Location: Portland, Dorset
Project cost: £12,500
Grant: £5,000
Estimated Savings: 5 tonnes of CO2e* / £1k a year
Equipment / Installer: 10.2 kWp of Solar PV (30 panels), Clean Earth Energy
Download the Print Team Ltd case study as a PDF
Print Team is a family-run company who supply in-house printing, from small digital runs to large litho runs, from their customised factory in Portland. In a bid to reduce the environmental and financial impact of their high electricity demand Print Team installed 10.2kWp of solar PV on their factory’s south-west facing roof.
Prior to contacting Low Carbon Dorset, Print Team had already taken significant steps to improve the energy and thermal efficiency of their building. These steps included adding to existing wall insulation, switching all lighting to LEDs, and installing a central electricity kill switch to make sure no energy is wasted by machines being left on when not being used. The switch works by turning off all but a tiny proportion of the equipment (security alarms, computer servers, internet connection) and the switch is operated upon exiting the building.
So, with these first steps taken it was clear that any efforts to reduce their emissions further would need to focus on alternative methods of electricity generation.
With a south-west facing roof and high daytime energy demand it was clear that solar PV would be the company’s most financially viable renewable option.
Print Team opted to install the most PV possible on their roof, this was just over 10kWp. It was estimated that around 70% of the electricity generated by the panels would be used by Print Team, and the remaining 30% would be exported to the grid. Although the Feed-In-Tariff is no longer available Print Team will receive some money for exporting to the grid thanks to the government’s smart export guarantee scheme (SEGs). The amount they will receive is determined by the market and around 5.5p/kWh is currently the best rate (January 2021).
By installing solar PV it is estimated that Print Team will save just under £1k a year in electricity costs, and will reduce their carbon footprint by just under 40%. With the help of the Low Carbon Dorset grant the panels will pay for themselves in 5.7 years, leaving Print Team with much lower, more sustainable energy costs going forward.
“We first looked into solar PV when we bought our premises just over 5 years ago, but it just wasn’t financially viable for us then. But, with the help of a grant we were able to make the decision to invest. Low Carbon Dorset gave us lots of support and applying for a grant was a straightforward process made very easy by Derek. The actual install went very smoothly with no disruption to our day-to-day work. Our installers Clean Earth Energy were excellent, and they really went above and beyond. We would really encourage others to do the same whilst the grant incentive is available.”
Chris Smith, owner of Print Team
*CO2e, or carbon dioxide equivalent, is a term used to describe different greenhouse gases in a common unit. For any quantity and type of greenhouse gas, CO2e signifies the amount of CO2 which would have the equivalent global warming impact. And allows us to express a carbon footprint consisting of lots of different greenhouse gases as a single number.