Photovoltaics

You only need regular services for the car and inverter exchange for the power station every 10 years or so.

Even better combination exists:

If you can place 10kWp installation on the south facing roof or ground attached to the house, you would be able to earn Feed-In Tariff of (after proposed cuts on 12.12.2011) 16.8p/kWh for generated energy, 3.1p/kWh for energy exported, and you would be able to use as much energy as you can at the time it is produced for free.

So if you pay 20.000 GBP for Chevy Volt and additional 20.000 GBP for 10kW solar installation you would:

- Generate (80%*10kW*1042*1=) 8.336kWh per year from your UK solar installation that enables the following:

- Drive 12.000 miles per year at no cost (you would use 4000kWh from your solar system to power batteries), a savings of about 1.935 GBP/Y
- Receive 8366*16.8p= 1.440 GBP from your electricity supplier for generation
- Receive 8366*3.1*50% = 130 GBP from your electricity supplier for export
- Reduce your electricity bill for another 3000kWh per year at 16p/kWh= 480 GBP/Y

Thus an investment of 40.000 GBP would bring you approximately 4.000 GBP/Y in cash and savings, income tax free, and linked with CPI. It would allow you driving 12.000 miles/Y at no costs. It would also make you independent of oil and electricity price hikes and possible shortages.

The combination means that car purchase becomes an investment with a 10 years payback and not a purchase of depreciating asset as it is now.

In other words, cash and savings would allow you to have a new car for free every 5 years giving the old one to charity or anyone else.

If you use your car for business purposes and get reimbursed at a business rate of 1/3 price of gasoline per mile you can earn additional GBP 5.000 per year, i.e. 42p/m * 12.000m = 5.040 GBP.

Possibilities are endless!