Powys County Council in Wales are encouraging homeowners to consider installing renewable energy systems such as solar PV or solar heating with an interest free loan system. Having teamed up with the West Wales Eco Centre and Robert Owen Community Banking Fund, Powys County Council are offering householders Zero Interest Loan Finance (ZILF) in order to help them reduce their energy bills and carbon emissions.
The ZILF scheme operates through the Carbon Dioxide Initiative and provides up to £5,000 on solar PV installations or up to £3,000 on solar thermal installations. Compared to a five year £5000 loan from a bank with a typical 14.5%, a ZILF loan will save you £2080 over the lifetime of the loan! That’s a saving of £35 per month. The table below illustrates the savings you can make with a ZILF loan:
Of course, if you use the loan to install a solar PV or solar heating system, then you won’t just be saving money on the loan, you’ll also be making significant savings on your energy bill too. Under the Government’s Feed-in-Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive schemes, residents who take advantage of the ZILF scheme are set to enjoy huge savings for the next couple decades.
Interest free loans for solar PV and solar thermal installations are not just confined to Wales though – the Home Renewables Loan Scheme is set to begin offering interest free loans to homeowners in Scotland from 1 April 2011. The scheme will provide a limited number of interest free loans of up to £2000 to homeowners north of the border to install renewable energy systems.
As local authorities and regional governments look to encourage homeowners to reduce carbon emissions, solar PV and solar thermal systems are looking increasingly likely to become big hits. This is especially true given the huge financial rewards offered to homeowners who are quick to invest in these exciting new technologies.
For more information about how much you could save with solar panels, try out our free solar calculator.
