Solar Blog

With much being done to heighten the awareness of the importance of being green, the smallholders of Britain are being urged to harness renewable energy sources in order to hit targets set by the Government. Though the focus is clearly on positively affecting the environment, families up and down the country can benefit from great financial benefits too. The cost of oil has seen a sharp rise in recent weeks due to unrest in Libya, and the coalition Government’s plans to introduce a fuel duty increase in April will affect the size of energy bills and general cost of living in households all over the UK. With this in mind, the popularity of home solar panel installations is on the increase.

The installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) reduces the amount of electricity drawn from the grid of course. Further than this though, it pays households for anything sold back to the grid under the Government’s Feed In Tariff (FIT) scheme. The Government recognises that there are a growing number of smallholders in the country could benefit a great deal further than this though. Many parts of the UK have great potential to exploit the technology, and any south facing roof, be it on a house, barn or chicken coop could be used.

The upshot of this could mean a significant extra income for those with small farms, whilst the reduction in the carbon footprint of the household will be noticeable. Installation costs vary of course, though should begin to pay itself within the decade.

By 2020, the UK needs to be generating at least 15% of its energy through renewable resources. As one of the leading ways to produce electricity in an efficient and clean way, solar panel companies are campaigning for the Government to promote the technology.