The government are paying you simply to put panels on your roof and generate electricity.

Put the panels on your existing roof and you will get paid a feed in tariff of 21.0p for each unit of energy you generate. You can still use the energy for FREE. So if you are currently paying 10p per kWh for your electricity, the value of each kWh you use from your Solar PV system is 31.0p.

If you don't use the energy you can sell it for 3p per kWh back to the grid. In this case each kWh is worth 24.0p to you.

Overall you can expect around a 9% return on your investment.

That means that if you invested £15000 in solar panels you'd be approximately £600 better off per year. If you have money in the bank, you'll be lucky to get 1% on it at the moment.

Guaranteed for 25 years - by the UK Government
Once you sign up to generate your own energy, you lock in to the feed in tariff of 21.0p (index linked) for 25 years. So for the next 25 years - that's until 2035 - you will get paid 21.0p for every kWh you generate.

And it's Tax Free
You pay no tax on the money you earn. It you're a 40% rate tax payer, £600 earned from solar panels is worth more than the same amount earned from interest on cash deposits.

Prior to April 2010 the main source of grants for householders was the Low Carbon Buildings programme. The final deadline for this was 31st March 2010.

From 1st April 2010, the government has introduced feed in tariffs, under which householders earn non-taxable income for generating electricity, regardless of whether or not they use it. For example a 'retrofit' system of less than 4 kWp will earn 21p for every kWh generated. This can then be used free - saving up to 15p relative to what it would have cost to buy peak rate from the local utility company. At this rate, every kWh generated and used is valued at 36.0p. If the electricity is not used, it can be sold back ('exported') to the grid for 3p a kWh.

The feed-in tariff is guaranteed by the government for 25 years, at the rate prevailing when you install the system. So every year until 2035 you can earn 21.0p per kWh generated.

Please note in order for your system to qualify for feed in tariffs, it must be installed by an MCS accredited installer. Eco nrg Ltd is an MCS accredited installer.