Creating a sustainable home Generate your own energy

Solar panels can help make your home more sustainable

One great way to make your home sustainable is to use renewable sources to power and heat your home. By generating your own energy you are also independent from the grid and rising gas and electricity prices.

With the introduction of the Feed-in Tariff, paying householders who have electricity-generating technologies installed in their home, some renewable technologies have seen a big increase in installations in the UK.

However, be warned that this area has attracted some cowboys who over sell the benefits - our solar panel investigation page shows undercover videos of  solar panel salesmen in action.

Solar panels

There are three ways of harnessing solar energy: passive solar heating where direct sunlight is 'trapped' in your home, solar water heating where panels capture the energy from the sun to heat water and solar photovoltaic which uses panels to transform solar energy into electricity.

A typical solar water heating installation using flat panels on a roof is likely to cost about £2,000 to £3,000, including installation. A system that uses an evacuated tube collector, which can heat to higher temperatures, costs £3,500 to £4,000. The savings are between £55 to £80 a year on your water-heating bills. Grants are available through the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Photovoltaics are significantly more expensive and a typical cost is £10,000 for a 3kWp system. If you opt for one that incorporates the solar energy in tiles, the cost increases. But thanks to the Feed-in Tariff, payments are being made to householders installing solar panels. Find out how much you could make in our guide to FIT.

For more information, read our comprehensive guide to how to buy solar panels.

Wind turbines

It's important to check if a domestic wind turbine is suitable for where you live

Wind turbine can also generate electricity for your home.

Before installing a wind turbine, check what the wind speed is like in your area. The Energy Saving Trust recommends installing a wind gauge in the planned location of the wind turbine for a minimum of three months in order to get an accurate wind speed measurement – an average minimum wind speed of 6 metres per second is deemed a suitable location.

You can also use the Carbon Trust's wind yield estimation tool to get a rough initial idea of whether your area meets these requirements.

For more information, read our guide to wind turbines.

Renewable heat

There exist other renewable technologies for the home that produce heat: heat pumps, biomass boilers and woodburning stoves. Find out more in our guide to renewable heat. These technologies will be eligible for the Renewable Heat Incentive which will offer payments to householders with renewable heat technologies.