Are Solar Panels A Wacky Idea?
There are certainly a lot of different ways to invest your money in this age.
This article talks about a few options available.
If someone walked up to you and asked "name a typical investment", your mind most likely would instantly turn to the stock market, or to housing.
Let's consider these options briefly.
If you decide to put your money into the stock market, what are the advantages and disadvantages? Firstly, it is very easy to do - all you need is to go on the right website, or to phone up your stock broker.
The companies in which you're investing do all of the work for you - they take your money, they do the research, they produce their products or services, which they have to market, and then you receive the dividends.
This all seems remarkably easy.
However, there are also problems with doing this.
Whilst it is nice that others are doing all of your work for you, it certainly isn't so great that you get to play no role in the decision making process at all.
Do you think companies care about you or themselves? Will directors always make good decisions? Investing in the stock market can be a very risky business, particularly with smaller companies or with companies within certain industries - putting your life savings into the potential outcome of a new drug to cure a certain disease is a disastrous idea should that drug not past clinical trials.
Are you in control of this? No, hence the risk.
Ok, let's now have a think about making an investment in housing instead.
You need tens of thousands of pounds to buy a property in the first place, which itself is a very tricky business.
You need to think about what the neighbours are like, if the foundations of the property are good, the potential value to buyers in the future based on what is hot and what isn't in terms of interior design, layout etc, and you need to do a huge amount of paperwork to transfer the deeds into your name.
You then need to worry about the upkeep - painting the walls inside and out, worrying about leaks in the plumbing, maybe getting tenants, and all the associated paperwork and potential problems with bad credit, late payments and them ruining the carpets! Right, so our third option - solar panels.
Certainly, this does seem a little "out there".
However, the government are trying to encourage green energy usage to ensure that it meets certain emission targets, such as those decided at Kyoto.
Therefore, it has introduced a range of financial benefits to households installing solar panels.
If you install a photovoltaic (electricity producing) system, you stand to earn between £850 and £1,500 per year, tax free, and guaranteed for 25 years, by the government.
No need to worry about what company directors are up to, or drugs failing! 90% of solar panels keep working efficiently for 30 years, and require almost zero routine maintenance - they are so well known for being easy to look after, that they are known as a "fit and forget" technology.
Do they require all the effort of, say, investing in property? No! You get in touch with a few companies, get some quotes to compare various deals on offer, and then get the system installed.
The payments come through to you automatically.
You get the added benefit that your investment is green, and you can know you're one of those households committed to making a difference to future generations.
They would likely increase your property's value anyway!
This article talks about a few options available.
If someone walked up to you and asked "name a typical investment", your mind most likely would instantly turn to the stock market, or to housing.
Let's consider these options briefly.
If you decide to put your money into the stock market, what are the advantages and disadvantages? Firstly, it is very easy to do - all you need is to go on the right website, or to phone up your stock broker.
The companies in which you're investing do all of the work for you - they take your money, they do the research, they produce their products or services, which they have to market, and then you receive the dividends.
This all seems remarkably easy.
However, there are also problems with doing this.
Whilst it is nice that others are doing all of your work for you, it certainly isn't so great that you get to play no role in the decision making process at all.
Do you think companies care about you or themselves? Will directors always make good decisions? Investing in the stock market can be a very risky business, particularly with smaller companies or with companies within certain industries - putting your life savings into the potential outcome of a new drug to cure a certain disease is a disastrous idea should that drug not past clinical trials.
Are you in control of this? No, hence the risk.
Ok, let's now have a think about making an investment in housing instead.
You need tens of thousands of pounds to buy a property in the first place, which itself is a very tricky business.
You need to think about what the neighbours are like, if the foundations of the property are good, the potential value to buyers in the future based on what is hot and what isn't in terms of interior design, layout etc, and you need to do a huge amount of paperwork to transfer the deeds into your name.
You then need to worry about the upkeep - painting the walls inside and out, worrying about leaks in the plumbing, maybe getting tenants, and all the associated paperwork and potential problems with bad credit, late payments and them ruining the carpets! Right, so our third option - solar panels.
Certainly, this does seem a little "out there".
However, the government are trying to encourage green energy usage to ensure that it meets certain emission targets, such as those decided at Kyoto.
Therefore, it has introduced a range of financial benefits to households installing solar panels.
If you install a photovoltaic (electricity producing) system, you stand to earn between £850 and £1,500 per year, tax free, and guaranteed for 25 years, by the government.
No need to worry about what company directors are up to, or drugs failing! 90% of solar panels keep working efficiently for 30 years, and require almost zero routine maintenance - they are so well known for being easy to look after, that they are known as a "fit and forget" technology.
Do they require all the effort of, say, investing in property? No! You get in touch with a few companies, get some quotes to compare various deals on offer, and then get the system installed.
The payments come through to you automatically.
You get the added benefit that your investment is green, and you can know you're one of those households committed to making a difference to future generations.
They would likely increase your property's value anyway!