Leading building envelope contractor Longworth has gone green to celebrate the successful launch of subsidiary company Redsky Solar and show the group’s commitment to sustainability.The energy needed to power Longworth’s head office in St Helen’s now comes from sustainable sources and the company has developed a further plan to reduce energy consumption across all business areas.

Director Steven Jones said: “We launched our new Solar division Redsky last year because at Longworth we believe that renewable energy has a crucial role to play in meeting the UK’s future energy demands.

“Longworth and Redsky have now completed 7000 installations and we wanted to ‘practice what we preach’ by reaping the benefits of switching to cleaner energy and show other organisations just how much money and energy can be saved.”

A 50kW Solar PV system was installed at the building which both companies share, along with a biomass boiler to provide heat. The company is also in the process of switching to LED lighting and investigating rainwater harvesting.

Steven added: “In the first year alone the Solar PV installation will save 25.6 tonnes of CO2. We have seen a 65 per cent reduction in energy bills, and this, combined with the income we are generating from the Government’s Feed-in and Export Tariffs, is making the solar panels very cost-effective.

“The recycled wood pellets we use to run the biomass boiler cost a similar amount to the oil we previously used, but thanks to the income we are generating from the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive our heating costs have been reduced to almost zero.”

“We hope that more businesses will follow our example and convert to renewable energy to save money and reduce carbon emissions.”

Redsky builds on Longworth’s 150 years’ experience in the roofing industry and offers solar installation by roofing experts for both new and existing public, domestic and commercial buildings.

For more information about Longworth and Redsky please visit: Longworth’s website and Redsky Solar