EJOT fasteners secure clean, green future for Kärcher UK

A new 300kW solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop system, which will provide clean energy to power the UK headquarters of Kärcher, has been installed by Solar Perfect, using high performance EJOT fasteners.

Almost 1,000 solar modules from global energy solutions provider Q CELLS make up the PV system, which will provide Kärcher with 44% of the annual electricity requirement at its Banbury site.

It forms an array that will mitigate the effects of 3.19 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, and deliver enough solar electricity each year to meet the needs of 120 local households.

Over the next quarter of a century, this clean energy system is set to deliver significant energy and carbon savings for the market-leading high-pressure cleaning equipment manufacturer, which has made a commitment to help preserve the world’s natural resources across every element of its business operations.

Solar Perfect was consulted on the initial proposal and subsequently appointed to provide a complete design, manufacture and installation package.

Working closely with Q CELLS, Solar Perfect managed the installation stage in just seven days, with minimal on-site disruption and scheduling of deliveries to work around the limited availability of on-site storage space.

A team of five installers were tasked to fit 967 Q.PEAK-G4.4 310 Wp solar modules using 12,000 EJOT self-drilling screws.

The EJOFAST® JF3-2-5.5 precision engineered fasteners used here are ideally suited to the attachment of solar PV rooftop systems, given their manufacture in A2 (grade 304) stainless steel to provide reliable long-term resistance to corrosion, excellent pull-out values and innovative drill point geometry to enable safe and efficient installation.

The new solar PV system installation also marks a second important contribution from the EJOT brand to the success of the Kärcher UK site.

When the facility was built in 2016, a range of EJOT roofing and cladding fasteners were specified to ensure the building envelope was created to a high standard, and four years on these fixings are fully delivering on their promise.

Cathal Murphy, MD at Solar Perfect, commented: “The Kärcher UK HQ project was a tremendous scheme to be involved with and one that perfectly demonstrates the long-term benefits of solar PV systems for the commercial and industrial sectors.

“Given this, it was vitally important that the fasteners we used to secure the modules to the roof structure could be relied upon for the whole design life, which is why we chose EJOT.

“EJOT continue to be a fantastic supplier of quality fixings. Kevin Rackley, in particular, is a great source of knowledge and always has a solution to our fixing requirements.”

The EJOFAST® JF3-2-5.5 self-drilling screws used for the Kärcher UK project are part of an extensive range of solutions from EJOT to cater for every building envelope requirement.

This includes a dedicated range of fixings for solar systems, roofing and cladding fasteners with coloured heads to meet aesthetic goals and specialist rainscreen fixings.

The green energy solution for Kärcher at Banbury was delivered via an innovative funding model – a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) – arranged by renewable energy asset manager, Zestec, and their financing partner NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF).

This supports UK businesses to adopt and embrace roof-mounted solar energy generation by enabling so-called ‘ host’ properties to benefit from immediate electricity and carbon reductions, with no capital outlay, in return for use of the airspace above the roof over a defined period.

It is designed to be a hassle-free model from the client’s perspective, as it puts responsibility for the installation and long-term maintenance in the hands of PV technology specialists.

Find out more about the range of EJOT fastener solutions, visit the website or call 01977 687040.

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