This case study was provided by EvoEnergy
This 1.36kWp system was installed by Mr Gavin Fletcher on his home in Leicestershire. Gavin says his motivation for installing solar came from his concern with the developed world’s reliance upon its finite supply of fossil fuels.
The measures that he has taken in his mid-terrace house in central Leicester include a high level of insulation to prevent heat loss and a wood burning stove to utilise the wood he finds through his conservation work and lower his reliance upon natural gas.
Gavin’s use of high efficiency electrical goods and low wattage lighting means that his household uses a frugal 1800 kWh per annum. Having made all efficiency steps practicable, and already producing a large percentage of their heating through renewable biomass means the next step towards energy neutrality had to be generation of electricity. Living in central Leicester the urban environment with swirling winds made turbine technology unsuitable, but a 15m2 south-southwest facing roof was perfect for a photovoltaic (PV) installation.
Gavin had previously investigated solar PV and was considering its installation when he heard additional funding was available through a partnership between 'Groundwork Leicester and Leicestershire' and Leicester City Council. Through this scheme Gavin was entitled to £2,250 of funding in addition to the £2,500 from the Low Carbon Building Programme, giving a total grant of £4,750, around half of the total installation cost!
After looking at various solar companies Gavin commissioned EvoEnergy to install his solar PV system. Gavin chose EvoEnergy because:
“The quote given was competitive, information was given quickly and was easy to understand, and a colleague had recently had an installation from them which he was very happy with”.
Gavin’s system was to comprise of eight 170Wp Sharp panels giving a total peak output of 1.36kW and an expected annual production of 1,017 kWh saving 577 kg CO2. This was expected to cover 56% of their households electricity needs for many years to come.
After a site inspection from EvoEnergy the installation dates were set with the whole process due to take place over two days.
Download the PDF for this project here.
