Pizzas galore!

Nevertheless, if you have never switched energy supplier before, you could still save money by going green — although you will not get the best deal. Greenhelpline.com , which compares green tariffs, says you could save between £117 and £200 a year.

The government also wants us to produce our own energy using microgenerators such as solar panels and wind turbines. Some can produce enough electricity to send back to the grid. Energy firms pay for this although there is no standard system and rates vary.

British Gas offers 5p per kilowatt for electricity sent back to the grid. However, it charges 12.27p if you use its energy, according to figures from Ofgem. The current market rate for electricity is about 9p a kWh.

Scottish Power pays the least at just 4.25p a kWh, while it charges customers 11.2p.

In Germany, customers receive 22p per kWh, according to the Micropower Council.

In last week’s renewable energy strategy, the government proposed a premium “feed-in” tariff, so consumers will get more for sending energy back to the grid, but again there were no details.

If you want to generate electricity, you will need an export meter to record what energy is used and how much is sent to your supplier. Some providers, such as Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern, provide this free although others such as EDF can charge up to £200. British Gas charges £30.

The government was also silent on new grants to encourage uptake of microgenerators. A typical one-kilowatt domestic wind turbine costs upwards of £1,500. With installation, this could rise to £3,000, although you could get a grant of up to £900.

Larger systems in the region of 1.5kW to 6kW, which will cover all personal consumption and leave enough to sell back to suppliers, come in at £10,000-£25,000, although the maximum grant is £2,500.

If you opted for the smaller turbine, you would save about £150 a year on energy, but once setting up is included it would take 14 years to recoup your costs even with the grant. With the bigger turbines, it would take about 29 years to get your money back.

You will normally need planning permission for a wind turbine, so check with your local authority before going ahead.

Government guidelines suggest you need to live where wind speed is about six metres per second. A rough figure for your location can be found at www.berr.gov.uk .

When mounting the turbine make sure it is not obstructed by trees, hills or other buildings as this can hamper performance.

Another option is solar photovoltaic (PV) which uses energy from the sun to create electricity. With the average domestic system, costs can be about £5,000-£8,000 per kW installed, although you could get a grant of up to £2,500.

You would save £130 a year on energy bills, but it would still take 38 years to recoup your costs. Details of grants are supplied by the Low Carbon Buildings programme.

The generating gap

It will take Heather and Tom Harrison, aged 51 and 61, more than 20 years to recoup the £50,000 they spent on installing renewable energy devices at their property. This is less than standard pay-back times because they were lucky enough to secure a government grant, although these are extremely limited and only cover up to about 30% of the upfront costs.

The couple, who live near Holt in Norfolk, have a wind turbine and solar panels as well as a ground-water heat pump. The solar panels cost £4,200 while their wind turbine cost £20,500. The ground water system cost £24,000 to install.

They produce enough energy so they do not have to pay their supplier Good Energy. ‘We’re hoping to pay the set up costs off through savings well within our lifetime,’ said Heather.

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