Eco couple from Hoole in Chester light the way

Dec 10 2009 by Kathryn Quayle, Chester Chronicle

And let there be light

An eco-conscious family are proving to be a shining example to us all by generating solar energy at their home.

Simon Brown and Diana Wilderspin-Jones have taken their environmental concern to a new level having installed one of the first domestic Photovoltaic systems in Chester on the roof of their property in Hoole.

Having moved to the area in 1999, one of the first things the couple did was carry out a ‘green’ extension to their home which included the installation of two solar thermal panels, supplied by Chester-based company Solartwin, on the roof to heat their hot water.

The more recent addition of Solar Photovoltaic Panels (PV Panels) – which work by converting sunlight into electricity – was inspired by news of the ‘feed-in tariffs’ to be brought in for the UK in April 2010. Significant amounts of money will be paid for any power generated from domestic and other small renewable power installations that are connected to the National Grid.

“We realised that we had sufficient money in our ISA savings account to pay for the installation of a system to generate power from our roof and, with the impending feed-in tariff, the return on our investment will be many times what we were currently getting on our ISA account. This will continue for the lifetime of the panels, which is estimated to be more than 30 years,” said Simon.

He continued: “We have been pleased with our Solartwin panels and they have saved us lots of money and gas over the nine years we have had the system installed, so we were keen to save even more, while using renewable energy for the future.”

Barry Johnston, managing director of Solartwin, said: “I'm delighted that Simon and Diana are taking even more steps towards creating what I hope will become the first zero carbon – or maybe even carbon positive home – in Chester.”

The work also included other features including a number of waterbutts to collect rainwater from their roof, highly efficient double glazing, significant levels of loft insulation and the use of environmentally friendly paints.