Residents in Portsmouth given chance to have free check to see if they'd save money with solar panels with Switched on Portsmouth

The free Switched on Portsmouth service is believed to be the first of its kind in the country and will give residents the chance to get a solar report for their home, looking at the environmental and cost-saving potential.

It will provide a solar report along with details of approved companies who can install the panels on Portsmouth homes.

The report will assess each property by giving it a score out of five based on shading and access to sunlight, roof orientation and estimated cost of panel installation. Residents will also be provided with a diagram showing the optimum position of panels and the estimated carbon and financial savings.

Councillor Dave Ashmore, cabinet member for environment and climate change said: ‘We are very excited about the new Switched On Solar Portsmouth service and believe that it is unique in the UK. Solar will be an important technology as we strive towards net zero carbon and we want to do everything in our power to allow Portsmouth residents to be able to install it on their own buildings.

‘We have a wealth of knowledge of installing solar across the council's own non-domestic building and council housing portfolio and we think it's right that we now help private homeowners in the city see the success in bill and carbon savings that we have.’

After using the tool residents can arrange a call with a member of the Switched On Solar team to discuss the report in further detail. The council has identified increasing the the use of solar power as a key factor in achieving its net zero carbon target by 2030.

Currently only around two per cent of domestic roofs have solar panels.

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City council leader Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: ‘We spoke to residents during the consultation of the Energy and Water at Home Strategy last year who told us they wanted to know more, through an unbiased source, about the energy saving options for their home.

‘They were also keen for the council to approve local installers, because they had heard horror stories of these industries in the past. Encouraging local highly-skilled jobs in low-carbon industries is essential for the green skills recovery we hope to see following the Covid-19 pandemic.’

You can assess your property’s potential by going to the Switched on Portsmouth website.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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