Our Church Hall & Solar Power
In September 2021, our Church Hall was given a new roof. If you go outside and look up at the roof you will see…. slates!
However, many of these slates are actually solar photovoltaic slates, which are designed to look almost exactly like natural slates – so you would not know they are there!
The church hall is in a conservation area, and when the roof needed urgent repair work, the south-facing roof was found to be ideal for solar photovoltaics. The slates have not travelled far – they were manufactured in South Wales by GB-Sol Ltd and have been designed to withstand the extremes of the UK weather.
Solar photovoltaics (PV) is a well-established technology that generates free electricity from daylight. This is then used to heat and light the Church Hall, rather than buying power from the National Grid.
Solar PV systems generate carbon free energy from sunlight on site. Solar energy is a renewable, clean energy – a resource that won’t run out (as long as the sun continues to shine). It is pollution free, and causes no greenhouse gases after installation. It is low maintenance, and will lower energy bills over time
This is a big step forwards in making our buildings more sustainable by reducing our carbon footprint. Our parish of Wroughton & Wichelstowe declared a ‘climate emergency’ in 2020, and as a church we are committed to doing everything we can to address the climate change emergency.
We hope that our venture inspires others in our community to look at solar power, and consider installing Solar PV in their homes and businesses.
This work was made possible with the help of a generous donation from an individual, plus a £20,000 grant from the Science Museum Group Wroughton Solar Park Fund, administered by Wiltshire Community Foundation– and we are very grateful to these benefactors.