| Church |
Church on the Corner, 64 Barnsbury Rd, London, N1 0ES |
| Cloudesley grant |
SCBP grant February 2024: £10,000 |
| Background |
Church on the Corner used their Small Grant to install solar panels at the same time as they replaced their roof, also supported by Cloudesley in the Spring 2023 round of the Main Church Grants programme. Installing the solar panels at the same time as the roof replacement allowed them to make cost savings on scaffolding and contractors. The environment audit completed by Inspired Efficiency and funded by Cloudesley identified solar panels as a key way to save on energy costs in the future. |
| Challenges and learning |
The cost of the actual panels was less than expected because they were surface mounted. However, they required a new access hatch to allow them to carry out maintenance and regular cleaning to the panels. The cost of that hatch took them just above £10,000 in cost. It took longer to get connected back to the National Grid than they had anticipated with the requirement to register with UK Power Networks and the smart export agreement taking time. As the solar panel installation progressed, it became clear that the solar panels they were planning to use would need to be changed and they were informed by the manufacturer that they would not get sufficient power from the reduced number of panels they were able to fit. They ended up using a mounted system rather than integrated panels from an alternative supplier. They found that the information around solar panels, likely output and technical information supplied can be baffling to the novice and it was hard to get data for different systems to make a good comparison. |
| Contractors used |
GWS Roofing |
| Impact of the SCBP/Inspired Efficiency |
Church on the Corner report that they probably would not have started this project without the report from Inspired Efficiency and the funding from Cloudesley. The report made them realise that this installation was achievable and affordable where before it had been a dream for the future. |
