Solar panels power the Home of the Future

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 15:55

Only a week after the Government announces its new Feed-in Tariffs, and just a week into the refurbishment of the Home of the Future, the brand new eco-measures being installed are not only lowering carbon emissions for house owners, Will and Catherine, but they will also be earning them money.

Thanks to the generosity of the UK’s leading solar energy company, Solarcentury, £12,000 worth of photovoltaic panels were installed into the roof yesterday. The panels produce energy from the daylight, which is then used in the home, with excess energy being sold back to the electricity supplier.

The Feed-in Tariff means that Will and Catherine are now being financially rewarded for their low carbon lifestyle by producing clean energy. For every unit of energy that their new PV panels generate, they will be paid 41.3 pence, which amounts to an annual income of £667. Some of the electricity will be used in their home and the rest exported to the grid for an additional 3p a unit. If a 50:50 split between the energy is assumed, then Will and Catherine can expect to receive £105 of electricity savings and £24 of export income, as well as the £667; giving them a total of £796 of income and savings each year.  Over 25 years the house is expected to see savings and income of over £18,000.

Standing on his roof, watching the panels being installed, Will said: “We’re amazed to see so much happen in so little time. It’s been great to have the opportunity to see all this work in progress and learn from the experts how energy conservation can be improved. All of a sudden reducing our bills and our emissions are far greater than we could have achieved on our own.”

The building team from Keepmoat, who have now been working tirelessly onsite for over a week, have already installed the under-floor and loft insulation, replaced the glass in all of the windows with energy efficiency glass, and installed the external wall insulation. Combined together, these measures will increase the thermal efficiency of the house as less heat will escape. This means that the heating will be turned on for shorter periods, thus reducing fuel consumption and ultimately the heating bill.

Keepmoat’s champion for sustainability, Mark Sopola said: “We’re delighted with the progress to date and can’t wait to hand the keys back to Will in three weeks time. He really will have an energy efficient Home of the Future!”