Make money from your roof

Have you ever felt your roof can do more than just keeping you dry? It can do a lot more, including making you an additional income, enough to make an impact on your electricity bills. In fact making use of your roof in the correct way can save you up to 50% on your electricity bills.

You may have seen shiny solar panels appearing on houses down your street? Ever wondered what they do exactly? Or maybe you think they're just some green fad that will go away in a few years? 

Solar panels for your home could earn you as much as £800 in your first year through the solar feed in tariff, the export tariff and by savings on your electricity bills through generating your own electricity. Wait! I hear you say, what are all these tariffs? What do they mean for you? Let me explain… 

The Feed in Tariff is a government incentive paid to owners of solar panel systems; it has been around since 2010 whilst rates have varied the rate which you sign up stays with your system for its lifetime, currently 20 years. This means you are guaranteed an income for 20 years. Even if you are not planning to live in the same house for the next 20 years you will still benefit through making your property more attractive through reduced bills, it may even add value to the price!

The feed in tariff currently pays 15.44p per kilowatt hour of electricity that your system generates, no matter if you use it or not! This can make you up to £500 in the first year and will increase year on year with inflation until the end of your feed in tariff lifetime of 20 years. The export tariff is very similar to feed in tariffs, another incentive for owners of solar panel system. You will receive 4.5p for every kilowatt hour of electricity that you export back to the national grid.

The main purpose of solar panels for your home is to generate electricity. This will reduce your electricity bills by up to £300 per year and as electricity company's increase prices this saving will be even greater. 

In total these benefits of solar panels for your home will bring in an additional income/ savings of up to £800 depending on the size of your system. 

If you are off the national grid for gas, an air source heat pump is also worth considering. This will allow you to generate your own heating and is an excellent option for those who currently rely on oil and LPG. An air source heat pump is typically 300% efficient but when installed in conjunction with solar panels, this rate is even higher!

For more information on solar panels and how they can reduce your energy bills visit Solar Panels For Your Home