MR LOVATT may well be right about micro-generation (Letters last week) but I have heard figures bandied about that to make a single house self-sufficient for electricity would cost about £30,000.

If the installation lasts 40 years without significant maintenance charges the cost of the power is similar to that paid to the electricity companies today, provided prices don't change over time.

As you can see, the main drawback to this is the initial cost, which would have to be carried by the householder. At present the massive investment costs of power stations are amortized over many years and over millions of customers, thus making them bearable.

However, what happens when the sun doesn't shine. Solar panels look like a good idea, but they don't fill the bill on their own. You find you need batteries, electronic controllers and synchronisers if you want to sell to the grid. All this costs more money - and batteries do not last 40 years.

Solar panels are used to charge batteries, by car and boat owners who have no access to mains, and they have a place. But at these prices I don't see the trickle becoming a torrent'.

For example, if you pay £100 per quarter for your electricity at present, £30,000 represents 300 quarters or 70 years' worth of power. I would need very strong arguments to take the solar route and to ease the pain of that initial cost.

Henry Hicks, Lancaster.