To meet Central Government targets to deliver more affordable housing, like many local authorities, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council is tasked with delivering new social housing developments for its communities.
The Council determined that developments need to address energy efficiency challenges for tenants, support the Councils sustainability goals and optimise the use of public funds – all while creating attractive homes that sit well in their local surroundings.
As part of this work, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council has collaborated with leading roof systems manufacturer, Marley, to deliver a full roof system, including SolarTile - Marley’s integrated solar PV panels, for a pilot project, covering four new affordable houses on Burden Road, in Beverley.
From its inception, the Councils Building Design Department, led by Architecture Principal Mark Thomas, were clear what they wanted the Burden Road project to achieve. Mark says: “We’re tasked with delivering a number of affordable social housing developments and are determined to build energy efficient homes that help tenants to minimise their energy bills over the long term”.
“We’ve had a relationship with Marley for over 15 years, and they’ve always been very responsive to our needs and with solar PV being an important aspect of the homes in Beverley, it was great to tap into the expertise of Marley’s technical team to support the project.”
The inclusion of integrated solar PV panels, as a way to upscale sustainability benefits for the new affordable homes, was a first for the relationship.
James Seawell, Area Sales Manager for Marley, explains: “From our discussions with the Council, it was clear the solution we provided had to deliver in a number of key areas. It needed to be cost effective to maximise the available budget, it needed to be right aesthetically to match the location, and it also had to deliver energy efficiency benefits.”
The East Riding of Yorkshire Council opted to specify Marley’s full roof system with integrated solar PV, using Marley’s thin and high performing Duo Edgemere tile, in a Smooth Brown colourway. This created a sleek roofscape for all the houses, with the colour choice being a sympathetic match to neighbouring dwellings. The roof system also includes ridge, ventilation and dry verge solutions, meaning the Council could specify and procure from a single manufacturer, with the assurance that all components work perfectly together.
When it came to the inclusion of Marley’s integrated 335Wp SolarTile panels, Mark was clear that this would also assist the Council’s requirements and legislative responsibilities.
He says: “Due to legislative changes and the requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations, we have to ensure that the EPC rating of the houses we create are C or above. Installing solar PV as part of an integrated roofing system is a great way to achieve and help us better this requirement. The Marley team produced all the technical specifications to ensure the system delivered the solar power output we needed for each house
“It is also important that access to renewable energy technologies, such as solar, means we can better support our tenants and help them tackle issues around fuel poverty in the future.”
As the Council looks to develop more affordable and sustainable housing for its local communities, the all-round merits of deploying a fully integrated roofing system, as seen in Beverley, are clear.
Mark concludes: “We have a high performing roofing solution that ticks all the boxes. The Duo Edgemere tile looks great in its setting and is also cost effective. The ability to easily integrate the solar PV panels as part of the final roof specification meant we had the benefit of a combined tile and solar panel solution that blended really well together
“Alongside the installation benefits of using the full Marley system, we have the confidence that the solution will continue to perform well into the future, as all the components are proven to work seamlessly together. We also have the back-up of Marley’s 15-year guarantee. This provides further confidence for the Council, as we continue to invest public money to create, affordable, well designed and energy efficient homes for our tenants.”
