Our friends at Power Up North London developed a 19 kW solar PV project on the south facing roof of St. Anne’s church – this video shows how they did it!
Do you use our ‘Sunny Days’ monitoring and metering system, if you do then you might want to read on?
Why solar is still the way to go
Joju’s Head of Engineering James Page makes a compelling case for why Solar is still a sound investment.READ MORE
Installing solar PV systems at schools around the UK is one of the things we are most proud of at Joju. It is immensly satisfying to bring solar energy in to the academic environment for children. As we know that not only do school solar PV systems generate huge savings for the school but they also act as a tangible learning tool for teachers to use to educate pupils on power, electricity, energy and most importantly of all how to tackle climate change. We have heard time and time again how pupils at schools, where we have installed solar PV, have benefitted in their learnings from having a solar PV array installed.
Over the last few years we have worked particularly closely with Solar Schools,which is run by 10:1o, a charity that brings people together to help tackle climate change. The Solar Schools project’s aim is to put clean energy in classrooms all over the country. Schools set a fundraising target for their very own solar roof, then everyone chips in to help make it happen.
It’s a chance for pupils, parents, local businesses, former students and everyone else to do something good for their school, their community, and the whole world.
What makes installing solar PV in schools most satisfying though is when the school itself is so proud to become a solar school.
Schools like Dulwich Primary School who have a direct link from their school website to the Joju Monitor of their array. Or Eleanor Palmer Primary School who feature infomation on their solar array in the Eco-section of their school website demonstrate this sense of achivement in becoming a solar school.
It is essential for schools to show climate leadership and educate children on the facts about energy and climate change so that future generations growing up understand the responsibilities they will face in the future. School science and geography education has changed substantially over the last few decades to incorporate the influence of man on the planet in to the core syllabus and using something as tangible as a solar PV system is an extremely powerful tool for teachers.
If you are a parent who is interested in solar PV for your child’s school or a teacher or governor interested for your own school then please do not hesitate to get in touch. As well as solar PV we also install other energy saving solutions for schools like LED lighting.
A new petition from Greenpeace calls on people to help prevent the Government from hitting the solar industry in the UK further with a planned tax increase, which will affect schools and businesses negatively.
At Joju we like to pioneer the latest technical developments, and we know our customers do too. That’s why we’re delighted to offer people the opportunity to participate in a major energy storage field trial.
Joju is working with UK Power Networks (UKPN), Powervault and Sonnen to install a limited number of electricity storage products in homes in the South East of England, as part of a major trial of battery technology. UKPN are the regional electricity distribution network operator for the South East and London, and have responsibility for stable operation of the local network. The purpose of the project is to greater understand the impact domestic solar battery systems have on the distribution network, especially if they can help manage demand during the evening peak.
To encourage solar households to take part in the project, the installation of the electricity storage product, whichever you choose, is FREE. Home owners will only pay for the cost of the electricity storage product. Joju who are an approved installer, will install the products.
The trial is offering Powervault’s Lead Acid range of products and the sonnenBatterie. It is running for a limited time only. The offer is run on a first-come, first-served basis.
The scheme will involve the installation of the battery and monitoring equipment and your system will be monitored for 1 year. UKPN may choose to operate the battery in a number of different ways in this period.
To qualify for this scheme, you must be connected to the UKPN network. Please note this has no relationship to who your electricity supplier is – that can be anyone (Big Six, Good Energy, Ecotricity etc.). Rather it is about who owns the distribution wires in your local area. UKPN’s network covers the SE, London and East Anglia. To find out for certain if you qualify and UKPN is your network operator click here and enter your postcode.
More information on the products available is below. Prices will vary from £3,050 to £6,000 depending on the battery storage product chosen.
If you qualify and are interested in taking part in this field trial, then please contact Jon Cowdrill, jon.cowdrill@joju.co.uk.
Last week Joju exhibited at Homes 2o16 at the London Olympia. The UK’s largest exhibition for housing professionals. Delegates, exhibitors and guests at Homes 2016 were all there to discuss how councils, housing associations and constructors would meet the Government’s pledge, from earlier this year, to build one million new homes by 2020 at a cost of £5 billion. Now a week on and following yesterday’s Autumn budget the industry are responding to the decision by the Government to invest a further £1.4bn to deliver 40,000 affordable homes across Britain and at the same time relax restrictions on government grants to widen the types of homes being built.
The announcement of a £2.3 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund to overcome local objections and unlock 100,000 new homes in areas of high demand in particular seems an overall positive decision. However, new communities must be supported by improvements to local infrastructure. Energy infrastructure will be crucial for these new homes especially when one considers the potential of solar power and home battery storage to improve the lives of those in social housing and first time buyers. New communties don’t need to rely on the old and tired methods that limit existing developments. Housebuilders should be considering the issues, like energy consumption, that may face households of the future. At Joju we firmly believe solar PV and home battery storage can play a crucial role in creating fairer homes of the future.
In particular the new Housing Infrastructure Fund will give housebuilders a helping hand to accelerate the delivery of new homes in high demand localities such as London, Cambridge and Oxford. All areas in which Joju has worked before and where we can see ourselves playing a crucial role.
While the decision to address the UK’s housing supply crisis is welcome and the headline numbers seem eye-catching it does require a stretch of the imagination to believe that a new homes supply can be unlocked for £23,000 each or an affordable house can be built for £35,000. Future housing has to be built in a way that is fairer for all and looking for energy savings through solar PV and LED energy efficient lighting could be two ways of doing this.
It is, however, clear to all that this was a budget produced by a Chancellor who ultimately has one hand tied behind his back by the Brexit result and the uncertainity it brings while at the same time he must placate a Prime Minister trying to keep her party in line. There is still so much economic uncertainty that it is difficult to be over excited by announcements of increased infrastructure spending and more housebuilding.
Whatever your own opinions of the new Chancellor’s budget the ideas announced yesterday demonstrate that this new government does recognise that housing is a key part of our infrastructure and that it brings economic benefits. We only hope at that they are a government who can also see the tangible benefits of investing in sustainable, fairer and more environmentally friendly technologies like solar PV and LED efficient lighting at the planning and construction stage.
Residential Sales Manager Jon Cowdrill discusses Tesla’s recent announcement about its new solar roof tiles. Is it the future of solar roofing? Read what Jon has to say!
Come see Joju at stand H125B at Homes 2016 at Olympia, November 16th-17th
We recap on our fantastic three nominations for awards at this year’s Solar Power Portal Awards in Birmingham.