Lucy Dixon talks to Gavin Stokes, Director Home Energy Solutions at SMS, about Solopower and what it can offer to social housing landlords.
Local authorities and social landlords are looking at ways they can improve the energy performance ratings of their building stock to meet the tighter EPC targets that are fast approaching – and the recent rise in fuel bills has made the issue of energy and fuel poverty an even hotter topic.
Solopower from SMS is one solution that can reduce electricity bills, with no cost to the landlord. SMS’s Gavin Stokes, Director Home Energy Solutions at SMS, explains: “It consists of a fully funded, high quality installation of solar PV cells on the roof and a battery in the home. This means that we can supply green solar energy to the property, at a lower price than the grid.”
SMS funds the installation and generates additional benefits by managing the battery’s flexibility, with no impact to the tenant. Stokes explains further how it works: “We contract with the landlord and agree to supply green solar energy to that property for an agreed length of time. We will charge the tenant a rate which is much less than the grid, and typically that results in a 25% electricity bill reduction.
“We’re investing our capital in to set it up, but we’re not looking for a super quick return. It’s about the long term and providing a secure, recurring revenue and more importantly, helping the tenants with energy affordability and the UK’s net zero ambitions.” In addition to keeping the residents’ energy bills down, the system will also help the properties’ EPC rating, typically meaning it will go up one band, for example a D to a C.
Solopower won’t be suitable for all types of dwelling, but for any social landlord with a portfolio of houses with pitched roofs that are in good repair and not fully shaded, the benefits are clear. They don’t even need to be south-facing, says Stokes. “A south-facing roof means that we can maximise the solar, but it’s not insurmountable to deal with other orientations.”
The system also needs some space to install a domestic battery. “The batteries we use are cutting-edge technology. They’re suitable for both indoor and outdoor installations, so if there’s no space in the house, we can put them on an outside wall.”
It’s in SMS’s interests that the system is working efficiently, so it will use its powerful FlexiGrid platform to monitor each installation closely, to make sure it’s working optimally. Stokes continues: “We can trade that flexibility on the grid to help keep people’s lights on, stabilise the grid and ultimately help to increase the use of renewable energy within our system.”
Although the way we live and work has shifted since the pandemic, the majority of people are at work during the day and not using the solar energy as it is being generated, which means there is ‘spare’ power, says Stokes. “Ultimately we’d aggregate this as a whole portfolio, meaning we use FlexiGrid to constantly communicate with National Grid, utilising any flexible or ‘spare’ energy generated by the solar panels that would otherwise go to waste. The inspired part about this is it has no impact to the consumer, but just the act of us doing this multiple times a day means we can help stabilise the grid and Britain’s future energy stability.”
The big advantage over privately funded solar is, of course, that neither the landlord nor the tenant is responsible for any repairs or maintenance. “Our system is fully monitored, and we know not just that it’s working, but how well it’s working, which ultimately enables the tenant to be able to pay their bills with confidence they’re getting the best energy costs possible.”
This is going to be even more important as we, as a country, move to electrify things like heating. Stokes says: “The country is doing great things in terms of improving our housing stock, but we also need to tackle the generation side as we electrify heating and transport. We know that at some point in the next twenty to thirty years, the majority are going to be driving electric cars. We’ve got to do something about that electricity demand and utilising domestic solar and battery storage is the only way on a small scale of solving that.”
Another big positive of the system is that, for the tenant, nothing changes aside from their bills being reduced. There is no tech they need to learn or new way of using energy. Stokes says: “They don’t have to do anything differently. It’s invisible to them, other than seeing the panels on the roof, the battery on the wall and their bills reduce! The system’s sole purpose is to optimise the house’s renewable energy capabilities, saving money, with no effort required on the occupant’s part.”
For more info visit: sms-plc.com/our-services/energy-management/solopower/
