Residents in Garmouth benefit from free solar-electricity

Thanks to Aberdeenshire social housing landlord Osprey Housing, 11 residents in Garmouth, Moray are now receiving free electricity through solar-electricity-generating (PV) panels installed on their roof.

Eleven, eight panel (2kWp) solar PV systems were fitted, on the most southerly facing roof of each home. The works were completed by Brechin based installer Forster Energy, within a week, minimising any disruption to the residents.

A power diverter was also fitted, meaning that any solar-generated-electricity not used by the resident, is diverted to heat their hot water tank, further reducing the amount of electricity they need to buy-in from their energy supplier during the day. “This is what really sold it to us”, explained Osprey Housing Energy Support Officer, Jane McWhirr, “as it means that all tenants will benefit, regardless of whether or not they are at home during the day. It was an ideal solution for these properties, which due to being off the gas grid, tend to have high electricity bills.”

In order to help residents get the most out of the free electricity generated by the panels on their roof, Forster provided an eight page guide full of useful tips. The eight panel systems could save residents as much as £200, depending on how much electricity they use during day-light hours. “One tenant said her weekly spend on electricity has already gone down from £20 to £15.”

“It’s brilliant to hear that our tenants are already seeing the benefit of the new PV systems, and the improvement in the energy efficiency rating has meant that these homes are now meeting EESSH (Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing). Following the success of this, our first programme of PV, we are now considering rolling out PV programmes across other schemes.”

“We were delighted to be selected to work on this project, and it was really pleasing to receive such positive feedback from Osprey and their tenants” said Forster Energy Managing Director, Steve Scott. “PV provides a great solution for meeting the EESSH and tacking fuel poverty. It is cost effective and less intrusive than other measures and can have a significant impact on the Energy Efficiency ratings of homes and other buildings”.

The project was delivered through the newly established Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) Energy Efficiency & Refurbishment framework. “We are really pleased with how this project was successfully delivered, it’s a great example of our Energy Efficiency & Refurbishment framework working well. Forster demonstrate the excellence we strive for at SPA, they have effectively safeguarded our client and demonstrate a suitable opportunity to procure an energy efficiency solution,” said Clive Feeney, Head of SPA Operations.