Three months ago, Mike and I got round to a job we’d been meaning to do for years at Tor Orchard – installing solar panels to generate electricity. We are delighted with the result – it’s great to hear the washing machine gurgling away and know that it is run by the sun! Before going ahead, we researched lots of suppliers, mostly local, and got to grips with all the jargon, Government schemes and different things to consider. It’s too much to put into this article, but if you’d like to know more about what we found out and maybe come round and see the installation, please do get in touch.
We were very impressed by the supplier we used: the local representative was always at the end of a phone and has already visited another villager to discuss solar panels sited in the garden as opposed to the roof (useful if you live in a listed building). This company runs an incentive scheme: they give £500 for the first referral that leads to an installation then on a sliding scale up to a maximun of £7,500 for 6 referrals. If you decide to go with this company and we refer you, the incentive will go into the Community Space bank account. It should help offset the big energy bills that no doubt await this winter! Money raised will also be used to make heating the church more energy efficient. A project that the Space Team are currently working on.
And don’t worry – we will definitely NOT be pushing this supplier over another. The main point of all this is to help make Littlehempston more sustainable.
Other news is that Sustainable Littlehempston is part of Sustainable South Hams – they have a new website which is a great resource.
Thanks to Ali Taylor and Mike Thomas for this article.