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Dear SmartPlanet, How long does it usually take to get a solar panel, wind turbine or other micro-renewables fitted on the roof? Joel, Glasgow, Scotland
Provided you have the cash ready and are not planning on building a small-scale hydro-electric dam, the answer is less than six months.
The length of time varies on the technology you're fitting and whether you're calling in professionals or taking the DIY route. Assuming you're using a specialist (we'll come back to the DIY option later) the quickest type of energy you can generate at home is solar-powered for hot water. You should be able to get a system that provides up to half your home's hot water needs -- that's showers and washing up, not radiators -- in less than three months.
Solar panels and wind turbines that generate electricity should take only slightly longer at four months. But green heating add-ons like ground source heat pumps, wood-fuelled boilers and pellet stoves could take up to six. If you've got an old mill and a river, you'll be looking at closer to a year for hydro to be powering your lights.
Those are the official estimated times from the government's Low Carbon Buildings Programme, which will also provide you with a grant to ease the blow to your pocket. The main milestones are a site survey of your house, planning permission and the installation itself. Yet as the Energy Saving Trust points out, the exact waiting time will depend on your postcode. Take into consideration how remote your house is, the time of year (bad weather can slow you down) and your local planning office -- some will take up to eight weeks to rubber-stamp your application.
If you're considering ground source heat pumps or solar panels for electricity, you're in luck. The law changed on 6 April 2008 and you no longer require planning permission -- provided "there is clearly no impact on others." In the meantime, for wind turbines and solar hot water you need to get chummy with your neighbours. Write them a letter explaining what you're planning and how your wind turbine won't chop up their cats, and hope for the best with the local planners.
Alternatively, if you're feeling daring, you could have a stab yourself. You'll still need planning permission, but with a training course from the Centre for Alternative Technology, you could be officially trained and ready to start installing after three to six days, depending on your chosen eco energy.
To find an accredited installer near you, head here.
Do you have a green shopping dilemma? Want an eco debate settled? Or want to know what a environmental buzzword really means? Email us on green@smartplanet.com and we'll do out best to help out in an upcoming Ask SmartPlanet.
22 June 2008 09:41pm
As Joel is in Scotland, he might like to look up the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) webpage: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/schri
SCHRI provides grants covering 30% of the installed cost of renewables up to £4000 and these grants are continuously available to everybody (in Scotland) and not just on a first-come-first-served basis.
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