Ask Lumos is a series from Lumos PV, answering the questions we get asked most often about solar, batteries and home energy. Based in Worton, Oxfordshire, we work with homeowners, businesses and community organisations across Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. This piece covers Sol-Share, a way for people in flats and shared buildings to access solar power. If you are considering solar for a standalone property, take a look at our Ask Lumos guide to how solar PV systems work.
Living in a flat or shared building used to rule out solar altogether. Splitting the cost of installation and maintenance, and working out who got what share of the electricity generated, was enough to put off even the keenest residents’ association.
That has changed, thanks to Sol-Share from Allume Energy.
What is it?
Sol-Share is the world’s first technology to connect multiple flats to a single rooftop solar array. Panels on the roof generate electricity as normal, and Sol-Share splits it fairly between each connected household, without needing a separate inverter and wiring set-up for every flat.
It is a genuinely useful option for the roughly one in five UK households who live in a flat or apartment, a figure that rises much higher in cities. It means lower bills and a smaller carbon footprint for a group of homes that solar has largely passed by until now.
Why install now?
Energy costs remain high, and with continued uncertainty in global energy markets, that is unlikely to change soon. At the same time, solar panels themselves have never been cheaper or more efficient.
Sol-Share can be installed as part of a new development, or retrofitted to an existing building. For retrofit projects, it can be added without disrupting residents, and it is also a practical option to include when a building is already undergoing redevelopment.
What are the benefits?
- Splits solar power fairly across multiple flats, without the cost and complexity of individual inverters and wiring for each one
- Residents keep the right to choose their own electricity supplier, while still benefiting from the solar generated on their roof
- A proven way to improve a flat’s EPC rating, which is important for landlords, developers and housing providers alike
- Can be paired with battery storage and EV charging, so energy generated during the day can still be used after day, or to charge an electric car
- Access to Allume’s SolCentre platform, showing total resident savings, carbon savings, and Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) payments earned
- Helps bring solar within reach of households who would otherwise have no way of accessing it
Who is installing it?
- Social housing providers, who may be able to access central government grants to help fund installation. It is worth checking what you are eligible for.
- Private landlords, looking to improve the energy efficiency of their properties and help tenants manage rising energy costs.
- Housing associations, some of whom we have worked with directly, alongside individual homeowners who have pulled together funding themselves.
What next?
If you manage or own a building that could benefit from Sol-Share, our team can visit the site, talk through your options and provide a quote. Submit an enquiry and we will take it from there.
Lumos PV are based in Worton, just outside Witney, and work across Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds, with experience across domestic, commercial and community projects. And if you are exploring standalone solar for a house rather than a flat, our Ask Lumos guide to how solar PV systems work is a good place to start.
