Thomas Halliwell delivers 80 panel solar PV system at Hollingworth Manor
Hollingworth Manor is a stunning domestic property in the most idyllic of locations. Built in 1998, the beautiful manor house is nestled in a picturesque spot overlooking Hollingworth Lake in Littleborough, Rochdale. The owners of the house were on the lookout for a solar PV system to help them save money on their electricity bills and Thomas Halliwell Ltd was recommended to them by one of our previous satisfied commercial clients.
For this job, we designed a system with panels on three elevations on the property’s extensions after our survey discovered the profile of the roof on the main house made it unsuitable. The client opted for sleek Viridian 405W in-roof solar panels – which are among the most aesthetically pleasing on the market -so we created a design for 80 of the modules to be installed.
Our design included a Solis 25kW inverter – which is needed to convert the Direct Current (DC) electricity the panels produce into Alternating Current (AC) for use in the property. We also recommended fitting each panel with optimisers made by Tigo to compensate for any loss of electricity generation due to shading.
Optimisers are an optional extra we regularly recommend because they are said to improve system safety, insurability, longevity, monitoring, maintenance and performance – and the client decided to proceed with this option.
We erected scaffolding and stripped slates off the three roofs, replacing them with the Viridian panels before re-slating back to the flashing of the modules.
There had been some leaks in the property due to previous roofing work so we also carried out some damp and water ingress rectification work for the client.
During the job, we identified a shortcoming with the length of slates that were already in place on the client’s roof and were able to replace them with longer ones to ensure a high quality of workmanship.
An unusual aspect of this project was the size of the client’s electricity system – which was similar in scale to a commercial business such as a restaurant.
We had to arrange for the District Network Operator – Electricity North West – to remove the fuse casing so we could ascertain its actual size, rather than relying on the external label, and we also had to work out how the client’s backup generator might affect the operation of a solar PV system.
Thomas Halliwell’s ‘outstanding customer service’ wins praise
In total, the job took around six months from the first inquiry until completion, and we have built up such a good rapport with the client that we have been back to undertake several other jobs at their property.
Andy Barrow, our Renewables Operations Director, said: “On this project, while the installation of the solar PV system had domestic elements to it, the size of the house and the existing electricity system, along with the number of panels fitted, made it more like a commercial job. Thomas Halliwell’s experience of working on a commercial scale meant we were confident we could fulfil the project to our usual high standards.
“We were particularly pleased that this job came to us from a recommendation.”
The client added: “We’re thrilled with our new solar PV system. It looks fantastic, is good for the environment and has reduced our electricity bills. We couldn’t be happier. “We’re very grateful to Thomas Halliwell for their hard work and support they have shown us throughout the project. The workmanship has been first class and they went above and beyond to ensure the job went as smoothly as possible.”
