'Our meter is going backwards'

Anne and Peter Watts installed solar panels and an air source heat pump this summer. "It had better work," says Peter, a retired businessman. "I disconnected my oil tank last week, so if it doesn't we're going to freeze this winter."
The Watts say their decision to invest £10,500 on the panels from Jack Elam and £7,700 on the pump from Ardenham Energy was motivated by concern for the environment and about soaring fuel bills.

"Our oil bills were £95 a month - and rising - and I was beginning to worry about how we were going to cope in the future," says Peter.

"I've worked out that even if fuel prices stay the same, the heat pump will have paid for itself in five years and the panels in under 10. It's too early to see how much money we're making from them but on a sunny day our electricity meter goes backwards. It's a wonderful sight."

It is also a rare one in Britain, which generates less renewable energy than most other European countries - a mere 1.3 per cent. Only around 98,000 homes in the UK have some kind of renewable energy source. The Government is consulting on how it is going to meet its EU obligation to raise its renewable figure to 15 per cent by 2020. However, at present there are no plans to top up the £10million pot of grants for homeowners (more than £8.6million has been spent already, so you had better act quickly, especially as British Gas is to raise prices by 35 per cent).

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