Solar power reaping rewards for Peterborough homeowners

By NICK REINIS

ENERGY saving homeowners in Peterborough are increasingly using renewable sources to cut bills, make some extra cash and help save the planet.
Many residents across Peterborough are installing photovoltaic solar panels, used to convert sunlight into usable electricity, on the roofs of their homes and garages.
As well as the opportunity to cut a home’s carbon footprint and reduce electricity bills, solar panels are proving popular as people can make money by selling extra electricity back to the National Grid.
Under the Government’s feed-in-tariff (FiT) scheme, solar panel owners can make 43.3p from every kilowatt (kW) generated.
It was an incentive which attracted Andy Anderson (61) and his wide Sue (54), who paid £14,500 to have 16 solar panels put on the roof of their home in Dundee Court, in Orton Northgate, Peterborough.
They were installed in January and the couple are due to reap the benefits for the first time by the end of this month.
In a one-month period, Mr Anderson believes they can get back £150 from the FiT.
He said: “We saw it on the television and thought that it would be a benefit for us to have.
“We looked into the financial obligations of it and we found that we’d get an eight to nine per cent return on them, which is far better than we get from the bank.
“The positive effect is financial, an investment will pay for itself in three years. And it’s also environmentally friendly as well.”
Despite a complicated look to their installation, Mr Anderson said that the panels were put in place in just eight hours.
He added: “It’s had no effect on the way we live in any way. They don’t make a sound.
“I’d definitely encourage people to do it, if they have the money available to be able to.”
Mr and Mrs Anderson bought their panels from Newmarket-based providers Solar Europe, who say they regularly receive enquiries from people in Peterborough.
Andrea Jarman, customer liaison manager for the firm, said: “We get quite a lot of enquiries from people in Peterborough.
“Over a couple of years, people can generate more than £1,000 from them, depending on the size of the system that they buy.”
How a solar panel works
PHOTOVOLTAIC, or PV, panels are made of semi-conducting materials.
When sunlight strikes the surface of a panel, a direct electric current is produced.
To be used in the mains electricity, this DC current produced needs to be converted into AC electricity, which is done by an inverter.
The strength of a cell is measured in kilowatt peak (kWp). The stronger the sun, the more electricity produced.