One of the conundrums facing social housing providers is how their tenants can access the benefits of solar power. It’s great if low-income tenants can get cheaper energy but someone has to pay for the solar systems and social housing providers are generally strapped for cash. Here’s one story of an organisation that found a way through it.
Bric Housing is a registered Tier 2 community housing provider which manages around 900 units in Brisbane and Moreton Bay. In the last few years Bric has done two projects involving solar power and energy efficiency for its tenants.
Solar for studio units in Bowen Hills, Brisbane
In 2020, Bic refurbished a complex of 24 studio units in Bowen Hills in inner city Brisbane. As part of this refurbishment the builder donated and installed a 34Kw solar system and two inverters to supply power to the complex, and Bric also installed energy efficient air-conditioning units.
The building has a single electricity supply (units are not separately metered), facilitating the installation of the system and its monitoring by BRIC.
Before the refurbishment, the units were uncomfortably hot in summer, and utility charges were high. Now, units are cool in summer, warm in winter, and tenant electricity costs have reduced by 40%.
Distributed solar for new units in Redcliffe, Moreton Bay
Bric is now engaged in a new development in Redcliffe, a beach-side suburb in Moreton Bay to the north of Brisbane, funded by the Queensland Department of Communities, Housing and the Digital Economy. This development involves 18 x 1-bedroom units of social housing and will be ready to occupy in late 2023.
The building is designed to capture breezes and all units have cross ventilation. Bric will install a 30 KW solar system with Solshare distribution – to share solar energy between units – directly reducing tenant energy bills. Tenants will have access to an online energy use portal to monitor their own use of energy.
It’s estimated that the design and use of solar energy will reduce tenant energy bills by 40%, and reduce carbon emissions by 41tCO2/yr.
The solar component of the development is funded by a Queensland Government Climate Smart Action Grant which covers 80% of the cost, with Bric contributing the remaining 20%. To deliver this project Bric has partnered with Allume Energy and the Queensland Council of Social Service, who will evaluate the benefits of the project and publish the results.
A big thanks to Jane West, CEO of Bric Housing for providing the information for this story – if you want to know more about these projects, contact Bric by emailing info@bric.org.au.