Mcvickars Solar Electric

FIT Explained

Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) became available in Great Britain on 1st April 2010. Under this scheme energy suppliers have to make regular payments to individuals, organisations and businesses who generate their own electricity from renewable or low carbon sources such as solar electricity panels (PV) or wind turbines.

The scheme guarantees a minimum payment for all electricity generated by the system, as well as a separate payment for the electricity exported to grid. These payments are in addition to the bill savings made by using the electricity generated on-site.

Once you have a microgeneration technology installed you should experience a monthly reduction in your electricity bill and then receive an income from your Feed-in tariff provider. However, if you have taken out a loan to pay for the installation you will have to make monthly repayments to your loan company.

Feed-in tariffs are designed so that the average monthly income from your installation will be significantly greater than your monthly loan repayment (with a 25 year loan).

Use the cashback calculator to see how purchase price and loan can impact on payback times.

The tariffs available and the process for receiving them vary, depending on when the technology was installed, and whether the system and the installer were certificated under the MCS scheme. See below for further details.

You will qualify for the full FIT payments if:

• The technology was installed between 15th July 2009 and 31st March 2010 and you transfered to FITs before 1st April;
OR
• It is installed after 1st April 2010 using an MCS certificated product and installer;

How the scheme works

If you are eligible to receive the FIT then you will benefit in 3 ways:

1. Generation tariff – a set rate paid by the energy supplier for each unit (or kWh) of electricity you generate. This rate will change each year for new entrants to the scheme (except for the first 2 years), but once you join you will continue on the same tariff which is index linked to the rate of inflation for 25 years.

2. Export tariff – you will receive a further 3p/kWh (also index linked) from your energy supplier for each unit you export back to the electricity grid, that is when it isn’t used on site.

3. Energy bill savings – you will be making savings on your electricity bills , because generating electricity to power your appliances means you don’t have to buy as much electricity from your energy supplier. The amount you save will vary depending how much of the electricity you use on site.

The table below gives average wattage requirements for common household appliances per hour, although if you want to be more specific each item you use should have the wattage rating on it somewhere.

Electric Kettle	1200
2 Slice Toaster	1200
Hair Dryer	1500
Electric Iron	1200
Washing Machine	1150
Vacuum Cleaner (average)	900
Dishwasher (hot/dry)	1450
Hob Extract Fan	144
Energy Efficient Light (60w equivalent)	15
Clock radio	5
Standard Freezer	700
Microwave	800

If you had a PV installation of 2.4 Kwp you could run an accumulation of appliances for free during daylight hours as the system has the potential to generate a maximum of 2400 watts of electricity per hour.

Deemed export

Domestic FIT installations are likely to have their export deemed (estimated) at 50% in most cases until smart meters are rolled out.

Tariff levels, for technologies installed between 1st April 2011 and 31st March 2012 of most significance to householders

TECHNOLOGY	SCALE	TARiFF LEVEL	TARIFF LIFETIME (years)
Solar Electricity (PV)	<4 kW (retro fit)	21.0	25
Solar Electricity (PV)	<4 kW (new build)	21.0	25
Solar Electricity (PV)	>4 kW but less than 10KW	16.8	25
Solar Electricity (PV)	>10kW not exceeding 50kW	15.2	25
Solar Electricity (PV)	>50kW but not exceeding 100kW	12.9	25

Tariff levels vary depending on the scale of the installation.

The tariff levels shown in the table above apply to installations completed from 1st April 2011 to 3rd March 2012 for the lifetime of the tariff. After this date, the rates decrease each year for new entrants into the scheme.

All generation and export tariffs will be linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) which ensures that each year they follow the rate of inflation.

If you are still unsure about how the scheme works please do not hesitate to contact us and make further enquiries.

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