Is going green a way to beat the energy price rip-off?

Hasn't home energy been a horrible drain on our finances this last two years? If it isn't rising gas prices, or big bills for winter chills, it's the scandal of 2010 prices that refuse to fall. There's a nagging sense that the days of cheap fossil fuels are over, but with no affordable alternative. We're yet to have a cheap source of green energy on a national scale.

At a household level, you need to invest in the technology and home improvements before you see the savings.

However: what if green energy became a money saver in itself? If there was a way to hurdle the upfront costs, could going green be the ultimate way to beat the energy price rip-off? There could already be a way - four ways, in fact. If you're ready to act, green energy could really be about to save you cash.

1. Get paid to produce solar energy & solar thermal

Does this sounds almost too good to be true?

It's true. The UK has introduced a feed-in tariff, which means that if you install a solar panel that generates electricity (a.k.a solar PV), you can get paid for ever unit of electricity that you produce. Even for the units you use yourself!

The scheme rewards your initiative by paying you a generous price per unit for every unit you generate, and an additional payment for surplus units that you supply back to the National Grid.

The estimated return on investment is 5 - 8% a year, and of course there's the effect on your bills. You'll still use grid electricity when your solar panels are less productive (winter evenings being an obvious case in point) but your overall electricity costs will be slashed.

The government will be paying out a surprisingly large amount for every tonne of carbon saved and here's a scheme that will pay you back up to maximum of  just over £1,650 a year for 25 years, that's over £41,250 — and you can't say fairer than that.

In April 2011, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will offer further financial support for a range of technologies, including ground source heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal. It will work much the same as the FiT scheme, however, it is thought that the payments will not be as generous.

Until now, the high costs of renewable or low carbon heat installations would have deterred many. However, the RHI support levels will be calculated so there will be a financial return on any investment made.

Where will you find the money for the initial investment in the technology? See 'PAYS'

2. Fund a home energy makeover with Pay As You Save
Pay As You Save is a proposed way to fund a whole-house energy efficiency makeover.

It isn't happening immediately — the bill needs to get through Parliament first, and a general election could get in the way of that — but it's been announced, and pilot schemes have already been completed.

Here's how it should work. You'll have your house assessed for the necessary improvements that will reduce the energy you use, and you'll get the work done without paying upfront. Instead, you'll repay the cost over the long term (20 years) using the amounts you're saving on your bills.

Although the scheme's far from perfect, it does make sense on several fronts: it's an attempt to address the issue of making our ageing housing stock more energy efficient, and crucially, it's trying to address how we pay for it. If the bill passes through Parliament, the scheme should start running in 2012.

So if you're caught in an energy bill Catch-22, shelling out hundreds to heat a draughty old house but unable to pay out now for the necessary improvements, there could be light at the end of the tunnel.

3. Get your walls done

The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) fund is something every British household has been indirectly paying into for several years, through a levy on energy suppliers — and now it's time to get your money back and save on heating as you do!

This means means grant money towards helping the country meet its CERT by giving you a big helping hand towards the cost of a better insulated home. More efficient, for most homes, means better insulated. If you have solid walls, cavity walls with no insulation, or a loft space with less than 270mm insulation, you're a prime candidate. The benefits are obvious: a warmer home, smaller bills, and much less to pay out for the work.

Better still, if you’re a family with children under 16, if you're in receipt of certain state benefits, or are over 70, you’re in the priority group and should get your insulation done for free.

To take advantage of CERT, contact your existing energy supplier (or your new one after you've switched — see point 4!)

4. Switch and save

If you're not ready to do any of the above (for example — if you're renting), are there other ways green energy could save you money?

Yes. If your gas and electricity bills are still with 'heritage' companies (i.e. British Gas for gas, and one of the local electricity board successor companies for electricity), you will save money by switching supplier — and this can be your chance to go 100% green on electricity too.

Look beyond the 'green' tariffs every company offers and opt for one of the companies promising 100% renewable energy sourcing (Good Energy and Ecotricity are two examples). Unlike the mainstream suppliers' green tariffs, which persuade customers to buy in to green power sourcing that they are duty bound to achieve anyway, switching to one of the specialist suppliers is meaningful contribution to extending Britain's renewable power generation.

You can use our energy supplier comparison calculator to work out what your likely savings will be, and initiate your money-saving switch online.

Reference: Modified from original article on moneyhospital.co.uk, author Mark Churchill

URBAN ENERGY

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Urban Energy is an innovative organisation specialising in the financing, design and installation of economic and environmentally sound solar powered energy systems for commercial property (private and public) and domestic dwellings. Our expertise in the field of Government sponsored funding programmes and solar power products will provide individuals and organisations with an excellent opportunity to overcome capital cost barriers, save money on energy bills, increase profit margins, increase the value of their property and reduce their carbon footprint.

Urban Energy employ the very best engineers in this field, all of which are fully qualified, MCS certified and Government approved to carry out this task, complying with strict guidelines and are members of the Solar Trade Association.

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