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Case Study
Little Hammett
- Solar Panels (PV) and Battery Storage
- ROI 10.51%
- 20 year benefit C. £37,428
The Client
Little Hammett is a country family residence and farmhouse, set in a quiet rural position amongst 16.5 acres of gardens, grounds, pasture paddocks and amenity woodland.
It has traditional barns providing stabling, storage, workshops and garaging. The land consists of three pasture paddocks extending to approximately 7 acres, and 9.5 acres of woodland with river frontage.
The Challenge
In August 2018, we were asked to quote for the supply and installation of 5.22kW Solar Panels (PV) on the South facing “stepped” roof area of one the barns at Little Hammett. We were also asked to specify a solar battery storage option.
The timing of the installation had to coincide with the barns at Little Hammett being re-roofed by another contractor, which whilst at first glance may have seemed like a problem, actually became a benefit to the client.
The installation was to be fitted prior to the end of March 2019, before the ending of the Government’s Feed-in-Tariff scheme (FiT), enabling the owner of Little Hammett to receive financial support for twenty years.
The system was to be in accordance with Distribution Network Operator (DNO) supplier requirements, including connections and permits.
The Solution
After an extensive site survey, we proposed an array of solar panels consisting of eighteen black monocrystalline modules, connected to a 5.0kW hybrid Inverter, with electrical accessories, (including generation meter, DC/AC Isolators), mounted onto an IRFTS Easy Roof, in-roof mounting system.
As we were aware that the roof was being replaced at the same time as the Solar PV installation, we were able to reduce the cost of the roofing for the owner of Little Hammett by recommending and specifying a Solar PV panel mount which became an integral part of the roof. It was therefore proposed that the mounting system would be fitted in conjunction with the construction of the roof, enabling the roofers to fit the remaining slates once the mounting system was complete. The specified IRFTS in-roof mounting system is designed to fix straight to the battens of the roof, which in turn enables modules to be fixed straight to it, negating the need for roof slates in the area of the Solar PV array and reducing overall roofing material and scaffolding costs.
The battery storage option was also implemented via the fitting of a single 6.5kW floor mounted battery, allowing for grid charging and usage during power outages. As always, our service also included assistance to complete FiT application forms.
The Results
The system for Little Hammett was delivered on-time and within budget.
- ROI – 10.51%
- Payback – 8 years
- Total benefit over 20 years – £37,428
The payback does not take into consideration any increase in energy costs or the increase of the FiT due to the tariff being index linked to RPI. This will potentially result in the ROI being better than initially predicted in these calculations.
