What is the payback period of a PV system?
PV systems require capital-intensive equipment as PV cells are expensive to manufacturer, and this means that the financial payback period for a given system can typical exceed 20 years. While grant schemes do help reduce the burden, a PV system is unlikely to pay back financially as the inverters designed life is less than this. Since future energy price rises cannot be forecast accurately, SEI would not recommend installing a PV system as a financial investment. Meanwhile, it must be stated that contrary to a circulating urban myth the environmental payback period is much shorter. A PV system can expect to have offset the carbon released during its manufacture within 2-5 years in European conditions. Beyond this a PV system would be expected to be offsetting emissions made by other energy users.
