Aerial mapping company Bluesky is helping Derby Homes roll out integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) systems across its housing stock. A project to identify suitable roof coverings assessed more than 8,000 addresses considering size, pitch, aspect, existing furniture and infringing vegetation.
Using its ultra-high resolution imagery, Bluesky assessed the suitability of each property, measured the number of panels the address could accommodate and calculated their potential output. The housing provider has now installed its first solar array on a batch of trial properties identified by Bluesky.
Ashley Redfern, senior maintenance surveyor, Derby Homes, said, “We’d already completed a successful programme of solar installations at suitable properties where we could fit large systems. We wanted to help as many residents as possible, so we aimed to fit as many systems as we could in the shortest space of time. These installations saved 1,000 tonnes of carbon, generated 1.9 gigawatt hours of electricity per year and saves householders on average £150 a year on their fuel bills.
“Working with Bluesky, we initially defined the study for a 3kW top-fitted system, but this didn’t return as many results as we hoped, so we reduced the threshold to a 2.4kW integrated system and as a result we’ve already fitted 15 systems and hope to fit 2,000 more integrated PV systems.”
Using Bluesky’s intelligence, Derby Homes is now integrating the installation of solar PV panels with its renewal of existing roofs, using the roofers themselves to install the integrated PV tiles.
