Birmingham City Council (2)

Second city solar strategy

Britain’s second city which also has arguably the biggest social housing stock in Europe, has embarked on a strategy of installing solar thermal hot water systems wherever the size of property indicates there is a significant economic and environmental benefit to be derived.

Birmingham City Council is currently seeking the budget to convert hundreds of its homes to using renewable technology as part of a far wider initiative to cut energy use across the region and reduce its residents’ mounting fuel bills. Only a handful of larger houses have had systems installed so far but the pilot projects are showing signs of real success, while the reaction of both tenants and the specifiers involved has been extremely positive. One of the projects is also in contention for an Environment 2010 Award from Worcester, Bosch Group.

Andy Gould is the Contract Works Officer with special responsibility for solar specifications in Birmingham City Council’s housing department. Commenting on the criteria being used for the initiative, he states: “The first solar project we did with Worcester, Bosch Group equipment was the conversion of a large Victorian house in Moseley where the middle and upper floors were converted into a four bedroom maisonette, making it too big for a combi; and then we received funding for a solar system.

“Then the next project, in Handsworth Wood, which is up for the award, was a dilapidated five bedroom house which we brought into stock and carried out an extensive refurbishment, including the installation of the three solar panels.

“The Worcester Greenskies system is simple to specify and use and we hope to be installing as many as 300 in the next financial year, following the success of the trials. I have recorded temperatures as high as 157 degrees centigrade on the roof in Handsworth, and 80 degrees in the cylinder, via the monitoring device.” Although Birmingham City Council installs around 3,000 Worcester boilers each year as part of its Decent Homes improvements and reactive maintenance work, it did not have a contractor suitably qualified to tackle solar thermal projects. The manufacturer does however have a nationwide network of approved installers and Birmingham based Hazlehurst Heating had just had two of its engineers complete the accredited training course.

The owner of Hazlehurst Heating, Dean Finley takes up the account. He says: “The two day course we undertook at Worcester’s training centre was very comprehensive and prepared us for virtually any situation we might encounter; while the systems themselves are both straightforward for the engineer to commission, and easy for the occupant to understand.

“In the case of the house in Victor Road, Handsworth, which has been short-listed for this year’s Environment 2010 Awards, the property was a typical 1920’s construction but with five bedrooms on the upper floors. The council had not only double glazed the windows and installed sufficient insulation in the loft to match up to current Building Regulations, but had also lined the external walls with thermal dry-lining boards to cut the heat loss. It was therefore suitable to receive grant for a solar hot water system and Worcester’s Greenskies solar panels were specified. As the house was fully scaffolded for the replacement of fascias and gutters along with new render coatings to the walls we had no trouble fitting the three flat panel collectors on the roof.

“Then an existing tank room on the landing was enlarged to create a compact plant room that now contains the Greenstar 30 CDi boiler, the hot water cylinder, the expansion vessel and all the controls. While people seem to think you can only run solar thermal with a special unvented cylinder, Birmingham favours conventional vented copper hot water cylinders. This is supplying the main bathroom – with a bath and shower - as well as the kitchen and downstairs cloakroom, but with five individual tenants living there, the demand for hot water justifies the capital investment.

“The cylinder has twin coils with the bottom one being fed from the solar collectors while the top one can receive a ‘top up’ from the 30 CDi boiler. There is also an immersion heater for emergencies, should there be a breakdown and no sun at all. After commissioning we just leave the rocker switch control in the central position where the system will receive energy from the collectors whenever the sun warms them. Then the boiler will be programmed to come on, say in the early morning, but if there is still plenty of hot water from the evening before, a standard cylinder thermostat over-rides it and prevents the boiler switching on.” Worcester, Bosch Group is supplying Birmingham City Council with its 28i Junior and 30 CDi boilers as part of a two year agreement while also working to provide the authority with the best service possible on solar and other renewable systems.