I would like to know the names of the prize buffoons on the council who came up with the solarpowered TV aerial amplifiers (Gazette, March 18).

I recently fitted an aerial amplifier to a block on Mersea. This unit could supply up to 24 outlets and consume less than 10 watts.

At standard rate, that is about 100 hours’ running time for 12pence. The £265 cost of the solar units would run an amplifier for more than 25 years.

I suspect the solar panel and its back-up batteries will fail well before – if not many times – needing expensive replacements.

Not much of a saving, eh?

On the environmental side, the cost of producing and disposing of solar panels and batteries cancels out their benefits.

Graham Lowe
Graham’s TV
Queen Anne Road
West Mersea