Solar panels and batteries reach 100 Winchester council homes

Council tenants in Winchester’s district are getting help to cut electricity bills, with solar panels and batteries now fitted to 100 homes. Another 179 installations are planned.

The council says early results suggest the systems meet an average of 80% of tenants’ electricity needs. It has prioritised bungalows and other homes where residents face the greatest risk of fuel poverty.

Batteries store spare solar electricity for use after dark, as Energy Saving Trust explains. That helps households use more of the power generated on their roofs.

The council has not published the monitoring period behind its early figures. Its expected £330 average annual saving per tenant remains a forecast. After the first year, savings will be shared equally between residents and ongoing maintenance.

For Janet Cole in Alresford, whose home received the hundredth installation alongside new windows, the benefit already feels practical: worrying less about switching on a light or doing the washing. She calls the improvements “one less thing to worry about”.

Sources

• Winchester City Council — installations and early results
• Energy Saving Trust — how battery storage works