Practically everybody that lives in the UK has come across the phrase feed in tariff at least once in the last couple of years. They have either seen it used in newspapers, magazines or heard it on the news. However, there are still a lot of people in the UK who do not know what a feed in tariff is.
Usually, the term feed in tariff refers to the government payment made to those homeowners and businesses that have solar panels or another form of green energy generation installed. As the name suggests it is a sum of money or a tariff that is paid for electricity that is fed back into the National Grid by those homeowners.
They were introduced by the UK government to encourage people to install renewable energy systems on their homes and business premises. The UK has a legally binding target of generating 15% of its energy needs using renewables by 2020. In order to meet this target they need more homeowners and businesses to turn to renewable sources for their energy needs.
Which Energy Systems Qualify to Claim The Feed In Tariff?
Practically any renewable electricity generation system that generates less than 5 megawatts of power qualifies to claim the feed in tariff. The system has to comply with local planning and building codes and meet certain quality and installation standards in order to qualify.
How Much Feed In Tariff Is Paid?
Exactly how much is paid to homeowners and business owners for energy they have generated varies considerably. Consumers who installed their systems between April 2011 and December 2011 get the best feed in tariff of around about 43p per kilowatt-hour generated. Systems installed from now on in the UK can expect to receive an average of 21 pence per kilowatt-hour generated. That sounds like a drastic reduction and indeed it is, however if your solar system is operational 25 years, which it should be and more, you will recover the cost of installation and still save a lot of money. Installing solar panels is still a viable option for practically everybody in the UK.
Check out this solar calculator to see how much you could save and for help finding solar panel installation London see this website.