Why solar panels are the new double glazing: They don't work much of the time and take 100 YEARS to pay for themselves...

Once upon a time, Lee Comer was a plumber. But he has come a long way since those days. He is now a company director and lives in a beautiful thatched cottage in Dorset complete with its own stables.

How did he make his money? Answer: out of pensioners like Wendy Hammett.

Mrs Hammett, 66, a former secretary, paid Comer's firm, Simplee Solar, more than £10,000 for solar panels at her bungalow outside Bournemouth.

The system, she was promised, would slash her gas and electric bills by 70 per cent. It was a lie.

'It has ended up costing me more,' she said. She is not alone. Other elderly customers of Simplee Solar suffered a similar fate.

In 2006, Comer and his partner Tom Callaghan were fined a total of £40,000 (with £27,000 costs) at Bournemouth Crown Court for supplying and offering goods to which a false trade description applied. That's the legal term for cowboy tactics.

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How to generate profit and power from home

WHILE many people think the future of the global environment is in the hands of the younger generations, a new breed of “pensioner greens” are demonstrating that all ages can play a part - especially if it makes good financial sense.
Ken and May Brock are among those who are taking advantage of a new Government scheme which provides a long-term, guaranteed income for all the small-scale renewable energy they can generate - regardless of whether it is fed into the grid or used in their own home.

The scheme is aimed at helping to achieve a target of the UK producing 15% of its electricity from renewable sources by the year 2020.

It pays homeowners for each kilowatt–hour of electricity produced from renewable sources - about four times the market cost.

The new “feed-in” tariff became effective from April 1 and makes a great deal of economic sense for those willing and able to make the investment in technology such as solar panels, photo-voltaic cells or small wind turbines.
The Clean Energy Cash-back scheme is open householders, businesses, communities, farmers, schools and hospitals - anyone who want to generate “green” electricity from renewable installations up to five mega-watts in size (equivalent to two large commercial wind turbines) although the payments vary by technology and size.

Pensioners on a fixed income but with savings are among those who are often in a position to introduce green technology – not only to save money but to play their part in reducing the national reliance on power stations which burn fossil fuels, producing global warming gases.

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UK homeowners rush to take advantage of feed-in tariffs

The introduction of feed-in tariffs this month has led to a record number of inquiries about solar panel installation, as homeowners rush to take advantage of the scheme.

The energy company npower has reported an 80% rise in inquiries for solar panel installation and record numbers are having panels installed in response to the introduction of the Clean Energy Cashback scheme on 1 April by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

In one month, npower has installed 55 solar panel systems and responded to 200 requests for information on installation. Louisa Gilchrist, solar expert for npower, said: "It's fantastic to see feed-in tariffs generating so much interest with homeowners, and the scheme should be applauded for energising the solar industry in the UK."

Feed-in tariffs, also known as FITs, pay homeowners and businesses for the generation of their own electricity through low-carbon means. Anyone who is generating their own electricity through accredited solar technology can receive 41.3p for every unit of electricity they generate. Homeowners can choose to use the electricity they produce or feed it back into the national grid. Government figures estimate that a typical household could generate an income of up to £960 a year through the use of solar panels. The increased take-up is likely to stimulate the manufacture and installation of solar panels, but green campaigners have argued that the government subsidy would be more effective at reducing carbon emissions if it was directed at large-scale renewable technologies.

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Find a grant or discount for your property

Our database includes grants from a range of providers including government, energy suppliers, retailers and installers. Energy Saving Trust tries to ensure that all installers listed are members of the National Insulation Association (NIA). However, it is unable to offer any other recommendation or endorsement of any of the listed installers or the products they install. Please visit www.insulation.org.uk to find out more about the checks carried out by the NIA on its members. Similarly, the Energy Saving Trust is also unable to guarantee price and "lead times" shown in the database and you should ensure that the written agreement with your chosen installer confirms this information.

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