Tesla Powerwalls are being deployed in a new low-income housing project in Scotland to test if they could help tackle “fuel poverty.”
When energy costs rise as they have in Europe, it affects low-income families the most, as the now soaring electricity bills represent a more significant part of their budgets. It can quickly become unmanageable, putting some families in a crisis between paying to power their homes or buying groceries.
Now a new affordable housing development in North Lanarkshire, in the suburbs of Glasgow, is testing a pilot project using Tesla Powerwalls and solar panels to try to tackle the problem.
The council is building 150 two- and three-bedroom homes for social rent, and they decided to launch a pilot project with the builder, CCG and Arc-Tech, an engineering company and Tesla Powerwall installer, to install solar and Powerwalls on 19 of the homes and test the impact on energy costs for the residents.
John Gallacher, Arc-Tech managing director, commented (via LABM):
Arc-Tech is one of the few companies that are certified to install these hugely innovative solar battery storage units, alongside EV connector points, on behalf of Tesla in Scotland. With both residential and commercial application, the long-term value can be realised across the construction sector on a broad scale for clients such as North Lanarkshire Council and the end-user such as the new residents of Dykehead Road.
While the subsidized rent at those new homes will go a long way in helping low-income families, it isn’t worth much for them if they can’t afford to power those homes.
Gallacher believes that this solution is going to help address this cost-of-living crisis:
It is an exciting time for renewable tech; the system in place here is incredibly intuitive and, when combined with excellent fabric performance characteristics, it will go a long way to supporting residents during this prevailing cost-of-living crisis.
The solar panels will provide cheap electricity during the day, and the Tesla Powerwalls will let the residents take advantage of that cheap electricity even when the sun is not shinning.
The project, which is supported by the Scottish government, is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
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