Sunnymeads, Berkshire

Client: Private
Type of works: installed PV panels

When Warren Green was looking at ways of reducing his family’s energy bills he thought that his predominantly east-facing roof would prove a barrier to the use of Photovoltaic (PV) panels.

Mr Green’s 26-year-old bungalow in Oakley Green, near Windsor in Berkshire, has 4-bedrooms and two bathrooms and is home to Warren, his two sons and his mother and father, so keeping fuel bills to a minimum is a priority.

Now, with the installation of a 16-panel array from Mitsubishi Electric, the household will benefit from an anticipated 2,000 kWh of power generation a year, helping reduce the home’s consumption and earn an income from the Government’s Feed In Tarriff.

The 3.64 kWp system was installed at the beginning of March by Stockport-based World Heat Ltd, which is an MCS accredited installer.

“It was a lot easier to install than I thought and is producing far more electricity than I expected,” says Warren Green, who has been monitoring it daily. “It’s been averaging 7.5kW a day which just goes to show that homes with an east facing roof can still benefit from this technology.”

Warren was keen to use Mitsubishi Electric PV panels to help power the Ecodan® air source heat pump he had installed by World Heat last year.

The 14kW Ecodan supplies all the hot water and heating to the home, powering 20 radiators throughout the bungalow. The heat pump replaced the previous oil-fired boiler and has now cut the Green’s fuel bills in half.

“We have already benefitted from greatly reduced bills thanks to the heat pump system and now that we are generating our own electricity during the day, I expect these to come down even further,” he says.