The UK could be about to witness an explosion of eco-improvements as Britain's beleaguered home owners start looking for ways to reduce crippling fuel bill rises.
With British Gas's price rises of between 16% and 18% affecting some 9 million homes from July, it's small wonder there's been a massive surge of interest in alternative, renewable energy sources.
Undoubtedly, the most popular method has been solar panels, both photovoltaic (electricity producing) and hot water systems.
Whilst the panels themselves will only save you typically around £80 a year off your current energy bills (not accounting for the proposed and subsequent price rises), the real return on investment comes from the Government Feed-in Tariff payments which can add another £800+ a year to your income/savings, depending on the size of system you have installed.
And the eco-renovation is guaranteed to continue well into 2012 and beyond as the forthcoming Green Deal, which will encourage property owners to make their properties more energy efficient - the savings you make being used to refund the money the installation cost - starts trials this October. The take up of such schemes is vital as the Government struggles to reach emission targets, the bulk of which can only be achieved if the UK's housing stock is bought up to 'spec on energy usage.
Take your first foray into eco-renovations by getting an instant online quote for installing solar panels on your property - visit Solar Panel Quoter now.
This article appeared in our weekly homeowner newsletter (dated 18th July 2011). Click here to read the full newsletter.
photo credit: christian guthier
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