Ash Green Community Primary School is a state school and a social hub. It provides educational while offering family support services, an on-site children's centre, and evening activities. Thanks to two PV installations, Ash Green is cutting operational expenses to funnel money back into programs and activities.

A Better Present for A Better Future

Ash Green is a large village state school located in Mixeden which serves an area of local authority built housing. Ash Green is not only a centre of learning excellence but also a social hub. Despite the strong commitment, not everything in the garden is rosy. Being a State-funded school means that Ash Green offers education to all without charge and it’s funded by taxation. When budget was shortened and most of the funds cut, while operational expenditure continued to grow together with the bills, the school decided to go green. They wanted PV energy on the roof to reduce their electricity bills while saving money for programs and activities.

Solarlex, based in Halifax, was the installer they engaged. When considering the technology options, Brett Reynolds, Sales Manager at Solarlex, turned to Enphase as an obvious choice. Enphase microinverters were chosen primarily for their reliability and the industry leading warranty. “We were drawn to the 20-year warranty provided by Enphase. This means for the school peace of mind for 20 years”, says Andy O’Shea, Site Manager, Ash Green Community Primary School. “No comparison with the standard 5 years offered by most string inverter companies”. Other contributing factors were the increased individual panel performance, which makes the most of the sunshine in an Oceanic climate area. Additionally, the remote diagnostic as well as the production monitoring capabilities. Last but not least, students’ protection. “Concerns of safety usually poses serious issues when it comes to bringing solar power onto school’s campuses due to the strict health and safety policies” declares Brett. “With Enphase safety is increased thanks to an all-AC system”.

In July 2013 Solarlex installed a 10.2 kWp PV system. Happy for the results, in February 2014 the school for a second installation of 29.58 kWp.

Care for People, Care for the Environment

Today Ash Green benefits of a 10.2 kWp installation predicted to generate 8,078 kWh/annum, and a 29.58 kWp array, whose predicted output is 24,788.04 kWh/annum. The systems cover 80% of school’s energy needs allowing a notable reduction of energy expense. Not only the systems are generating power for the school, providing an investment for 20 years or more, but they are also going some way to cut the school carbon footprint. The systems are saving about 0.517kg of CO2 per PV kWh, over the next 20 years the installations will save over 366 tonnes of CO2.

Ash Green provides a caring framework for people. With PV on the roof it also offers an important lesson about environment care.

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