Coventry Cathedral To Utilize Solar Energy?

A planning application is being put in the works by the staff at Coventry cathedral, and if they get the go ahead theirs will be the first cathedral in the country, and possibly the world, to have solar panels on their roof. The project will cost £100,000 and will mean getting 178 panels, which will cover 200 square metres.

The flat roof of Coventry cathedral makes solar panels a realistic option, despite its status as a listed building.

Will It Be Approved?

At the moment the planning is still in the early stages, but if approved they should be working by the end of the year. The problem with getting planning permission for this sort of building, of course, is that it might be felt that this will ruin the look of it. It is a listed building due to its age and heritage, and for most buildings of that type, permission would be refused.

What Coventry cathedral has in its favour, however, is that it has quite an unusually shaped roof. Instead of the slanting roof that most cathedrals have, this one has a flat roof, meaning that the solar panels would not be visible from the ground. It is due to this factor that the staff at the cathedral are hopeful that the plan will be approved.

Environmental Concerns

The main reason stated for wanting to use solar energy for their cathedral is to help protect the environment from the dangers of climate change. Their hope is that this installation will not only help in terms of the renewable energy that it creates, but that it will act as inspiration for others to also get solar panels installed.

The more people use solar energy to power their homes, or their businesses, the less energy they will be demanding from fossil fuels. And of course it is the fossil fuels that cause all of the problems, not only creating local pollution in the areas in which they are burned but also by contributing to global warming. The effects of this warming could be catastrophic, and will be particularly hard for the poorest on the planet who may not be able to afford to relocate if necessary.

Financial Benefits

However good it is for the environment though, the financial implications cannot be ignored either. The good news in that regard though, is that while the costs for an installation are high (although for most people’s homes it will be nowhere near what the cathedral has to pay) those costs can be made back and then some with savings made on energy bills and through the feed in tariff.

The savings that you will make on energy bills are self explanatory, because if you need less electricity from your normal supplier then of course you are not going to have to pay as much. There is an addition to this though, in that the feed in tariff from the government also pays you for the solar energy that you produce. This means that you’ll be able to pay off the installation costs, and then be in to profit territory, much sooner than you would otherwise.

Solar Energy UK

If you are interested in getting solar panels for your own home, the friendly and qualified staff at Solar Energy UK will be able to give you a free quote.