Dings Crusaders RFC

Green Flare designed and installed a commercial solar PV system for Dings Crusaders RFC.

LOCATION

Bristol

PAYBACK PERIOD

4 Years

SOLAR PV

JA Solar

EST NET SAVINGS

£316,000+

BATTERY STORAGE

Fox ESS

ANNUAL CO₂ SAVINGS

13 Tons

Overview

Dings Crusaders approached Green Flare to look at wats to reduce the club's energy usage. Having already switched to LED floodlighting, the club wanted to supplement its existing solar PV system with larger array and battery storage, making a significant contribution towards the roughly 120,000kWh the club uses each year.

As Dings Crusaders hosts more games and events, its energy use continues to grow, making it increasingly important for the club to generate its own power and use that energy directly rather than importing it from the grid. The upgrade delivers both an environmental and a financial benefit, supporting the club's sustainability responsibilities while helping to manage rising running costs.

Green Flare had already worked with the club on a previous project installing heating controls with remote access, helping the team manage the building more effectively. Having found Green Flare easy to work with, Dings Crusaders invited them to tender for this next project. With day-to-day operations needing to continue as normal, Green Flare worked around the club's schedule to ensure members and customers were unaffected throughout the installation.

Technology

Green Flare installed 123x JA Solar 460W panels, forming a 56.58kWp solar PV array alongside the club's existing system. This was paired with 4x Fox ESS EP12 battery storage, each with a capacity of 11.52kWh, giving the site 46.08kWh of usable storage to draw on when solar generation is low.

The system runs on two Fox ESS H3 Pro hybrid inverters, configured to suit the club's three-phase electricity supply. This allows Dings Crusaders to store the energy generated during the day and use it across the site, reducing how much power needs to be bought in from the grid to run the clubhouse and floodlighting.

Community Impact

Andrew, Dings' Crusaders General Manager, said the installation helps keep the clubs running costs under control, which in turn keeps rugby more affordable for its players, including junior members, without passing those costs on to the community.

"It helps control our costs, and that means cheaper rugby for our players, our junior players, and the whole club. We don't have to pass these costs on to the community players."

Kate, the club's Commercial Manager, said the team felt closely involved throughout the project and valued how helpful and accommodating Green Flare were on site.

"We felt really involved at every stage of the process and knew what was going on all the time. We're a community hub, and we want to make sure this club is around for years to come - knowing we're reducing our carbon footprint but also our bills is really helpful."