The Bunyan family invested in a renewable energy system to run their house and car
The Bunyan family could be one of the greenest families in the land after installing high-tech kit to help them store energy from sunshine.
The recent increase in gas prices has not affected them and they have not been queuing at petrol stations.
The Bunyan’s renewable energy set-up has meant their electricity bills have halved.
Energy from the solar panels on the roof is stored in a massive battery in their garage. The system allows this energy to heat their home and charge up their electric Mini, all monitored on a phone app.
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For Stuart Bunyan, who lives in a south Nottinghamshire village and leads a technical architecture team for a financial services company, the system was something he and wife Catherine had been thinking about for a long time.
He said: “It was the right thing to do for us and the planet. We use our in-roof solar panels to power both the home and our electric car at very little cost.”
Nottingham firm Wing Electrical put in the Tesla Powerwall in a corner of his garage – well away from any flooding danger – alongside the back-up Gateway which manages the grid connection and keeps everything working if there is a power outage.
Stuart said: “The moment it started working was lovely for all of us and our son keeps an eye on how it is all ticking along on the app.”
It is the Tesla app which keeps the whole family in touch with how much storage is left, how much is being generated and its links to the grid.
Stuart said: “It is fascinating to watch how our energy is flowing and how it is boosted on sunny days. We stay in control.
“It is so efficient and the system charges from the grid at the cheapest time in the middle of the night.”
Read more: Nottinghamshire Live
