SunGift Solar has completed a solar PV array for a Plymouth church that is set to save hundreds of pounds a year on electricity bills and lower its carbon footprint.
Saint Matthias Evangelical parish church, which serves Mutley, the city centre and Plymouth University, has had 16 Canadian Solar SC6P panels fitted to the south-facing roof of its church hall by SunGift Solar.
They are SolarEdge OP250-LV power optimizers, which maximize energy throughput from each individual module and communicate performance data to the SolarEdge monitoring portal.
In addition to reducing the church’s carbon dioxide emission by more than 2,000 kg per year, the PV panels will generate more than £1,200 in electricity bill savings and Feed-in Tariff payments.
The system, which took three days to install, was installed by Exeter specialists SunGift Solar, who are South West Green Energy Awards Installer of the Year. The job was particularly tricky as the roof was so steep, with no ‘ridge’ to hang a roof ladder on, but SunGift staff overcame this by utilising the system’s panel rails.
The idea for solar panels started last summer when the church carried out a sustainability audit as part of the Church of England’s national Shrink the Footprint campaign, which is aimed at reducing emissions by 42% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. The audit clearly showed that installing a solar PV system would deliver both environmental and financial benefits.
More information: www.sungiftsolar.co.uk.
