Toni Dimaano Science 02.20.2023 07:Feb AM EST

UK's Fight Against Energy Crisis Continues With Communal Rooftop Solar Panels

The 24-apartment Odet Court building in Cardiff now features SolShare equipment from Australian solar energy company Allume.

According to The Construction Index, SolShare is the only available technology in the world that can link many residential units inside of a single structure to a single rooftop solar photovoltaic system.

A First-Of-Its-Kind Technology Has Finally Reached The UK

Odet Court residents in Cardiff, United Kingdom, are taking advantage of "world-first" technology.

It enables numerous homes in the same building to share solar energy from a single rooftop system.

The occupants will profit from the new solar system setup because it can supply up to 75% of each apartment's energy needs.

The Welsh government, together with Wales & West Housing, funded the project as part of the Optimised Retrofit Programme.

Up until now, developers had to install individual solar systems for every apartment, which was mostly impractical due to cost, footprint, and inefficient energy utilization.

This would have required the installation of 24 sets of panels, 24 inverters, and 24 batteries in the instance of Odet Court.

"At a time when costs are rising, improving the energy efficiency of homes will not only help us to deal with the climate emergency but also help families through the cost of living crisis," said Julie James, Welsh Minister for Climate Change.

With that, due to the fact that the SolShare model does not require modifications to the supply and metering infrastructure, it is appropriate for both retrofit and new construction projects.

Europe's Energy Crisis Response Also Saves Infrastructure Costs

The shared solar system has received praise from Joanna Davoile, executive director (assets) of Wales & West Housing, because it lets tenants share the energy generated by the building to reduce their electricity costs.

According to Interesting Engineering, the dilemma of how to connect PV panels and battery systems to units so that everyone living in the schemes may equally benefit is also resolved by technology.

Additionally, Euronews reports that the SolShare system's cost reductions on each flat's needs equate to an annual electricity bill savings of roughly 50%, or £390 ($469) to £530 ($638).

James referred to the new construction as "an exciting first-of-its-kind development for Wales and exactly the type of thinking we need to see in the housing sector" as the UK attempts to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050.

By 2021, rising energy costs-which were caused by a mixture of factors, including surging natural gas prices-had already started to hit consumers in the UK and Europe hard.

Then, in February 2022, a major energy provider, Russia, invaded Ukraine, further upsetting the region and raising energy costs.

With that, more than $800 billion (€792 billion) has been provided or spent to support energy consumers and customers by the EU as a whole, the UK, and Norway.

This proves why the communal rooftop solar panels came at a good time as SolShare technology from Allume Energy recently passed Ofgem's examination.

Additionally, it was approved as a "innovation measure of substantial uplift" for the ECO4 financing initiative, The Construction Index writes.