About twenty of the thirty-five homes in the building located on Borrell Street attended the first information session aimed at the block’s residents in June, in person. A session to present to the tenants the solar panels installed on the roof and which will allow users to see their electricity bill reduced from now on.
Until now, many residents of the social housing block managed by the Barcelona City Council were unaware that solar panels had already been installed on the roof of the top floor, which will allow them, on the one hand, to enjoy the advantages of solar energy and, on the other, to be involved in shared self-consumption while they live in the apartments of the aforementioned Barcelona building. Photovoltaic installations that will be formalized once the residents of the building sign all the agreements to benefit from them and that will allow, according to initial calculations, to reduce their electricity bill by up to 15%.
Involvement of the Sun4All project
But, in addition to having photovoltaic panels, the building has been selected by the European Sun4All project to promote self-consumption and see how energy sharing can be promoted among citizens. For almost a year (from October 2022 to June 2023) the building will be part of the pilot plan of the project co-financed by the European Union. In order to explain what it means to be part of this Horizon 2020 project, Sun4All has organized a picnic on the first floor of the building to explain all the details. And the fact is that, thanks to the involvement in the pilot project, the residents of the building on Borrell Street will have the following advantages:
- Two personalized energy advisories. One to optimize your energy and water bills and another focused on how to improve the energy uses you have at home. Here we talk about improving consumption habits to reduce it and, above all, teaching how you can get the most out of the installation you have on the roof of the building itself.
- Installation of an energy efficiency kit (within the second consultation).
- Participation in three energy workshops.
- Invitation to a second visit to another type of photovoltaic installation to see and learn about other models. Sun4All does not always promote photovoltaic installations in the same building. It also promotes that solar energy can be generated at another point and that the building in question benefits from it. In order to show users what other schemes and types of strategies there are, they are invited to visit other shared self-consumption models launched in the city of Barcelona.
- Inclusion of an instant messaging channel (bidirectional) to be informed of ongoing actions and workshops, but also to give advice directly. There is talk of notifying when there is a lot of sunshine, when it is good to start a washing machine, when there are peak hours, etc.
Group information session
The meeting on the first floor of the building, held on June 15, 2022, allowed us to speak directly with all those involved and receive any questions they might have. Specifically, the residents had doubts about whether involvement in the project would force them to change suppliers, whether they would lose the bonuses that some receive for being considered vulnerable groups, or whether there would be problems in the future with the solar panels breaking down.
Once all doubts were resolved, many of the attendees were grateful to be part of the project and to have been involved in the process. The Sun4All project highly values the strong attendance at the session. An attendance that is mainly due to the great dissemination work done by the technical agents from the project through posters in the building, calls to neighbors and previous door-to-door meetings with some of the participants.
Individualized sessions
One of the aspects that has most aroused the interest of the residents of Borrell Street is the participation in the individual sessions promoted by the Sun4All project. All households signed up to be part of the advice and receive a visit at home from an energy agent who will teach them how to get the most out of their photovoltaic panels and thus reduce their electricity bills.
Such has been the interest that, within a week of offering the information session, most residents had received personalized advice. Meetings that took place in the participants’ homes and that allowed for more direct contact with all those involved in the pilot.
Once the group session and individual sessions have been carried out, the next steps now involve creating the WhatsApp channel and starting to prepare the technical aspects, such as signing the documents relating to the LOPD and the distribution agreement. It is also necessary to ensure that all the documentation related to the activation of the self-consumption contracts is correct and that fluid communication is maintained with the neighbors for any doubts that may arise in this regard these days. However, it is expected that the documentation can be presented to the distribution company in July 2022.
Watch the Sun4All project video here !
