6 Walthamstow homes became their own Power Station
Inspired by Dan & Hillary’s Power Station film, Lynmouth Road neighbours wanted to join them and turn the street of Victorian three-beds into a power station. After an initial round of installations from a national installer, POP worked with six households (two more in the pipeline) who had slightly more complicated needs.
The Challenge
Hearing Hillary and Dan calling on their neighbours to transform the street into a net generator of electricity, households all up and down the street were excited by the idea of cutting their bills and leading the way in a new energy system. With a national installer on hand to work at scale, but unable to install on flat roofs, we brought a more bespoke approach to turn their vision into reality.
The Approach
We undertook all six surveys in the week of the 10th February, with installs starting concurrently three months later, after everyone had had time to digest their proposals and really get to grips with the options available to them.
All homes had solar PV and battery storage systems, installed for an average cost of £10,000. Some homes opted for ‘whole house islanding mode’ which protects them in case of a grid outage. One neighbour christened this the ‘zombie switch’ which led to a lot of buzz along the street - coupled with roofers and sparkies jumping from house to house to install.
The Results
Homes are on track to generate an estimated 2,864kWh of power annually, exceeding the average electricity consumption of a standard household, of 2,700kWh. That’s an estimated 0.74 tons of avoided carbon each year - not to mention the savings
In Summary
Two artists had a dream - and after a phenomenal fundraising and community engagement effort, six homes on a single street have taken power back into their own hands. With systems already generating more electricity than the average household uses, Lynmouth Road is well on its way to become a Power Station - zombie switch and all.
Could your street be next? Take the first step toward taking power into your own hands with an estimate for a renewables system on your home. Or, lead the way for your neighbours - join our Street Power Champions programme.