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Dodd Group have recently drawn Great Yarmouth Borough Council's attention to recent advances in air source heat pump technology as the client was keen to both further reduce carbon emissions from its housing stock, and to help its tenants keep warm in the face of rapidly increasing fuel costs.
Dodd Group has worked in partnership with Dudley Council to deliver a renewable energy scheme to a small group of tenants living in the north of the borough. Solar photovoltaic (solar PV) panels have been added to the roofs of three two-storey blocks of flats, each with four flats. The chosen flats in Jockey Fields, Sedgley were ideal for this project as they have south facing roofs to the rear and are relatively un-shaded.
The pilot scheme had been undertaken a cost of £45,000 and it is expected that the cost of the installation will be recouped after a period of eight years. The scheme is part of the government’s Feed-in Tariff scheme (FiT) which is designed to encourage householders and communities to generate their own electricity from renewable or low carbon sources.
This initiative will not only help contribute to reducing the borough’s carbon footprint but will also help to cut tenants’ energy bills by reducing their power use from the national grid. The panels need daylight to produce electricity rather than sunlight so they will always provide a daily benefit to residents.
The scheme will provide roughly one free month of electricity per year. Any additional electricity generated which tenants do not use will be exported to the national grid. The effectiveness of the scheme will be monitored this summer and if successful, it is likely the scheme will be rolled out to larger schemes such as council-run sheltered housing accommodation in the future.
Dodd Group have designed and installed a solar photovoltaic (PV) system for Lord Wandsworth College, a co-educational boarding and day school.
A 9.84kW PV array was installed using 41-Phono solar 240kWp panels on a new build double-storey building with a flat roof. The system was designed to suit the loading constraints of the roof.
There was no roof access except through a small hatch so materials were loaded onto the roof by crane. As the roof was new, we did not use traditional fixings for the installation. We mounted the PV modules using the Renusol ConSole system. Cables were supported on rubber mounting feet with cable baskets.
For this project, we also installed a display unit to show instantaneous power output, historical data and total CO2 emissions saved to be used for educational purposes within the school.
Dodd Group has installed a 9kWp system on Rivers House, the headquarters of Tees Valley Housing, which partners Erimus Housing in Fabrick Housing Group.
The system will provide a range of benefits for the site: generating approximately 7,200 units (kilowatt hours) of green power per year and will cut electricity bills by an estimated £470 in the first year alone.
An added benefit is the additional income raised from the Government’s Feed in Tariff (FIT), which could amount to more than £2,700 per year.
The initiative was managed by community interest company Community Energy Solutions (CES). Lynne Edwards, Chief Executive for CES, said: “PV is an effective way for homeowners and businesses to cut their energy bills, earn extra income and reduce their carbon footprint, so it’s no surprise that this technology has become part of Fabrick Housing Group’s green practices and been so well received by all its staff.”
Dodd group were delighted to be awarded the installation of an 8.97kWp Photovoltaic System for North Yorkshire County Council at Thirsk Community Primary School. A total of 39-modules were installed on the single storey building.
The works were started and completed in the half term holidays in February 2011 to minimise disruption at the School. We also attended a school assembly to give a talk on the importance of renewable energy generation and conservation.
In addition, we installed a display unit to show instantaneous power output, historical data and total CO2 emissions saved to be used for educational purposes within the school.
Installed System Size - 8.97kWp
Calculated Output – 6,717kWh/yr
Predicted saved Co2 – 3,815kG CO2/yr