We are told that our hoped-for panel array is expected to generate 2,900 units of electricity per year. Under the FiT scheme that would mean £1,200 income annually. If we manage to export 10% of them, then at 5p per unit extra, that would only add £15. Pretty small, so we'll disregard it for now.
I'm assuming we'll use 90% of these units (based on our relatively high usage - too many computers in this house). Therefore, we won't have to pay for 2,600 units. Given that we used 8,700 units last year, we'll still have to pay for 6,100 of them. At eleven pence each, that's £670 to find but we've saved £290 off our previous bill. This is good. It seems we can pay for our electricity from our FiT income and still have £530 left over, an average of £44 per month. But I haven't dealt with the cost of the system.
If we get an interest-free loan for £10k, then each monthly payment should be £104 over the maximum 8-year term of the loan. With the £44 going on that, we'll have to find about £60 per month. However, that's £23 less than the £83-per-month we are spending on electricity now. Therefore, while the panels are being paid for, we'd be just on the positive side of this deal. All this assumes we get the power predicted by the government tables. Hmm. I wonder.
I asked how much power my contact had produced in the 40 days since he had installed his system. He said 286 units. So across 40 days from late January to early March, he had averaged 7.1 units per day. Hardly the sunniest time of year, or the longest days. But the 2,900 units predicted for my system (the same size as his) represents only 8 units a day. Time will tell, but I suspect that the government tables are being a little pessimistic.
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