“Solar for Free” Offers in the UK Aren’t Quite as they Seem-

Experts have warned homeowners agreeing to new “solar for free” offers that they could double their financial savings by paying for the panels themselves. Since a government financial incentive was launched in April 2009, solar PV installations have skyrocketed in the UK. This has left many homeowners vulnerable to a massive amount of companies offering to fit their homes with solar panels for free. Under the “rent your roof” model, the companies receive the tariff worth roughly £835 (approx. $1,100 USD) a year and the homeowner receives savings of around £110 (approx. $150 USD) off their electricity bill each year — substantially meager in comparison. According to the Guardian UK, homeowners would likely benefit more if they paid for the solar panels themselves, even with a loan interest for the upfront cost of around £10,000 ($13,200) for a typical home. “Looking at the figures, it [paying for panels yourself] looks like a better deal on paper,” Liz Laine, energy expert at Consumer Focus, told the Guardian. She added that consumers should go into such deals “with their eyes open”. With the “free solar” deal, a homeowner would save around £2,750 (approx. $3,600 USD) on energy bills over 25 years, the length of the tariff offer. However, paying for their own solar panels with a loan at 7.7 percent interest repaid over ten years and earning income from the feed-in tariff, they could save approximately £6,506 (approx. $8,600 USD) over the same period.