Stourfield Junior School

Stourfield Junior became the first school in Bournemouth to have Photovoltaic Solar Panels installed on its roof. Being a Government Accredited company – Solar Fusion were asked to carry out a consultation at the school to advise which system would suit their requirements.

After a survey was completed, a 5.72kWh Photovoltaic (PV) solar system was recommended. The benefits on using Solar Fusion to carry out the installation included a 50% government grant from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme which, when matched by Bournemouth Council’s 50% grant meant that they could have the solar panels installed for free!

The 5.72kWh Solar Photovoltaic system chosen converts solar energy into electricity, then allows the school to use this to light classrooms, run computers and even sell it back to the grid during times of low demand.

After helping the School with Building Regulations and applications, a date was agreed for the solar panels to be installed.

The  roof where the panels would be situated was prepared and stainless steel fixings were attached to the rafters and slates replaced.

The tracks were then attached to the fixings and cut to the correct length

The 44 panels were then mounted onto the tracks in a two block configuration and all cabling connected and run down to the location of the inverter and meters.

The Inverters, safety cut off switches, export meter and schematic drawings were installed in a double door cupboard by the main reception to allow for easy access.

An additional large display was then mounted by the main entrance to allow staff and pupils to see what energy was currently being produced, the amount of Co2  saved by the photovoltaic solar panels and total energy produced to show what the solar panels have generated since they were installed.

Once completed, an newspaper article was printed in the Daily Echo supporting the installation and the councils backing to help address climate change issues.

Headteacher, Emma Rawson, said “This is a great achievement not only in terms of helping to reduce the School’s carbon footprint and electricity bill, but also in teaching the children about the importance of trying to live sustainably”.

A target has been set to produce 4,477kWh of solar energy during the first year.

­07/10/2009 we went back to visit the school to see how well the Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels were working and if they had achieved their target. The large LCD display had been turned into a information board for both parents and pupils with easy to understand information so that they could read the information being displayed.

The solar panels achieved 6,900 Kwh during the first year which is a massive 2,423kwh or 54% over target! Steve Beckingham of Stourfield Junior School enthused “We have absolutely smashed our target and even managed to export over 600 units back to the energy company. It now forms part of the children’s science lessons and helps them understand climate change and ways to combat it. We couldn’t have asked for more and believe it should be installed at every school.”