There are many arguments for and against installing solar panels, and the recent cuts to the feed in tariff have made the decision as to whether or not you should have solar panels fitted to your home much, much harder. The cuts to the feed in tariff have reduced the earning potential of solar panels by half and with have no doubt killed the business model for ‘free solar panels’ overnight. Big companies and corporations that would install solar panels on your house often advertised free solar panels, and then in return they would take your feed in tariff payments and could make a huge profit.
Of course this business model is now dead because companies would simply not make a big enough profit any more, over the course of the 25-year payments. This shouldn’t put you off investing in your own solar panels though – you will be helping the environment immensely.
The recent cuts to the rate of the feed in tariff in the UK have sent the solar panel market plummeting and for good reason. It will now take much longer to recoup the cost of the solar panels from the initial installation. However, there are a lot of benefits to installing solar panels on your home.
Solar panels may cost a lot, but it is a very solid investment and you will get the great feeling of doing something great for the environment.
Currently, solar panels do not require planning permission from your local council authority, so you are free to apply for installation whenever you want. I would suggest looking for an MCS accredited installer, because without the MCS accreditation, your system will not be eligible for fee in tariff payments.
These feed in tariff payments mean that you can earn a nice little tax-free income every year as well as saving money on your electricity bills. The feed in tariff is simply a scheme brought in by the government that lets people with solar panels on their home earn money by selling unused electricity back to the national grid.