So whilst in Germany over the last few weeks I noticed that almost every house we passed had this brand new “dark roof” or cluster of solar panels. I just don’t get how they can afford to buy it though.

In the UK I was under the impression that the capital outlay was tens of thousands and that even with the reduced energy bill and additional savings it would take at least 10 years to recoup the outlay and yet there they were on the roofs of modest little terraced houses across Germany. Did they all have £10K burning a hole in their pocket? Surely not.

Anyway over the last few days I have approached a couple of Solar Panel companies and they almost bit my arm off for any leads that I could provide and as I have a small but growing army of Home Insulation Surveyors on the road up and down the country I thought I might see if they could generate any enquiries. We will see.

What I do know is that if we are going to follow in the footsteps of our German neighbours – we will all be living under a “dark roof” at some point over the next few years.

If you are looking to follow suit then you could do worse than checking out the Which buying guide.