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THERE is no getting away from the fact that installing a new roof is a significant project, and one which is both costly and disruptive.
However, once you have resigned yourself to the fact that the work has to be done, there are ways, says Ben Spencer-Newman, of offsetting some of the costs and of minimising the upheaval by working with a local company with a “dedicated team of roofing and solar specialists”.
Indeed, the solar surveyor at SunWorks says that installing solar panels at the same time as fitting a new roof can result in significant savings.
“SunWorks has had a small roofing division for a number of years, with the team mainly undertaking specialist installations, stripping roofs and building solar panels into the replacement cover,” he explained. “However, as people responded to the aftermath of Storm Ciarán, we saw an increased demand for general roof repairs, which created an opportunity for us to upskill some other members of the team and increase the number of roofing projects which we could undertake.
“As a result of that team expansion, we then took on a couple of larger roofing projects, all with integrated solar panels, which really highlighted the opportunity for homeowners and businesses to benefit from combining these two pieces of work.”
With the demand for such projects increasing, Ben said the company had continued to recruit more staff, with the 17-strong workforce now comprising a range of roofing and solar specialists, as well as office personnel.
“This has put us in a unique position, as we can provide an end-to-end service, bringing a fresh perspective to the Island’s construction industry, as we have the expertise to advise on, and install, both roofs and solar panels,” he said.
“Not only does that give you a unique proposition but when you look at the savings that solar can generate over a longer time frame of, say, 20 years, this can significantly contribute towards, if not completely offset, the cost of the roof.
A decent-sized solar system of approximately 10kw or 20 panels could, for example, generate £60,000 in energy savings over 20 years, depending on the customer’s energy profile, an amount which often covers the cost of the roof. Plus, with a new roof increasing a property’s thermal efficiency, carrying out this work brings greater potential to save on energy consumption and costs.”
Recognising that not everybody will be ready to spend £60,000 on a new roof, Ben said that SunWorks’ offer was of particular interest to those people whose roof was “nearing the end of its life span”.
“We would encourage those homeowners who have already reconciled themselves to the fact that this work needs to be done, to consider installing solar as well,” he said.
“The cost of the solar panels is not much more expensive per square metre to install than the roofing material and, by doing that, your roof starts to pay for itself.
“Because solar is such a competitive industry, and technology is ever evolving, you can now get the same power from ten panels that you would have got from 12 a couple of years ago.
This, combined with the fact that we are a business focused on making efficiencies and passing these on to our customers wherever possible, means that the cost of installing solar panels has remained steady, or dropped, over the years.”
And it is not just value for money which Ben says is a priority at SunWorks.
“If you embark on a roof project with SunWorks, you can be assured that you will have a dedicated project manager, as well as all the support of a market-leading and Jersey-based team, which has now completed more than 600 installations. We are committed to doing things the right way, and take great pride in our work.”
