From April 2010 the Government introduced the Feed in Tariff Scheme (FiTS).

Anyone installing a domestic Solar PV system under the MCS scheme, will be guaranteed a feed in tariff of 43.7p per kWh on all electricity generated by your system for the next 25 years. This is index linked so will rise each year.

If you're not planning on keeping your house that long, don't worry. You will be almost certainly increasing the value and saleability of your house to a level that more than covers the cost of your investment.

A 3.9kW system could produce income and savings combined of £1,700-£1,800 a year. This payment is index linked and so will rise with inflation, so total returns over the 25 year lifespan of the system could amount to around £50,000. if RPI is running at 5% that means your payments will increase by 5% a year, in addition to the 10%+ return on your investment we've calculated. That means an annual return of over 15%!!!

Just compare that with the interest rate you get from a bank!

If you know of a better investment, especially one thats guaranteed for 25 years then please let me know!

For example, let's say your PV system will generate 2,360 kWh over the course of a year. The savings you could expect to receive in that year would be:

*Total annual savings assumes that 50% of the electricity generated is exported, this figure will vary.

Don't forget your payments are index linked improving your return even more.

Naturally, you may also benefit from your Solar PV system in many other ways:

You will need to buy less electricity from your electricity supplier (estimated average savings of £130.00 p.a.) It is reasonable to assume that the value of your property will increase too. Would you rather buy a house with a built in method of generating income?...and of course, you will be doing the planet a big favour by reducing your Carbon Footprint.

Beware of companies offering fantastic returns on your investment. We have seen figures out there suggesting payback times of 3-4 years and wild annual generation income.  Here at Sparking Moggy we believe FiTS is good enough to stand on it's own merits. The figures we use are based on those from the Governments own SAPS calculator and those from

The Energy Saving Trust.

Remember, at Sparking Moggy, no salesman, no hard sell, just good honest advice.

N.B. The Performance of Solar Voltaic systems is impossible to predict with certainty due to the variability in the amount of solar radiation (sunlight) from location to location and from year to year. This estimate is based on the Governments Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) for the energy rating of buildings and is given as guidence only. It should not be used as a guarantee of performance