#149
It depends what perspective you apply to the FiTs scheme cash flows. The intelligent home-owner probably wouldn't buy into the scheme if they'd done their financial assessment properly. From the point of view of a poor electricity customer, who cannot afford to install such a scheme, they are asked to put up the cash to support the purchases of their solar powered neighbours. So who wins? The installers usually, since they get their bucks straight away.
Solar water heating is OK, I'm sure it works. But the average installation seems to cost about £4,000, it requires a modest energy input to circulate the solar heated water, and against that the average household energy consumption on hot water is 3.5 MWh p.a. of which about half can be produced by solar. Solar water heating systems will last an age, probably with zero maintenance, so they're low risk and they'll pay, eventually.
Yes, I thought it was naff that dishwashers and washing machines no longer used your domestic hot water, until I looked at how little water (esp. dishwashers) use these days. I'd rather just run the devices on a single water pipe system. Still smart dishwashers and washing machines will slash our energy bills . . .
It depends what perspective you apply to the FiTs scheme cash flows. The intelligent home-owner probably wouldn't buy into the scheme if they'd done their financial assessment properly. From the point of view of a poor electricity customer, who cannot afford to install such a scheme, they are asked to put up the cash to support the purchases of their solar powered neighbours. So who wins? The installers usually, since they get their bucks straight away.
Solar water heating is OK, I'm sure it works. But the average installation seems to cost about £4,000, it requires a modest energy input to circulate the solar heated water, and against that the average household energy consumption on hot water is 3.5 MWh p.a. of which about half can be produced by solar. Solar water heating systems will last an age, probably with zero maintenance, so they're low risk and they'll pay, eventually.
Yes, I thought it was naff that dishwashers and washing machines no longer used your domestic hot water, until I looked at how little water (esp. dishwashers) use these days. I'd rather just run the devices on a single water pipe system. Still smart dishwashers and washing machines will slash our energy bills . . .
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