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Client
The Brightwell
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Sector
Non-Profit
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Technology 1
Solar PV
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Technology 2
Energy Storage
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PV system size
45.77kWp
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Annual carbon savings
10,995kg
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Estimated annual output
40,585kWh
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Storage capacity
41kWh
Charity Partner
The Brightwell is home of the West of England MS Therapy Charity, which has been helping people with neurological conditions for more than 35 years. The centre helps 400 local people and offers oxygen therapy, physiotherapy, clinics, advice and support for those living with long-term chronic conditions such as; Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Stroke and Fibromyalgia. It is an invaluable lifeline for both its patients and their families. The Centre receives no funding from the NHS and less than 1% of their costs are met by government schemes. The Centre and their members rely on donations and are hugely grateful for the generosity of community groups, businesses and individual fundraisers.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic and energy crisis, many of The Brightwell’s charities normal fundraising activities had been cancelled, cash donations ceased entirely and in-kind donations faded away. With a wide range of equipment and facilities to run, including; a state of the art physiotherapy gym and oxygen therapy suite, the operating costs of the facility were in excess of £300,000 per year and growing.
From our charity partner
“With energy costs rising for commercial properties such as Bradbury House, the costs would have been extremely high without these steps having been taken. This means when the sun is out and even just on a bright day, we will generate enough power to run the centre, even the oxygen generation plant. On days when the sunlight is particularly bright nothing will go to waste as we have such good storage capacity. We are exceptionally grateful to all the businesses involved for their generosity and commitment to The Brightwell.”
Doro Pasantes, CEO of The Brightwell
Clean Energy Project
Solarsense has been working with The Brightwell since 2019, helping the charity to reduce its on-going energy costs and improve their carbon footprint. The clean energy project was set up to ensure more of their funding could be allocated to helping their patients, rather than spent on their escalating energy costs.
Initially Solarsense had installed a refurbished 30kWp solar panel system, which was kindly donated by VINCI Facilities. The 114 solar panels, which were removed from an office building (due for refurbishment), generated 30,000kWh of clean electricity for the charity each year; saving them around £4000 on their energy bills. In the summer of 2023, Solarsense then installed additional 43 solar panels, 2 new inverters and 3 Tesla Powerwall batteries, increasing the overall output to 45.77kWp. The clean energy system is now capable of generating 40,585kW hours of clean energy with any excess being stored in the batteries for use in the evenings. As well as significantly reducing the operating costs for the charity, the system has reduced the organisations’ carbon emission by 10,994kg per year.
The result
“Thank you and your team for the fantastic installation of the solar panels and Tesla batteries. Your generosity has made a significant step in achieving one of the key objectives of the Trustees, which is to be as sustainable as possible, so that we can support even more local people with long-term neurological conditions. Once again, my sincere thanks for all the help that you have given to the Centre. Thank you never seems enough to express our long-term gratitude.”
Steve Cocks, Trustee, The Brightwell Centre
Technologies installed
- REC solar PV panels
- Solis PV inverters
- Tesla Powerwall batteries
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