E.ON aims to green 15,000 homes with solar

The power business says up to 15,000 homes could benefit after it put £150 million into its SolarExchange scheme.

Solar panels typically cost around £12,000 but through the ‘rent-a-roof’ SolarExchange scheme people can apply for subsided ones.

E.ON will install and look after the solar panels, with the costs covered through Government subsidies, like the Feed-In Tariff (FITs), with homeowners benefitting from savings on the electricity generated.

Under the deal and based on a 3.89kW system fixed on a south-facing roof in the north of England homeowners, say E.ON, could save around £180 a year on their electricity bills.

However, the exact amount a customer can save depends on a number of factors, including the size of the system, the energy tariff the customer is signed up to, the amount of electricity the customer uses and the time of day it’s used.

E.ON’s energy solutions managing director, Graham Bartlett, said: “The key is to provide the right solution in the right way for the customer.

“With this scheme, people can not only feel safe in the knowledge their homes are helping to power their lives, but also that they’ll have a leading energy company backing them up along the way.

“We all need to do what we can to get energy fit, whether that’s by insulating our homes better, moderating the way we use energy or generating our own power at home. This is a perfect way to help people to do just that.”

Luke Walsh