Ashburton’s largest ever central business district solar panel installation has recently been completed at Community House Mid Canterbury.
As with many things that happen at Community House, it’s a partnership.
The organisation has partnered with ElectraServe, EA Networks and the Ideal Foundation for the 74-panel project, set to save about 70 per cent, or $8000 per year, in power costs.
Community House manager Robbie Ross said the installation was a ‘‘a massive achievement’’.
‘‘The panels will more than halve our power bill and these savings can be passed on to tenants,’’ Ross said.
For the solar panels project, Community House had applied to Meridian for a grant and, as part of that, got a quote from ElectraServe.
‘‘We were unsuccessful with the grant. When I informed ElectraServe that we hadn’t been successful and couldn’t go ahead with the installation, they offered to come on board,’’ Ross said.
‘‘We had a fun and relaxed morning when the panels were installed, many hands make light work,’’ he said.
‘‘It was the right time to do the installation as we were replacing the roof,’’ Ross said.
Among those assisting with the installation was one of the founders of ElectraServe, Graeme Church.
ElectraServe project manager James Reid said the company had been looking for a project to under take to support the community.
‘‘Our company wanted to give back to the community and supporting Community House is a worthy cause to support as they are a good fit with our company’s values and ethos,’’ Reid said.
ElectraServe supported with plant, vehicles, equipment for no costs, while 20 of the company’s staff donated time to undertake the work.
EA Networks provided the panels at no cost, while the Ideal Foundation made a financial contribution.
The installation and roof replacement were part of a major refurbishment to the outside of Community House. The next item to be ticked off the list when funds were available would be double glazing.
‘‘We are about three quarters of the way to having all the funds we need to do the total refurbishment. The upgrade is going pretty well,’’ Ross said.
