Solar panels help charity cut bills by 90 per cent

The Solent Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre in Hewett Road, North End, decided to install a solar array on its roof in order to cut its carbon footprint and save money on its electricity costs.

And within five years the system will have paid for itself and not only generate enough energy for the centre, which offers therapies to help ease the symptoms of MS and to help people cope better with their daily lives, but also allow the charity to sell excess energy to the National Grid.

‘It will mean we are energy efficient for the next 25 years,’ said centre manager, Mike Gumbrell.

‘We should have paid back the cost with the savings we are making over the next four-and-a-half years. We were paying £2,000 a year in electricity costs – now it’s just a fraction of that – and we’re saving several tons of CO2 pollution every year, too.’

The system was installed by SunSmart Energy Limited.