So far, around 4,000 homeowners have installed PV in the UK, but the figure is dwarfed by the take-up in Germany, where a guaranteed energy price using a feed-in tariff has led to around 800,000 properties having the technology installed leading to calls by Friends of the Earth and the Renewable Energy Association for a change in the UK’s support scheme.
Despite the inadequacies of the UK grant system, solar power is increasingly popular in the UK, partially due to programme’s such as ITV’s Three Degrees from Disaster, which featured David Merrill as he installed PV last year.
david said that although it has delivered him an immediate £400 cut in his annual electricity bill, he is as concerned about the long-term impact on his four children.
“They think having PV and a wind turbine is really cool,” he says.
“It’s sown the seed and I think they will take the issue of climate change even more seriously as they got older.”
As well as getting a warm glow from the thought that he has cut his carbon dioxide emissions by almost two tonnes per year, David also appears to have made a shrewd investment.
The value of his three-bed home in Glastonbury, Somerset, has increased by 6 per cent as a result of having the PV system installed.