RNLI receives solar panel grant for Perth headquarters

Mar 9 2010 by Alison Lowson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

THE Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has received a Cares grant of £6931 for solar thermal panels and electrical efficiency work in its Scottish headquarters in Perth.

The installation of flat-plate solar thermal panels is complete and the solar panels are expected to produce 1300kWh of heat a year, saving around 275kg of CO2 emissions.

The electrical efficiency work replaces the old strip lights throughout most of the building with the more efficient T5 type, which use 36 per cent less power and will help to further reduce costs and result in carbon savings. The site already uses air source heat pump units for heating.

Divisional general manager Alan Stewart said: “The RNLI is delighted to have installed the system before the summer and we are grateful for the Cares support as more money can be diverted from annual energy bills into frontline life-saving work.

“Even on a cold March day, with the air temperature just above freezing, the solar panels were already producing plenty of heat in the winter sunshine.”