Grants for solar heating etc

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Grants for solar heating etc

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Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 04 11:01 am Post subject: Grants for solar heating etc
we received a letter the other day through Royal Mail's dodgy-flout-the-MPS service, ie unaddressed through our door. It claimed there were council grants available for solar panels and..something else which escapes my mind. Has anyone here ever actually put any energy efficient heating in with the help of a grant? Did you have to jump through many hoops and was it worth it?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 04 11:04 am Post subject:
I think the solar energy one's are deducted at source, i.e. you pay less up front.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 04 4:11 pm Post subject:
No use to us, 'cos we haven't got a hot water tank . I'm holding out for photo-electrics coming down in price. (This is a long-term plan)

Guest

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 04 12:34 am Post subject:

Sadly, I believe grants are only available for authorised systems, that are fully installed by authorised installers.
Don't think "there's a grant so it must end up cheap" - some of these guys were selling double glazing last year!
So beware of performance claims that are ridiculously optimistic, and get plural quotes!

Economics: how much do you spend on water heating in a full year? I doubt its more than £100. Not many systems would save you more than 2/3 of that - say £65.
So on a 10 year payback, you wouldn't want to spend more than £650.
Alternatively, if you are a 40% taxpayer, how much would you have to invest to get £65 taxpaid cash extra in your pocket per year (same result as saving £65 on outgoings)? Well you can get 5% gross on a deposit account (3% marginal after 40% tax), and you'd have to invest £2,167 to get a net return of £65 per annum at 3%.
But you have to allow something for maintenance, repairs, etc...
But fuel prices are more likely to go up rather than down (IMHO, ymmv, etc)... Make your call!

So... for an ordinary domestic system, I think its probably hard to justify spending more than about £1500, and the highest rate of return probably comes from the very cheapest...
And 'spending' means actual outlay taking account of grants, discounts, etc

Dougal

3mariners

Joined: 20 Dec 2004
Posts: 16
Location: East Devon

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 04 8:48 am Post subject:

The economics of installing solar or photovoltaics require you to use the system for a long time before full payback, unless you can get a second hand system.

However is that the only reason why people do it? for example, if you had a bit of spare cash and were downsizing, its probably a good option....spend up front for a cheaper future. Also if its done there should be an ecological intension.

Grants can be available by fuel suppliers for more mundane things like cavity fill, roof insulation and in some areas even double glazing. I know of one case where a supplier of solar/photo.volt.s even subsidised instrallations to have a 'sample' installation in an area.

Guest

Posted: Fri Jan 07, 05 11:45 am Post subject: Re: Grants for solar heating etc

Bugs wrote:

we received a letter the other day through Royal Mail's dodgy-flout-the-MPS service, ie unaddressed through our door. It claimed there were council grants available for solar panels and..something else which escapes my mind.

Has anyone here ever actually put any energy efficient heating in with the help of a grant? Did you have to jump through many hoops and was it worth it?

Clearskies are the administrators for heating grants for Carbon neutral aspects. I have had mixed experieinces of them in installing a wood pellet boiler and solar heating panels. Grants are in the hundreds and area vailable for domestic situations as well as institutional.

Mark

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Jan 07, 05 11:57 am Post subject:
Was it worth the hassle?

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 2:14 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Was it worth the hassle?

We had passive solar water heating put in under the Clearskies scheme. If you are wanting to do it, and don't feel confident doing the installation yourself, then I would definitely recommend the scheme.

Get quotes from 2 or 3 registered installers, just like you would any other building project. Our chap (Dave Luckhurst, Solar Dawn) was brilliant, and has come back a couple of times to sort out some glitches we had (related to the thermal store we had fitted at the same time, not the solar installation).

Took a couple of months from commissioning for the dosh to come through, but otherwise our experiences have been very positive.

Judith

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 2:15 pm Post subject:
So how much did it cost in the end?

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 2:35 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

So how much did it cost in the end?

The entire installation cost about £4 k, but around half of that was the thermal store which isn't covered by the Clearskies grant. We got £500 back.

Without the thermal store, i.e. if you use your existing tank, you are looking in the region of £1500 - £2000.
Against that, we switched our boiler off at the end of April, and didn't put it on again until October, so I reckon a 10-year pay-back period is about right.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 2:38 pm Post subject:

Judith wrote:

we switched our boiler off at the end of April, and didn't put it on again until October, so I reckon a 10-year pay-back period is about right.

Impressive, are you reading this Jonnyboy?

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 2:54 pm Post subject:
I think it only fair to point out that we live at the top of a hill in a house that faces due South. We are also pretty hardy people! Your mileage may vary

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 05 2:55 pm Post subject:
Jonnyboy's well insulated.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sat Jan 29, 05 5:28 pm Post subject:

Don't forget if you are building or re-roofing, you can save what you would have buillt the roof from. I reckon it's probably worth it if you got an eco-conscience (can't spell it) and you are permantly going to stay where you are. We'll do it, just so I can be smug and say that our ekeltrickery is green, and ours. And I think it can only get more expensive, plus I like the idea of being able to have ekeltrickery credits, not bills. *sigh*

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