Compare renewable energy suppliers

Green energy tariffs tend to be more expensive than standard energy. But they’re becoming more competitively priced as the choice of deals grows. It’s always worth comparing energy suppliers with Compare the Market to see if a green tariff could save you money. In the end, it may not come down to cost but, rather, your energy preferences.
If you install renewable technology in your home, you might also be able to benefit from government schemes that promote the use of green energy.

‘Homemade’ green energy is becoming more and more accessible. Ways to do it include:

• Solar photovoltaic (solar PV) – these panels harvest the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity you can use at home.
• Solar thermal – these panels take the sun’s energy and use it to heat your water through coils that feed into your water cylinder.
• Wind turbines  – you can use these to generate your own power when there’s enough of a breeze.

For more information on generating your own green energy, head to the Energy Saving Trust website.

Potentially, yes. Although there’s typically a fairly large initial cost for installing energy-generating technology, there are long-term savings to be had. 

Firstly, you’ll  save money on your bills  because you’ll be making your own power. Plus, you could receive payments for any excess renewable electricity you generate and export to the grid, through the Government’s Smart Export Guarantee scheme.

If you’re considering generating your own heat through solar water heating, a biomass boiler or certain heat pumps, you may be eligible for the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive. This gives you financial support for seven years, based on the amount of renewable heat made by your heating system.

The Government’s feed-in-tariff scheme gave households and businesses the opportunity to earn money back on the energy they generate, as well as selling any excess energy to the National Grid. However, the scheme closed to new applicants in March 2019.

It’s been succeeded by the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). Introduced at the start of 2020, this works in a similar way to the FIT scheme by offering payments to households who generate their own energy through solar, wind, water, micro-combined heat and power, and anaerobic digestion (a type of bioenergy that turns plant material into gas).

If you already receive a feed-in-tariff on your installation, this won’t be affected by the launch of SEG.

Learn more about generating your own solar energy in our guide to solar power.

Switching energy suppliers doesn’t mean anything has to change regarding your feed-in-tariff. 

Your electricity supplier doesn’t have to be the same as the one that pays you under the FIT scheme – you can keep the two separate from each other. So, there’s nothing to stop you searching for a better deal on your energy and keeping your FIT agreement as it is.

Alternatively, you can switch your FIT agreement as well This won’t affect the amount of money you get because that’s set by Ofgem.  Just make sure, before you switch, that your new provider is happy to make the payments to you.

Yes, if you have a prepaid meter installed in your home you can still be environmentally friendly. You can compare green tariffs and potentially switch to a cheaper prepayment deal, although you’ll probably find there’s less choice available. You’ll get more options if you can move to a standard credit meter.

If you have solar panels installed on the roof of your home, it’s possible to use the surplus energy to charge your electric car. Even with a standard domestic-sized solar PV system, you should be able to generate enough energy to power both your home and car. Doing this can help you save money on battery charging costs while further reducing your carbon footprint.