Combating fuel poverty through solar power was at the heart of Marley’s project with the North Ayrshire Council.

The project
North Ayrshire Council appointed Marley to work with them on a five-year re-roofing project. To help the council achieve its carbon-neutral programme, the project involved the fitting of Marley SolarTiles.

Using solar energy to combat fuel poverty
North Ayrshire has felt a significant impact of the economic downturn. Income levels, employment levels and job security are lower than the Scottish average, increasing the risk of families falling into fuel poverty. The Council is looking to improve household energy efficiency across its housing stock to combat this.

Marley Contract Services (part of the Marley group) has been the incumbent roofing contractor with the council for the last 20 years.

“As part of the ongoing project, we use Marley products and Marley Contract Services to carry out the re-roofing, solar panel installation and rendering on behalf of the council,” explained Stuart Henderson, Senior Quantity Surveyor North Ayrshire Council. “Ryan Gemmell, Contracts Manager at Marley Contract Services, manages supply and delivery and any issues with our tenants; he's invaluable.”

The project is a real team effort, with Marley providing training whenever necessary. “Before the contract began,” said Ryan Gemmell, “the supervisors and electricians were given full training on fitting the SolarTiles. The panels are straightforward to fit, so the installation is going smoothly.”

The SolarTiles being fitted will help further the Council’s carbon-neutral programme. It is hoped they will generate in the region of 3kW power from each roof.

Smooth sailing
“Each year, we give Marley a programme to complete about 200 addresses. Marley then comes up with a plan that fits our financial year,” explains Stuart Henderson. “The council’s Clerk of Works monitors the project to ensure quality standards. In all the years we’ve worked with Marley, there have never been any issues with the quality of the products or the service they provide.”