Knellwood Care Home in Farnborough has remained an important part of the Hampshire community since it was established in 1947 as a memorial to local servicemen and women. However, after a series of escalating energy bills, the non-profit charity which runs the care home decided to look into ways of reducing its bills while maintaining the level of service its residents require.

After weighing up various options, the board decided that investing in a solar array would serve Knellwood the best. The carbon-free electricity generated by a solar array would not only offset the care home’s increasing energy bills but also help power the many energy-intensive facilities, such as 24-hour laundry service, lifts to all floors and lighting.  

Knellwood Care Home appointed Southern Solar to design and install a 10.29kWp system on its roof. The Lewes-based installer predicts that the instllation will displace over four tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.  The management board at Knellwood also wanted to maximise their investment for the charity and the associated feed-in tariff (FiT) payments mean that the system will have paid for itself within eight years. Over the life of the FiT scheme, Southern Solar estimates that Knellwood will benefit from a combined income from the tariff and savings on their bills in the region of £35,000.