Solar ChurchCare

With over 45,000 churches in the United Kingdom, most of which are enormous, level, and south facing roofs now catch the sun for interior heat.

ChurchCare, the district that facilitates the service and maintenance of Church of England buildings say that over 376 church owned buildings installed solar panels and more are on the way. This number is above the average solar vs. no-solar rates for domestic buildings. This clean energy trend is making waves across Europe.

Although reasons for going green and installing solar panels vary, churches around the UK are eager to install solar panel and their buildings makes it simpler to install. With extra large, even roofs, churches can install panels out of sight of the public and a majority of these roofs have been installed within the last century.

Funding and Grants

Most churches are installing solar panels as part of green programs encouraging them to go green with buildings that are receiving decent returns. For example, the Melbourne Parish Church, created 11,826 euros via the feed-in-tariff since 2011, averaging just under 3,000 euros yearly.

This averages to 54,000 euros over 25 years, as the solar panels originally cost 40,000 euros. PV power is creating income for churches south of England. Churches have a unique position to benefit from community funding and government grants. This streamlines the financial process to raise funds to cover the cost of solar panels. Many can be installed without damage and out of sight.

Churches and parishes have options for raising funds but must request the English Heritage for approval first. Communities like Eco Church and ChurchCare have programs to help churches to afford olar panels. Some installers give deals and give discounts for churches and church owned buildings.

Set an Example​​​​​​

One of the most important reasons churches install solar panels is to set an example for the community. “We were looking for a good environmental project to do, as a kind of showcase of what could be done for the local community, and the roof has a large surface area and is at the right angle to be ideal for solar panels,” says Reverend Dr. Mark Powel of the Melbourne Parish Church.

“The fact that you can achieve something like this on a listed building – it encourages other people in the community.” This concept also rings true in schools. After successful solar installations prove to create returns, more solar installations crop up around the area. The UK’s churches have little influence on the country’s solar energy production, but they do showcase a good example.

Churches that have care generating returns, which can pay the high costs of maintaining historic buildings. If you want to join the solar revolution, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years.

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