Inverness competition winner says prize is 'better than winning a holiday'
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The winner of the top prize in June’s Cairngorm Group 70 year anniversary competition claims she is over the moon with her win, declaring it “better than winning a holiday!”
“If you look at what we are actually winning on a long-term basis,” said Marion Gallagher from Newlands of Culloden, “we will win this prize every year for the rest of our lives!”
The pharmacy technician, who works at the city’s Eastgate Centre, was the lucky winner of a 4KW Solar PV Panel System and battery storage units in the month-long draw which took place to mark the Cairngorm Group’s 70th year of trading in the Highland Capital
The Solar PV Panels, which are split between the roof of her home and her garage, convert daylight into electrical energy, which is stored in three sky-box sized batteries in the loft of the house. When Marion switches on any appliance at home, the power in batteries is used before any electricity is drawn from the grid, meaning that even on the shortest of winter days, the savings on her energy bills will be significant.
And in the long summer days when the system was first installed, next to no energy at all was being drawn from the grid, with the panels and batteries supplying almost all her family’s daily needs
Chris Dowling, co-director of The Cairngorm Group, was delighted to see that even early on a misty winter morning, a considerable amount of solar power had already gone into powering Marion’s home.
“The beauty of these systems is that the sun doesn’t have to be shining for power to be generated – even daylight is enough,” explained Chris.
“The first energy to be generated every day goes into running your home, and any excess goes into the batteries to be stored for when it is needed, perhaps waiting for everyone to come home after a day at work.
“The app that comes with the systems gives householders really useful real-time data about how much power is being generated, and how full the batteries are, at any given time”, he added.
Chris continued: “Doing simple things like using the timer on your washing machine so it will come on while everyone is out at work and the batteries are full, mean you effectively get that washing done for free. Small tweaks to your behaviour can really help you get the most out of these Solar systems. They are becoming ever more popular, and we really see these as part of Scotland’s journey to Net Zero, as well as giving householders a substantial saving on their monthly energy bills.”
Marion expressed surprise at how quickly and cleanly the installation was carried out by Cairngorm’s experienced teams.
“The scaffolders arrived one day, and the fitters the next,” she explained.
“The roofers put the panels up, the electricians connected them to the batteries in the loft - which was where we wanted them - and it was all programmed and giving us power that same day. Easy. No mess at all, they were in and out. All I did was supply bacon rolls and cups of tea!”
She added: “If I had known how easy it was and how much money we’d save I’d have done it sooner. I wish we’d done it 20 years ago!”
