Size: 35.64kW
Solar panels: 88xHengdian DMEGC 405W panels
Inverter: 3 x Solis 10kW hybrid
Batteries: 45.9kWh battery storage
Annual generation: 22,404kWh
Post-installation annual electricity cost: £3,336
Dundee City Church, nicknamed ‘The Friary’ is a busy church campus located in the heart of Dundee. In addition to the Sunday services, there is a constant flow of groups and individuals throughout the week using their facilities and engaging in the activities they are running, both during the day and the evening. All these activities use a lot of electricity, so they were keen for a long-term solution to get their electricity bills down.
The challenges faced were providing enough solar power AND battery storage to cover daytime and evening load. Being a listed building added to the challenge. So we designed a system invisible to the street (and acceptable to planning) but providing enough electricity to allow the church activities to continue both day and night while minimising imported electricity.
Our skilled slaters installed the panels ensuring everything left fully watertight as well as repairing some historical broken slates while we were there. All internal cabling was neatly installed out of sight so the system is very much in keeping with the beautiful building.
Church and Community Hub
Electricity usage: 28,600kWh/year
Electricity annual cost: £7,200 (approx.)
Roof type: traditional Scots slate
Size: 35.64kW
Solar panels: 88xHengdian DMEGC 405W panels
Inverter: 3 x Solis 10kW hybrid
Batteries: 45.9kWh battery storage
Annual generation: 22,404kWh
Post-installation annual electricity cost: £3,336
The Friary is one of the few surviving multi-use community buildings to the North East of Dundee city centre. With upwards of 20 different user groups and a large complex of buildings on a 3.5 acre site, it is a critical hub for the community. Installation of a large array of solar panels on two of our south facing roofs, along with the battery storage, has enabled us to transition from old inefficient gas heating, massively reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and associated costs.
I would like to thank you and your team for the efficient and straightforward installation. We projected that the solar array would cover 30% of our costs but in fact in the ten months since installation in September we have had 48% of our electricity generated by the panels, with July and August to come, we expect that figure to increase.
As we were able to secure Scottish Government funding for the panels we have immediately started saving on our building overheads. Installation of the panels was a great decision!
