Skövdebostäder has installed solar panels on Skövde’s tallest building, Studentskrapan. Instead of installing the panels on the roof—which is the usual approach—the company has mounted them on the facade.
– When the solar panels are mounted on the facade, we can take advantage of solar energy even in the winter when the sun is low in the sky. The panels are mounted vertically and won’t be covered by snow either. “Since we’ve installed solar panels facing three different directions, we can harness solar energy no matter where the sun is,” says Tobias Nilsson, head of technical management at Skövdebostäder and the project’s initiator.
Skrapan – a brilliant choice
The high-rise is home to approximately 110 student tenants. At 54 meters tall—and located on Kurortsvägen near the travel center—it is a building that is often seen in Skövde. It was therefore important for the project that the installation look aesthetically pleasing. It was also the building’s unique qualities that led Skövdebostäder to choose to test the solution here.
“The architecture of Skrapans provides ideal conditions for installing solar panels on the facade. There is a lot of facade area relative to the roof. The amount of energy the panels are expected to produce also aligns well with the building’s energy consumption,” says Tobias Nilsson, head of technical management at Skövdebostäder.
Unique Project
The mounting system used on Skrapan is manufactured in Mullsjö. Källström’s electrical team installed the panels this spring using a cherry picker—a job that’s hardly suitable for those afraid of heights. The solar panels are now in place on the facade, and this solution is relatively new when it comes to large residential buildings.
– We’re the first in Skövde and the surrounding area to have a system of this size installed on a building facade. Even in the rest of Sweden, it’s unusual to see solar panels on residential buildings as large as Skrapan. Our hope is that we’ll be able to install solar panels in a similar way on other properties as well, but we’re starting by evaluating this project,” says Tobias Nilsson, head of technical management at Skövdebostäder.
Sustainable Energy
Skövdebostäder is very active in addressing issues related to sustainability and renewable energy.
“We’re constantly looking for ways to improve and find solutions to reduce our carbon footprint. Solar panels are one way to do that, and in addition to the project at Skrapan, we’ve made several investments in solar power in recent years. For example, we’ve installed solar panels on the roofs of Havstena, Ekedal Jupiter central Skövde,” says Tobias Nilsson, Head of Technical Management at Skövdebostäder.
