A Watford business has had its entire roof installed with solar panels to reduce its carbon footprint.
Orbital Fasteners in Northwood, which supplies fasteners such as nails and bolts, decided to install the environmentally friendly material while upgrading its roof and insulation.
The paneling cost £120,000 while the entire project came to a little over a quarter of a million.
The new roof covering the 14,000-square-foot building was strong enough to support the panels and a safety rail was added to assist any maintenance activity.
Director of Orbital Fasteners Jon Wilson said: “The decision to install solar power was based on affordability and the opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint.
“The cost of installing solar panels is high and the payback period is 9 or ten years, my guess is that this makes installation prohibitive to companies that are tenants of properties.
“Over the summer period, the electricity bill for our building has reduced by £1,000 each month, however this saving will reduce over the winter period."
Mr Wilson said that more solar panels are likely to be installed on other Orbital buildings in the near future.
He added: “At Orbital Fasteners we heat our warehouse with two furnaces that are fuelled with waste pallet timber and we have our own back-up generator which cuts in should we experience a power cut.”
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