Evaluating solar PV with electric heating with North Devon Homes: Wondrwall

The ‘Evaluating solar PV with electric heating’ project assessed the benefits of installing solar PV in social housing with different types of electric heating. This report focuses on the performance of two Wondrwall installations and compares them with a control property with solar PV and infrared heating panels.

The Wondrwall system is an intelligent home energy management system which combines multiple technologies with the aim to provide a low carbon home which has low running costs. The two Wondrwall systems were installed in a pair of 1950s era semi-detached bungalows with external wall insulation that previously had electric storage heaters. The Wondrwall system comprised of a 5.81kW solar PV system with a 6kWh battery, a smart hot water cylinder and infrared heating panels. The system had smart light switches and the infrared heating panels could be controlled by a tablet computer either manually or via a heating schedule.

The report assessed the following:

• Room temperature and humidity before and after the installations and for the control property
• Electricity import before and after the Wondrwall installations
• Solar generation and the level of self-consumption
• Electricity costs on a single rate and Economy 7 tariff and discussion of suitable smart electricity tariffs