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The club house with PV panels
http://www.greenbuildnews.co.uk/images/img/articles/297_198/Articles_578_1_1335783483.jpg
SunGift Solar, who installed the panels, custom designed the system to fit across each roof. Power optimisers were included in the design allowing each panel to work independently and so minimise the effects of shading from nearby buildings and provide the club with real-time figures on how well each panel performs and how much income is generated.
The club's commodore Rex Frost said: “This is a huge step forward in terms of securing our future energy needs. We’re not a small club, and a large amount of our running costs are spent on electricity and fuel for our boats, so the solar PV array will help us control some of those costs, while providing valuable additional income.”
Whereas many solar PV systems feed their excess electricity back into the national grid, the sailing club will make maximum use of the electricity it generates as it has a constant need for power throughout the day.
Frost added: “We use electricity … throughout the club house so we’re really making the most out of the green energy we generate, as the energy that the panels produce is free and we get a healthy government payment for producing it.”
Exe Sailing Club is by no means the only community group to invest in renewables as a safe-guard against energy prices. Gabriel Wondrausch, founder and managing director of SunGift Solar, said: “With rising energy costs, we’re finding that many more local groups are looking to generate their own electricity and heat from renewable sources, rather than having to buy it from energy companies.”
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