Solar street smarts with #BritainsBrightestStreet

There is an amazing competition on at the moment from SunEdison to find #BritainsBrightestStreet. What do I actually mean by amazing though…?

Well, it will give you and up to 20 of your neighbours solar panels and their benefits on the SunEdison Energy Saver Plan for free for the first ten years. After this, you will pay usual fees but will still experience the savings that solar energy can provide for you. Considering you can save up to 45% on energy bills with solar power, that isn’t something to be sniffed at.

If you fulfil the criteria, why not apply? You need to:

Club together with five to twenty people living in your street
Live in houses or bungalows, flat’s don’t work
Occupy houses with a sloping roof facing South, South East or South West
Provide the name of someone who will be the primary contact between your street and SunEdison.

The best thing about the campaign to look for #BritainsBrightestStreet is that those chosen will be able to nominate a school or local community project to have solar energy installed so that they can realise the energy savings benefits for free too.

Finally, if you are working with an organisation like SunEdison, you won’t have to worry about picking your own installer, and no-one knows more about how hard this can be than I do. I have been on the wrong end of some very inappropriate selling within the solar industry.

If you do decide to go down the solar route, it is well worth choosing your installer carefully. SunEdison is a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic and semiconductor technology, operating in 20 countries globally. When you sign up to their plan, you are granting them use of your roof to generate electricity both for yourself and other customers; in exchange they provide you with cheaper energy bills.

This type of plan means you don’t need to worry about installation yourself; this is managed by the plan provider. If you should decide to install your own:

Get a few quotes, and thoroughly research the product offered from each organisation
Take time to make a decision, if you have been approached door-to-door by an organisation and offered solar energy, booking an appointment for later, be wary of selling tactics and don’t sign anything without being able to get other views and quotations first
Make sure that installers and manufacturers are members of the relevant trade bodies, and consumer codes, in particular that the installers have signed up to the Renewable Energy Consumer Code where relevant
Make sure you know your starting point, so have a strong idea what your annual bills are and have an Energy Performance Certificate in place so you have a clear idea of what tariffs are open to you
Do the maths yourself BEFORE your prospects come to visit so you won’t be baffled by the numbers they throw at you. Be aware that depending on the direction and slope on the roof of your house, you will generate different amounts of energy. A south facing roof is best of course.

Whichever route you decide to take, good luck with your solar endeavours, and if you decide to go for it, your quest to be part of #BritainsBrightestStreet!

I’m working with BritMums and SunEdison talking about the #BritainsBrightestStreet search campaign. I have been compensated for my time. All editorial and opinions are my own. Visit http://bit.ly/1ID0enl for more information about #BritainsBrightestStreet search.

Helen

Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!