog for updates). Here are some of my questions:

How much will I really save, based on actual electricity usage, and how much I’m at home during the day?

What happens if the panels break or stop generating?

Who is liable if anything goes wrong?

Will it impact my ability to sell the house? What happens if a buyer wants to remove the panels?

What, if anything, will I have to pay for?

Can I buy back the assigned feed-in tariff?

Who owns the kit? Is it insured? And if so, by who?

Who owns the panels at the end of the 25 year deal?

What happens if the company which installed the solar panels goes bust before the 25 years are up?

These are just a few of the questions I’d want to ask before going ahead with a deal. I’m sure you can think of more –  tell us at YouGen what you think of the scheme. Is there such a thing as free electricity? Are you tempted by the idea?

First published on YouGen blog. For more independent information on renewable energy, please visit the YouGen website.

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When it comes to needing an exact estimate for an energy efficient system, it’s the quality of the enquiry that ensures an accurate response – which is better for the customer, the installer and the supplier. Nu-Heat Trade Account Manager Gary Davies explains what information the team needs in order to get it right first time.

‘When taking an initial enquiry’ says Gary, ‘the worst scenario is receiving a set of plans and a request for ‘underfloor heating and a heat pump’. It’s like going into a BMW showroom and saying ‘I want a 2 litre car.’ If we get enough project-specific information at the start, our response will be dead on.’

Ethical sales

With renewable products in particular there is no such thing as ‘one size fits all’. With enough detail, it should be possible for a supplier to ascertain reasonably quickly whether the desired system is, in fact, feasible. If it is obvious that it won’t work well – such as an enquiry for a heat pump in a badly insulated older property – an ethical supply company will explain why it is not a suitable solution.

The supplier can then offer options for the installer to suggest to the customer – such as solar thermal for domestic hot water or underfloor heating (UFH) working with a condensing boiler (where the low system water temperatures of underfloor heating enhance the efficiency of condensing boilers and give a degree of fuel savings). Even for a well-insulated property, a ground source heat pump (GSHP) might be the ideal, but the budget could indicate an air source heat pump (ASHP) as a cheaper but still effective choice.

Support

With a design and supply company such as Nu-Heat support can be given from an early stage if enough information is available. This covers additional elements like cylinders, solar thermal or even towel rails and considerations such as the most suitable floor covering. ‘Basically any questions that an installer has we will endeavour to answer, however weird and wonderful!’ comments Gary. 

By investing a short amount of time to provide detailed information for an initial enquiry will help ensure that the response is right first time, which is beneficial for everyone involved. It also gives added value by facilitating an open, professional dialogue between installer and supplier, opening channels for excellent advice and first rate price options to be offered.

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“I’m just popping down to Tesco for a solar panel” doesn’t sound right somehow. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure that the entry of the supermarkets into the renewable energy market is a good thing. 

Sainsbury is first out of the starting gates. It opened Home Energy Centres in three of its stores (Camberley, Kidderminster and Leicester) at the end of last year in partnership with EDF Energy. They will sell solar panels, heat pumps and insulation, and EDF Energy advisors will be on hand to provide people with a free tailored energy saving plan and advice on energy efficiency. All the products can be delivered nationwide and installed by an EDF installer.

Earlier this month M&S joined forces with Scottish and Southern Energy to launch M&S Energy. Its first services are loft and cavity wall insulation with prices starting at £149. That will be followed by a range of products including bespoke energy advice, renewable energy solutions such as solar panels and heat pumps, and energy efficient heating over the coming months. It’s available through M&S stores and online.

Tesco hasn’t announced its renewable energy programme yet. It already has a home insulation service up and running. Enact Energy, the company that runs it, is also recruiting independent solar installers to join Tesco’s and M&S’s renewables programmes.

The good side to the supermarkets coming into the market is that it sends out a clear message that renewable energy is part of the mainstream. But I worry about the impact they might have on the market.

Part of my concerns are voiced by Dan Crossley, principal sustainablility advisor at Forum for the Future. “[The supermarkets'] approach has often been … a pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap model” he says. While I’m not denying that price is important, renewable energy is so site-specific that it needs a much more tailored approach than you would traditionally expect from a mass retailer.

Another of my concerns is the impact it will have on the small businesses that make up such a large proportion of the installer market. Will they find themselves squeezed on price in the way that farmers have done? With both Tesco and M&S recruiting from a relatively small pool of MCS accredited installers, what will the market look like in a year or so? And will it give value to the consumer?

The Conservatives appear keen to encourage the big retailers to play a significant role in improving the energy efficiency of homes. David Cameron announced last year that he’d have a programme up and running from day one of a tory government, and that agreements are already in place with M&S and Tesco.

Supermarkets, while convenient, specialise in encouraging us to buy the foods that give them the biggest profits, not the ones that are healthiest or taste best. This is my worry. The right renewable energy isn’t something that you can pick off the shelf. It needs careful thought and a holistic approach which takes in the specifics of each house, and how the inhabitants use it. Will this be a shift in emphasis too far for the supermarkets? Let us know what you think – especially if you’ve used any of the services they are offering.

First published on www.yougen.co.uk

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