207 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
207 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
property
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propertyadvice
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jeffhowell
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8104862
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# Home improvements: solar panelling
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## Jeff Howell gives on-the-level advice and answers your home maintenance
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questions. This week: any drawbacks to solar panelling?
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![Home improvements: Jeff Howell][1]
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Jeff Howell Photo: MARTIN POPE
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By Jeff Howell 4:00PM GMT 02 Nov 2010
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[Comments][2]
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**Offer not so sunny**
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**Q** _I am considering an offer from British Gas to install solar panelling
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on my house. The offer is very generous. There is no charge, a 25-year
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guarantee and all work involved is done by its employees. Is there any
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drawback to solar panelling?_ **M R, Merseyside **
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**A **Yes, there are several drawbacks. Earlier this year (March 21) I
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answered a query about the Feed-in Tariff (FIT), whereby home owners
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generating their own electricity are paid for every unit of power they feed
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into the national grid. It is the FIT that makes photovoltaic (PV) solar
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panels worth considering as an investment, because it might earn the average
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PV panel owner about £900 a year. (Although, as I pointed out at the time, it
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would still take about 13 to 17 years for this income to compensate for the
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installation costs of some £12,000 to £15,000.)
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Without the FIT payments, generating your own electricity from the sun is not
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such an attractive proposition. At the times when you most need to use
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electricity - that is, after dark - your PV panels won't be generating any, so
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you'll be paying for your power at the normal rate through your meter.
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You get free electricity to use only when the sun is shining brightly and
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directly enough on the panels to generate a current. But that is chiefly in
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the summer, between 10am and 2pm, and with little or no cloud cover (with
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respect, not the most common conditions in your part of Britain). And, of
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course, at those times, you are unlikely to be using much electricity anyway.
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## Related Articles
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* [Home improvements: polycarbonate roofs][3]
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27 Oct 2010
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* [Home improvements: rubber sheet roofing][4]
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20 Oct 2010
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* [Home improvements: moss growth][5]
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12 Oct 2010
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* [Home improvements: removing cavity wall insulation][6]
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07 Sep 2010
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* [How to fix creaking floorboards][7]
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13 Apr 2010
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* [How to fix creaking stairs][8]
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08 Jun 2010
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You won't have the lights on, you won't be watching television because you'll
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be out in the garden and you won't be needing to heat the house. Possibly the
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only benefit you will get is free power for your fridge. The surplus
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electricity generated at these times will be fed into the grid, earning FIT
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money for the owner of the panels, which won't be you because it will be
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British Gas.
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The promotional literature from British Gas (and the other companies who are
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making similar offers) suggests that the average householder signing up for
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this "rent-your-roof" scheme will reduce their electricity bills by about £150
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per year. However, many people will save much less. It depends how much
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electricity you use during those sunny periods. People who are out at work
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during the day, for example, will not see much benefit.
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In return, by installing its PV panels on your roof, British Gas will be
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claiming all your [**Feed-in Tariff payments**][9] for itself. You will have
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to sign a contract leasing your roof and the air space above it to British Gas
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for 25 years, for no additional payment. The lease will be lodged with the
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Land Registry, and therefore legally binding. You will not be able to change
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your mind or remove the panels during the 25 years and, should you sell the
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house, the new owners will also be bound by the terms of that lease.
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For me, this is a major stumbling block. I personally would be hesitant about
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buying a house with these unsightly black rectangles stuck on the roof and
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even more hesitant once I found that I wouldn't even benefit financially from
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the surplus electricity they produced.
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I'm sure there must be many other potential homebuyers who would feel the same
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way, and you might even find your house "blighted" by this 25-year commitment.
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**WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN **
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Pliers and pincers? This used to be an easy distinction: Pliers were for
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pulling teeth and pincers were for pulling nails. But now there is a much
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wider range of hand-held gripping tools. Slip-joint pliers have changed the
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game, because their pivot point can be slid around to make the jaws wider or
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narrower - every home toolbox should have a pair.
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Plus long-nose pliers. And pincers if you need to pull nails, of course.** **
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* Send your questions to Jeff Howell at Life, The Sunday Telegraph, 111
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Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT, email [askjeff@telegraph.co.uk][10]
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Also visit [www.askjeff.co.uk][11]
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[X][12] Share & bookmark
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][13]
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* Share: [Share][12] [ ][14] [ ][15]
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[Tweet][16]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertyadvice/jeffhowell/8104862/Home-
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improvements-solar-panelling.html
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Telegraph
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## [Jeff Howell][17]
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* ### [Lifestyle »][18]
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* ### [Property »][19]
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* ### [Property Advice »][20]
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External Links
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* ### [Ask Jeff][11]
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In property
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[![Silver birch is unlikely to cause damage to a nearby building][21] ][22]
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### [Home improvements: Could my neighbour's trees damage my house?][22]
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[![DIY skills learned from dad, such as carpentry, are in sharp decline partly
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because of advances in technology
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][23] ][24]
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### [DIY: Are dad skills obsolete?][24]
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[![Jeff Howell][25] ][26]
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### [Home improvements: Do I need to replace my locks?][26]
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[X][12] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][13]
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Share:
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* [ ][12]
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* [ ][14]
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* [ ][15]
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* [Tweet][16]
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* Advertisement
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![][27]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][28] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][29]
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* [UK Homes][30]
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* [RHS Chelsea][32]
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