Great to see the sun shining in April and the solar panels on our roof making their contribution. In April over 60% of our head office electricity has come from the roof and we sent twice as much back to the grid as we consumed from it.
We definitely weren’t the first to fit solar panels to the roof of our offices, but when the sums added up it was time to take the plunge – or the ladder – to fit 376 panels with an output of over 150kWh. After just 3 months these have now generated enough to have driven 120,000 miles in an average EV.
The orientation of our building without a South facing roof made the project more of a challenge, but the improvement in panel technologies, energy economics and the pressing necessity for us all to make a contribution towards net zero targets have changed the equations.
After hard work by the installer GeoGreen Power during particularly inclement weather in mid-January, the solar panels were good to go whilst the sun was still gone. As the year has progressed the days have become brighter and longer whilst our heating requirements have also reduced.
Our building’s drive to net zero continues as the year progresses and the projections are holding up for our renewable production to match our overall electricity consumption by the year end. It’s a realistic aim and now made economically sensible too, by the present-day solar panels’ efficiency and cost.
Great article, very helpful!