Sunday Mirror

25 October 2009

We live in power houses

Advances in green energy mean you can turn your home into a mini power station - and save yourself pounds. And if you generate more energy than you need, you may end up with your suppliers sending YOU money. We speak to some homeowners who have gone eco...

Derek Allum sees his solar panels as an investment - not just in the future of the planet, but financially too.

The retired university lecturer reckons the money he has sunk into the photovoltaic panels on the roof of his mid-terrace Victorian cottage will provide him with a better return than it would have had he left it sitting in the bank.

"I don't have a mortgage, I don't need a new car, so I was looking for something useful to invest my cash in," Derek, 69, says.

"I've always been interested in green issues, so I decided this was the way to go."

Photovoltaic panels are solar sheets that convert sunlight into electricity with the aid of a semiconductor. Derek had six panels installed by the Mark Group, who fitted the system in July in just two days.

With the panels up and running, Derek started looking at electricity companies to which he could sell his excess electricity. "I settled on Green Energy UK, because I found them to be the most helpful," he says.

Derek's panels generate about 1,100 units of electricity a year, most of which is then fed into the National Grid. Green Energy UK pays Derek 14.5p per unit.

Derek, from Hertfordshire, spent pounds 9,750 on materials and installation and he recouped pounds 2,500 of this via a grant from the Government's Low Carbon Buildings Programme. "There was a big outlay, but if the Government's feed-in tariff kicks in next April, I expect to get about a four per cent annual return on my investment, tax-free. It's a nice steady investment with a green factor. My money is definitely working harder than it would have done in my building society with current interest rates. They will rise again one day, but so will the cost of energy. And my electricity will increase too."

Initial outlay: £9,750

Government grant: £2,500

Time taken to recoup investment: Eight to 10 years

Helen Hollern and partner Mike Thompson's wind turbine has been turning a tidy profit ever since it first spun into action last November.

"We were granted planning permission to build a farmhouse on condition that it contained many eco-friendly features," explains 45- year-old Helen, a specialist diabetes nurse.

"I've always been into being 'green', but having previously lived on my own, I could never afford the initial investment necessary to generate my own energy.

"Once we knew we would be knocking down my tiny cottage, however, and rebuilding a much larger property, we started looking at the different options. As we live in quite an exposed area of Lincolnshire, we decided wind power made the most sense.

"We chose a local firm Green Generation to supply and install the 15 metre-high wind turbine and it was up and running in a day. If the wind is blowing in the right direction we can hear a distant hum in the garden, but most of the time we forget it's there."

The wind turbine has generated almost 5,650kw of electricity. This is then fed into the National Grid by eco-friendly electricity company Green Energy UK, who pay home generators 14.5p for every unit of renewable electricity they generate, even if they are using it themselves, not exporting it to the electric company.

Helen's electricity bill has always been higher than average as she has stables for her horse and several outdoor lights to illuminate her path to the stables.

She says: "We reckon we will use around pounds 1,800 of electricity this year, but we won't pay anywhere near that for it, because of how much we are generating ourselves. Plus, we expect to get back between pounds 800 to pounds 1,000 from Green Energy UK for the electricity we are selling to them.

"When I was living in the little two-bedroom cottage on the same land, I was paying over pounds 1,500 a year for oil and about pounds 1,300 a year for electricity. Despite being in a much-larger house, our outgoings are much less. We don't need oil at all as we have an air source heat pump driven by electricity and the money we pay for electricity is almost wiped out by the money we get back for it."

Although Helen and Mike got a pounds 2,500 grant through the Government's Low Carbon Buildings Programme, this paid a fraction of the pounds 22,000 bill for the installation of the wind turbine. Helen explains: "We should earn enough to cover the initial investment in eight to 10 years."

Initial outlay: £22,000

Government grant: £2,500

Potential annual cashback: £870 to £1,160

Monthly saving: £255.83