Positive Energy: Solar Power For Flats

Solar expert Ramin Hakimov is Positive Energy podcast’s second guest
SolShare helps people who live in flats share solar power evenly and fairly
Watch the podcast on YouTube or listen on Spotify now

Watch episode 2 of Positive Energy – powered by The Eco Experts, with solar panel expert Ramin Hakimov (centre) in conversation with host Chris Hambling (right) and editor Roland Ellison (left) above

The Eco Experts Positive Energy podcast is back for a second episode and features Ramin Hakimov, business development manager (UK) at Allume Energy. This time, we’re talking about the installation of solar panels on flats and everything it entails.

Hakimov has a Masters of Science (MSc) degree in Public Policy from UCL and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of York.

He has been with Allume since February 2022 where he has been responsible for building a sustainable pipeline and promoting their product, SolShare, in the UK housing market, working with the social housing and new-build sectors specifically.

We asked Hakimov about the logistics of solar panels on flats, how it benefits the residents and how solar power can be shared equally, particularly when individual flats in a building have different energy needs. .

We also discussed the cost of solar panels, who pays for them, and solar panel maintenance.

With solar panel popularity growing exponentially, now is the time to be questioning exactly how they work. Around the world, an average 2 million solar panels were installed every day in 2023, up 1 million from 2022, but in regards to home installations, the market has been almost exclusively for individual houses.

Hakimov said: “We realised it’s not fair for the people, for the blocks of flats, because they have been left out of a solution to rooftop solar.”

As a result of this, Allume Energy invented SolShare, a solar power sharing systems that can connect multiple flats to rooftop or ground mounted solar in an apartment building.

Launched in 2015 in Australia, the business has now expanded to New Zealand, the UK , Germany and the USA. SolShare now helps deliver more than 5GWh of green energy globally and allows apartment building inhabitants to save on their energy bills.

Hakimov continued: “We’re looking at anything, let’s say, between £200 – £500 yearly savings for each resident.”

“And if you have battery storage, we can talk about more savings.”

Get a free quote for a solar panel for your home by using our quick quote tool.

Listen to this podcast on Spotify, or click on the player below.

Watch episode 1: ‘What the hell is a heat pump?’ with Bean Beanland