Solar energy pilot project aims to reduce fuel poverty
Camden Council, in partnership with Islington Council and Waltham Forest Council, is leading on an innovative pilot programme to reduce the fuel bills of residents in, or at risk of, fuel poverty.
24/7 Solar, which is part-funded by national fuel poverty charity National Energy Action, will test the potential benefits of storing daytime electricity generated by solar photovoltaic panels to supplement the householder’s evening use. This will provide evidence as to whether the technologies can effectively reduce the fuel bills of fuel poor households.
The panels, ranging from 1.62kWp to 3.78kWp, are being tested with three different battery types from Maslow, Growatt and Sonnen, to compare performance during the lifetime of the project.
Comparative data will be generated to assess the performance of each brand of battery storage set against key parameters such as installation, reliability and savings generated. Findings will also indicate to what extent householders will adapt their behaviour to utilise stored electricity during the peak 4pm to 8pm period.
Installations have taken place in 41 low income households across the three boroughs.
“Solar plus storage is of huge interest to Camden Council. Fuel poverty is a very serious issue, blighting people of all ages and circumstances nationwide and storing solar energy can be one of the methods to offer our tenants significant savings to help reduce this burden.
“This technique helps meet our Green Action for Change environmental targets by actively reducing the carbon footprint across our housing stock.”
