Other alternatives - Savings performance

Many house owners are concerned about their energy bill as it has risen very fast in the last couple of years, and is likely to continue doing so. At the same time greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide appear to contribute substantially to global warming. Saving money as well as decreasing your contribution to global warming is becoming a natural choice.

There are now many choices of technologies - but it is hard to get independent advise. This page contains quotes from recently published articles in the national press.

The Times, Is wind power just hot air?; Energy special. Sep 30, 2006.

"The harsh truth is that money, rather than worries over global warming, is the only thing that will tempt the British to use alternative fuels en masse. And for the most part, the sums do not add up."

Wind energy. “For a serious free-standing wind generator, you should expect to pay anything from £ 12,000 to nearly double that in installation charges. You should expect them to take at least 15 years to pay for themselves."

Ground source heat pumps. “The total cost for will be about £ 20,000, including under-floor heating.”

Solar heating. “The payback period is likely to be 20 years or more.”

The Independent, Every little helps. Jan 11, 2007.

Sustainable Building Resource Centre, centre director Rob Buckley: “Photovoltaic systems would not be financially sound. The payback time on photovoltaics is up to 60 years."

The Times, The cost of generating your own power. Jan 6, 2007.

"B&Q sells the Windsave Wind Turbine System for £ 1,498, but many experts have questioned the efficacy of roof-mounted devices. The Centre for Alternative Technology says that wind speeds in urban areas are often low and erratic, while a turbine is noisy and can damage a building."

The Daily Mail, Great green gimmick. Dec 8, 2006

"Solar water heating, which costs on average £2,625, and saves you just £48 a year, would take 97 years to recoup its costs. Photovoltaic electricity, from the sun, costs £9,844 on average and would save you £212 a year, so you've paid off the loan in 54 years."

The Sunday Times, The self-builder, Ask the experts. Nov 19, 2006

“A GSHP for an average-sized dwelling is likely to cost £ 8,000 to £ 12,000 to install (excluding underfloor heating). As with many other such green features, it could take you some time to recoup your initial investment in the form of lower heating bills. Take a look at the figures: a 25kW gas boiler consumes on average £ 750 of gas per year; by contrast, the electricity required to power a comparable ground-source heat pump will cost you £ 400-£ 500 -which, by my calculation, means a payback time of more than 30 years. And that is when it is working at its most efficient and is linked with underfloor heating. If you have to buy a boiler as well, payback time will be even longer.”