Charter Primary School in Coventry has become the first primary school in the city to self-fund retro-fitted solar panels. The school, which was built in 2005 has had a 17 panel solar photovoltaic array installed. The system generates roughly 3300 kilowatt hours of energy per year; the equivalent of 3,300 cycles of a washing machine! Although the system is not large enough to provide all of the school's power, it significantly reduces the school's demand for energy from the National Grid.
The school is well known for its eco credentials having already been awarded a Bronze Eco Award. A dedicated team of students known as the Eco Council work together to come up with ideas. Recent successes include introducing recycling in every room.
The solar panel installation was carried out by Warwickshire based renewable energy specialists EOS Energy. Paul Hardisty, Headteacher commented "The children are really excited about the installation of the solar panels. EOS Energy were kind enough to install an attractive generation meter in our reception where our Eco Council can monitor the different amounts of electricity the panels generate at different times of the day and at different times of the year as well as in different weather conditions."
Mr Hardisty feels the investment was worthwhile "The array has been a great investment we will make the money back in less than 12 years. The lifespan of the system is at least 25 years so we'll end up with more than 13 years of free power!"
For more information visit:
www.eosenergy.co.uk
