The rich smells of a roast dinner still hang in the air as a group of people take their seats arranged in a semi-circle in a large dining area. They are here to discuss issues affecting their lives here at Waverley Gardens residential care home. On the roof above them, a community-owned solar rooftop helps power the building, drawing 250 kWp of energy from the sun. 

Today solar panels are top of the agenda.

Waverley is a 128-apartment building owned by Brunelcare, a charity which provides high quality affordable housing for older people in Bristol. Waverley is currently home to around 140 residents, all between the ages of 55 and 97. 

“They come in because they have some kind of care need so they have a minimum of five hours of care to be eligible,” Bibek Bhaker, deputy director of the centre said. “That could be help with shopping, cleaning their flat, medication, just getting ready in the morning and the social side as well.”

At the residents’ meeting at Waverley, Bristol Energy Cooperative project developer Oliver explains how the model works: the cooperative lease the roof space from Brunelcare and sells the energy back to the charity at a reduced rate. Total bill savings for the first year are expected to be around £7,300.

“Hopefully the energy that comes out of the building will help with the local community,” deputy director Bibek says. “Most of our residents are from a mile away, we’ve got residents from other sites that come in for our parties. Keeping everything local, it’s really important to us.” 

Jackie and her husband Roy, who suffers from dementia, moved here nearly three years ago. “Living here is fine. The flat is lovely,” she said. “We think it’s a very good idea, the solar.”

“I had solar panels on my house before I moved here,” another resident, Suzanne says. “They helped reduce the bills.”

Bristol Energy Cooperative (BEC) has installed a total of four rooftop solar arrays on Brunelcare buildings over the last six months, totalling 543 kWp. These include Deerhurst Care Home, Colliers Gardens and Robinson’s House. They are part of the South West Local Solar Scheme, funded with support from a £570,000 grant from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority’s Green Recovery Fund. We worked in collaboration with fellow community energy group Bath & West Community Energy, who built around 300kWp, bringing the total across the West of England to nearly 2MW. 

Thanks to the scheme, BEC is powering more community spaces in and around Bristol. These include Knowle DGE Academy, where community-owned solar is supporting young people with additional needs, and Great Western Air Ambulance, where solar powers life saving services. There’s more to come as the scheme moves into its second phase. 

Back at Waverley, resident Eon said he was happy about the new solar panels. He’s been living at the centre for nearly four months. “It’s a nice place, I like the people,” he said. “It’s good to get energy from the sun.”