A More Energy Efficient and Sustainable Home with Reef Solutions

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, November 05, 2010 (Press-News.org) In times of austerity, energy efficiency becomes a significant issue for the majority of home-owners.

Our over-reliance on fossil fuels means energy prices are sky-rocketing. Everyone agrees that we need to look at alternative sources of energy and new Green legislation means domestic, renewable energy is now viable.

Allowing Reef Solutions to install solar panels to your property or office offers you the opportunity to enjoy lower energy bills and take advantage of the industry's biggest domestic money-spinner, all whilst becoming more environmentally friendly and significantly more sustainable.

Anyone can take advantage of this Green drive. Can you afford not to? International Green incentives have made such a scheme possible. All you are required to do is make the initial phone call and spare some tea-bags for the installers. After solar panel installation, you will be able to take advantage of lucrative "Feed-in tariff" (Fits). Fits, are payments made by energy suppliers to home-owners who generate their own electricity from renewable sources and equate to a payment of between GBP500 to GBP1500 a year. Previously, Britain had lagged behind the rest of Europe in regard to the uptake of solar and other renewable energy sources, but since the Labour government announced the introduction of Fits in February 2010 the industry has improved significantly.

So, in return for your initial investment in solar panel installation, which is dependant on the amount of panels used, you can secure the Fits for every unit of electricity generated: currently 41.3p per KWh. If this solar generated power is not consumed you can even export it back to your energy supplier.

Considering these payments are generated for the next 25 years and will scale with inflation you will make a big return on your investment.

Fits are only one advantage of solar panel installation. In addition to this extra revenue stream home-owners will enjoy cheaper electricity bills because the photovoltaic cells within the panels will be converting the sun's energy into electricity that will be used directly by your home appliances. Most companies estimate the average consumer will save around 30 percent on the annual electricity bill. Furthermore, additional savings can be made by adopting a more savvy energy consumption, such as running high-usage appliances during the day. Also, as traditional electricity prices increase, these savings will grow and grow. The more electricity you make the less you will be paying and the less you will be reliant on traditional environmentally-harmful sources of electricity.

Solar panels help lessen the strain on the planet's resources, give you substantial savings on your domestic overheads and provide a guaranteed income for the next 25 years.

Solar panel installation and the associated Fits are such a wise investment a plethora of 'free' installation companies have spawned recently. Profit-minded agencies like City investors, and at least one hedge fund, have been ascertaining ways to optimize uptake resulting in this free solar panel deal. In return for covering your roof in solar panels these new companies are after the lucrative "Feed-in tariff" (Fits). Although Industry experts welcome the potential increase in solar energy usage, as it would undoubtedly save consumers expenditure whilst helping achieve national 'Green' targets, the experts are sceptical that "free" installation is the most effective method. Solar energy expert Richard Drinkwater says that these deals are merely superficial: "Effectively customers using a company offering a 'free' solar photovoltaic system may be getting around GBP230 free electricity per year, but may not appreciate they are giving away a cash income of more than GBP35000 over 25 years." In return for their initial investment these companies are making a potential return of up to GBP37500 that is a conservative profit of up to GBP20000.

It seems clear then, that the most economically profitable way of a home-owner making use of solar panels and the resulting cheaper electricity bills is to pay for the initial installation and secure the lucrative Fits for themselves. Even without a spare GBP15000 to spend on the installation, this option is still far more lucrative. Current re-mortgaging rates of around five or six percent mean that home-owners would break even after nine or ten years and then can enjoy a pure, risk free, profit of up to GBP20000 over the following fifteen years, whilst simultaneously saving on electricity bills.

David Greenhalgh of Worsley was contacted by a firm offering "free" solar panel installation and was interested by the proposal. "I was looking to do my bit for the environment and was fed up with escalating electricity bills. However, as soon as I found out what energy suppliers were paying with these Fits, I realised there was even bigger savings to be had." David is one of many who found the choice between losing the Fits for a 'free' installation and retaining the Fits to enjoy a sustained, significant financial bonus, was not a difficult decision.

Terry Crawford of Reef Solutions who installed David's solar panels for him, agrees that retaining the Fits is the customers best option: "Installation is painless, customers will notice immediate savings on electric overheads and the Feed-in tariffs will be a real money spinner for the next quarter of a century."

If you have been questioning your carbon-footprint, been baffled by staggering energy overheads or just want to make a sound long-term financial investment, give Reef Solutions a call today.

For more information, please visit http://www.reef-solutions.co.uk or call 0845 303 2921.