Case Study: Solar performance saves Barrie in Peterborough 50 per cent on Energy Bills 

In Wisbech, Peterborough Barrie decided to improve the performance of his home with a solar panel installation. He’s already reaping the financial rewards.

The Performance of Your Home Matters

Improving your home’s energy efficiency with a solar panel installation is like giving your house a high-performance upgrade.  

Solar panels transform sunlight into clean, renewable energy, reducing your reliance on traditional power sources and cutting down those energy bills. But it’s not just about savings; it’s about enhancing your home’s overall functionality and value. 

It’s easy to think of improvements to the fabric of your home or the addition of renewable technology as ‘just’ energy-efficiency measures or cost-saving measures. But they are more than that. Improving the fabric of your home with insulation or the addition of renewable tech like a solar panel installation are ways to improve how your home performs. A home with poor insulation and high energy bills isn’t just an energy-inefficient home, it is a home that is underperforming for you and your family. An underperforming home can have negative effects on your comfort, your health and your bank balance.

A good solar panel installation should seamlessly integrate into your home to help improve its performance and how it interacts with its environment. Generating your own clean energy from solar power isn’t just a nice-to-have, it is a performance enhancement that adds value in more ways than just the financial way to your home.

The beauty of solar energy is that it prepares your home for the future. As energy demands grow, having a solar-powered home ensures you stay ahead of the curve, with a modern, efficient setup that can adapt to your needs. It’s not just an upgrade; it’s an investment in your home’s performance, comfort, and sustainability all with the bonus of being better for the environment.  

We asked Green Buildings Renewables customer Barrie from Wisbech, Peterborough a few questions about why he chose to enhance his home with a solar panel installation. Here’s what he said: 

Why did you choose to install solar panels for your home in Wisbech? 

My wife and I have become increasingly aware of the climate change issues that are going on around us and the need for individuals to make a contribution in reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.  Additionally, we wanted to reduce our outgoings as we move into our later years and with the increasing cost of utility bills the opportunity of reducing our electricity bill became increasingly more attractive to us. 

We also considered it was prudent during these times of higher inflation to invest in to the value of our home rather than relying on savings gaining small amounts of value through more conventional means. A solar panel installation would enhances the performance of our home and therefore its value.  

What benefits have you experienced since having the technology installed?  

Although it will take a full year to establish a figure for our annual savings, we have already seen and have been enjoying our electricity bill being reduced by as much as 50% – even during February and March this year.  

Although we don’t currently have an electric car, we had an electric charging point installed at the same time as the solar panels optimising the no VAT saving opportunity and gaining the potential of applying for an improved tariff with our energy supplier.  Moreover, friends who currently have electric cars have the opportunity to use our charger when they visit. This was another way to increase the performance and capability of our home.  

How did you find the installation process?  

The installation process was undertaken professionally, within the timescale given and with minimal inconvenience to us.  The scaffolding, roofing and electrical teams worked in unison to ensure a great team effort.  They were all extremely friendly and polite towards us and respectful of our home. 

What advice would you offer to others considering renewable technology for their home? 

We originally thought we would not be able to have a solar panel installation due to the complex layout of our house roof.  However, Green Building Renewables reassured us that we would be able to use our detached brick-built garage for the installation of 16 panels sufficient to provide the needs of our four- bedroomed house. 

The solar installation is monitored and operated through an online phone app.  We would recommend prospective customers familiarise themselves with the app prior to install in order to ensure they are able to optimise advice and training given during the initial soft handover provided at the end of the install and understand from the get-go how their home is performing.  

What is your opinion of Green Building Renewables? 

We received a very professional and informative service throughout the initial survey and installation process.  Whilst making our decision on the installation our enquiries and questions, some of which I’m now sure were trivial, were answered considerately and patiently.   

We were introduced to Green Building Renewables through a friend who had previously successfully used them and although we are some 60 miles away from their branch they were very happy to work for us. 

What did we install for Barrie?

We installed the following technologies in Barrie’s home in Wisbech, Peterborough.

• A 6.800kW solar PV system including
• 16 x 425W black mono panels
• 1 x 5kW FOX ESS hybrid inverter
• 7 kW Zappi tethered EV Charger
• An 8.7kWh FOX ESS Hybrid Energy Cube battery storage system including 3 x 2.9kWh Energy Cube batteries

The installation was done by our team in Norwich.