Domestic solar panels should save you money and cut your home's CO2 emissions, but they're not for everyone - are they right for your home?

1. Solar panels are relatively inexpensive and straightforward to install compared to many other types of renewable-energy technology. Panels are usually fitted to a pitched roof, but they can be mounted on a wall, or a frame on the ground or a flat roof. Although they work on cloudy days, the panels need a sunny position to be most effective - somewhere south-facing that gets sun most of the day is ideal. There are two types of solar panel - the ones that generate electricity, called solar photovoltaics or solar PV, are most popular. Visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/renewable-energy/electricity/solar-panels to see how they work.

2. An average 4kWp domestic solar PV system costs around £5,000-£8,000, according to the Energy Saving Trust, but it could earn you money through the Government's Feed-In Tariffs scheme. Providing your system qualifies, the scheme pays you for the electricity you generate and use and also for any surplus electricity you supply to the national grid.

3. The other type of solar panels, solar thermal panels, heat water. The Energy Saving Trust says that a typical system costs around £3,000-£5,000, but the savings made are likely to be moderate. As well as the solar panels, you'll need a boiler or immersion heater to give you additional hot water and sometimes make the water heated by the panels hotter, especially in winter. You may also have to change your boiler and hot-water cylinder to ones compatible with the panels.

4. If you want, but can't afford, solar panels, consider a rent-a-roof scheme, where solar PV panels are supplied and fitted free of charge in return for you leasing your home's roof to the supplier for up to 25 years. You get the electricity generated by the panels free of charge (or at a reduced rate), but you have to give the Feed-In Tariffs income to the supplier of the panels. Rent-a-roof schemes aren't as prevalent as they once were and not every home will qualify, but they can be a good solution.

5. If your home's leasehold, you may need permission from the freeholder to install solar panels - the roof usually belongs to the freeholder. Restrictions may also apply if you live on 'designated land', such as conservation areas, and if the building's listed - ask your local council what you can and can't do. Where planning restrictions apply and solar panels aren't allowed, solar roof tiles or slates may be acceptable to the council's planning department.

 

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

Transform a room in no time with Quick-Step's luxurious PAL3096S Cinnamon Oak Extra Matt (£78.99 per sq m, www.quick-step.co.uk) engineered wood flooring. This flooring is in a different league to most engineered wood - as well as the lovely ultra-matt finish, it has lots of character, grain and knots, and is wonderfully textural so there's no doubt it's a real wood top layer (thick enough to sand if you need to). The colour is also unusual - the warm, medium oak is perfect for rural and older period properties where a paler wood might not suit. Thanks to Quick-Step's clever Uniclic Multifit system, this flooring is easy for DIYers to lay - simply click it together. It has a lifetime warranty and is suitable for use with underfloor heating. If you're sceptical about engineered wood, Palazzo 3096S will dispel any doubts because it's really beautiful flooring that's a joy to lay.

 

HOW-TO TIP

It's important to leave an expansion gap around the edge of the flooring when laying engineered wood, solid wood or laminate. For the best finish, remove the skirting boards before the room's replastered and then refit them, or fit new ones, after the flooring's down, so the gap is covered seamlessly. If you're not replastering, there are different ways to cover the gap between the flooring and skirting boards, such as wood-effect or white scotia bead, or planting MDF on to the skirting boards - see www.quick-step.co.uk/en-gb/flooring/wood/finishing for ideas.