Solar & Heat Pumps for Care Homes in Sussex | No Upfront Cost
Cut energy costs and improve resident comfort with solar, battery storage and heat pumps for your Sussex care home, funded at no upfront cost by BHESCo
- Long-term energy security with fixed energy prices
- Increased EPC & MEES compliance
- Improved client comfort and satisfaction
Community-owned. Not-for-profit. No sales commissions – just an honest recommendation for your building
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Like all businesses throughout the UK, the care home industry is facing a tremendous squeeze on budgets as a result of high energy bills and rising inflation.
To balance your budget whilst continuing to offer a high quality service to residents, it is vital for care home providers to introduce a modern energy strategy that will reduce energy costs and deliver long-term energy security.
Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-operative (BHESCo) can help your Sussex care home drive down energy bills through better insulation, modern heating, and on-site renewable energy
– all for no upfront cost.
Why care homes are ideal candidates for on-site renewable energy and low-carbon heating
Care homes are one of the best-suited building types for a community-funded energy project, and it comes down to how the sites actually operate:
Constant, predictable energy demand
Unlike an office or a shop, a care home runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Heating, hot water, lighting, laundry and catering never stop. That steady baseline load is exactly what makes solar, battery storage and heat pump investments pay back reliably, because the demand is almost always there to use the energy generated.
Large roof space
Purpose-built and converted care homes typically have generous roof areas relative to their energy use, which is ideal for developing a solar PV project.
High heating and hot water costs
Elderly and vulnerable residents need warmer indoor temperatures than most buildings, and continuous hot water for bathing and laundry adds further demand, meaning heating typically makes up a larger share of a care home’s energy bill than in most commercial buildings, and the potential savings from switching to efficient technology are proportionately larger.
Long-term operating horizons
Care homes tend to operate on long-term, stable business models. A good match for the 20–25 year lifespan of solar panels and heat pumps, and for the term of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
A natural fit with the values of community energy
Care providers are, by nature, community-facing organisations. Partnering with a community-owned, not-for-profit energy co-operative (rather than a commission-driven national installer) tends to sit well with residents, families and staff, and supports ESG and social-value commitments that many commissioning local authorities and CQC-linked frameworks now look for.
Regulatory and cost pressure is only increasing
With energy costs a major concern for Sussex care home operators, and with an increasing focus on the environmental performance of commercial buildings (including MEES-style minimum standards), acting early… before compliance deadlines loom… is the lower-risk option.
Which upgrades have the biggest impact on energy cost savings
Not every measure delivers the same return. Based on the projects we’ve delivered across Sussex, these consistently offer the strongest payback for care homes:
Solar power for Sussex care homes
The most impactful upgrade for most care home sites is the introduction of rooftop solar panels.
A care home’s continuous daytime electricity use (kitchens, laundry, lighting, medical equipment, communal areas) means a well-sized array can offset a large share of grid-bought electricity rather than exporting it at a lower rate.
Getting more out of solar with battery storage
Paired with solar, a battery lets a care home use its self-generated electricity into the evening, when heating, lighting and catering demand is still high — rather than buying it from an energy supplier, and can reduce exposure to peak-rate tariffs.
All in one heating and cooling
Air-to-air heat pumps warm rooms in winter and cool them in summer from a single efficient system, replacing old gas heating without needing separate air conditioning.
Reduce energy costs with LED lighting and controls
Care homes typically run lighting for long hours across corridors, communal areas, and bedrooms. LED retrofits with occupancy or daylight sensors are lower-cost, fast-payback measures that free up budget for the larger interventions above.
Make your care home more energy efficient (insulation, draught-proofing)
Loft, cavity, and underfloor insulation, plus draught-proofing around doors and windows, reduce the heat a building loses in the first place, which reduces the size (and cost) of heating system needed to keep it warm, and improves the payback case for a heat pump.
Heating controls and zoning
Smart thermostats, TRVs, and zoned heating let different parts of a building (bedrooms, communal lounges, staff areas) be heated only when and where needed, rather than running a whole system to keep one wing warm.
Let us take a look at your options
Want to know if solar PV or heat pumps could be a good decision for your care home? Then get in touch with BHESCo.
Our Project Development Team can quickly determine if your site is a good fit or not, and we’ll let you know our provisional thoughts without the need for a site-visit or a full survey.
If we decide your care home is not a good match for solar PV or other clean energy technologies, then you’ll have saved yourself a lot of time, money, and hassle.
If your site looks like it has potential, then perhaps this could be the start of a long and valuable relationship.
Just fill out the short form below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Which upgrades have the biggest impact on care home comfort?
Cost and comfort don’t always move together — but several measures deliver strongly on both:
Heat pumps with zoned control
Unlike an ageing boiler struggling to heat a large building evenly, a heat pump paired with zoned controls maintains a more consistent temperature across bedrooms and communal spaces, reducing cold spots that particularly affect older, less mobile residents.
Insulation and draught-proofing
The most direct route to eliminating draughts and cold spots near windows, doors, and external walls — often the single biggest driver of comfort complaints in older care home buildings, independent of what the heating system is doing.
Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR)
Brings in fresh air continuously without the heat loss of opening windows — supporting good indoor air quality (important for respiratory health in an elderly population) while keeping rooms warm.
Double or secondary glazing
Reduces heat loss and cold radiating off window surfaces, and cuts external noise — both meaningful for resident wellbeing and sleep quality.
Reliable, well-sized hot water systems
Care routines depend on consistent hot water availability throughout the day; heat pump or solar thermal systems sized correctly for peak demand periods (morning care rounds, in particular) prevent the temperature drop-off that undersized systems often produce.
Overheating prevention
Increasingly relevant given regulatory attention to safe indoor temperatures in care settings during summer heatwaves — solar shading, ventilation, and heat pump systems that can also provide cooling help keep rooms within a safe and comfortable range year-round, not just in winter.
Working with BHESCo vs. developing a project independently
Care providers can, of course, commission solar or heating upgrades directly through a contractor or broker. Here’s what’s different about doing it with BHESCo:
Going it alone
Partnering with BHESCo
Upfront cost
Typically funded from capital budget, a loan, or a lease with a commercial finance provider
Zero upfront cost — projects are funded by BHESCo’s network of community investors through our Power Purchase Agreement
Advice/ Recommendations
Often from the installer or broker who is also selling you the equipment
Independent, sequenced advice — we recommend what your building actually needs, not what maximises our margin
Commission incentives
Many installers and brokers are paid on the products they sell
BHESCo is a not-for-profit co-operative with no commission-based sales incentives
Technical oversight
Falls to your facilities or operations team, who may not have specialist renewable energy expertise in-house
Managed end-to-end by BHESCo’s project team — survey, design, installer selection, and delivery
Risk
Capital risk, performance risk, and contractor management risk sit with the care home
Project and performance risk are structured into the PPA agreement
Ongoing accountability
Depends on the individual contractor’s aftercare
BHESCo remains accountable for the system’s performance for the life of the agreement
Who benefits from the investment
Returns (where financed commercially) go to a lender or investment fund
Returns go to local community investors reinvesting in Sussex’s transition to clean energy
In short: an independent installer can install a solar array. BHESCo’s co-operative structure, zero-commission advice, and community investment model mean the recommendation you get is built around your building’s actual needs — and the project is funded without touching your capital budget.
Customer journey and no upfront finance
We know that business owners want to get renewable energy systems installed, but are hesitant because of high upfront costs.
At BHESCo, we believe that everyone should have access to clean, affordable energy, which is why we make our services available for zero upfront cost.
1. No cost feasibility survey
We assess your building, energy bills, and energy usage patterns on-site.
If you only require energy consultancy support and are not interested in full project development, then we do charge a fee for our service. The cost of an energy survey depends on the size of the property. You can find more about costs on our Commercial Energy Consultancy page.
Customers who decide to work with BHESCo to install their energy management improvements will not have to pay for their energy audit upfront – the cost will be absorbed into the Power Purchase/ Hire Purchase Agreement.
2. Tailored recommendations for your care home
We report back on where solar PV, batteries, heat pumps, insulation, or heating controls would have the biggest impact on both cost and comfort.
We provide estimates of energy bill savings for each recommended improvement to help you make the best decisions for your care home.
3. Clean energy improvements financed at no upfront cost to you
If you’d like to proceed, we fund the project through our community investor network, meaning no capital outlay from your organisation.
4. Installation and quality assurance
BHESCo project manage the installation of your chosen measures by our trusted contractors.
We review the finished installation to ensure the highest quality workmanship.
5. Power Purchase Agreement begins
Your care home and BHESCo enter into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), in which you agree to buy the electricity/ heat from the energy upgrades at a cost that is significantly cheaper than you would pay to your energy supplier.
This means you start seeing savings on your energy bill from day one. Over time, upfront project costs are gradually repaid to BHESCo and our investors, at which time, ownership of the systems transfers to you.
6. Long-term maintenance and monitoring
BHESCo is responsible for the insurance, cleaning, maintenance and monitoring of all equipment for the length of the lease agreement.
CAPEX funded by community investors
Feasibility & development done on customer’s behalf
Energy upgrades installed for no upfront cost
Savings from energy bills used to repay CAPEX + investor interest
Case study
200kW rooftop solar power at Chailey Heritage Foundation
Chailey Heritage Foundation support children, young people and families living with complex disabilities.
BHESCo helped them obtain a 520 panel rooftop solar power system, with a total generation capacity of 200kW.
Parts of the site are Grade II listed, so BHESCo worked with foundation and consulted the local planning department to determine the most appropriate solar designs that aligned with the heritage structures on site.
We specified an indicative solar system for the site and obtained formal proposals from multiple installers, helping the Foundation achieve maximum value for their system. We then worked with the preferred installer to refine the design.
Over a typical year the solar PV array will generate around 220,000 kWh of electricity. It should reduce carbon emissions associated with the site’s energy provision by around 43 tonnes/year.
BHESCo estimated that the solar panels will reduce the annual electricity bill by 23%. Furthermore, any electricity generated from the system that isn’t used can be sold back to the grid to earn extra income for Chailey Heritage Foundation
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is a Power Purchase Agreement and how does it work for a care home?
It’s BHESCo’s zero-upfront-cost model for funding solar and energy efficiency projects. We cover the installation cost through our community investor network, and you repay it gradually from a share of the savings on your energy bill — so the project pays for itself over time, and you keep 100% of the savings once it’s repaid.
Will our care home need to pay anything upfront?
No. Projects funded through the Power Purchase Agreement have no upfront cost to the care home. The installation is funded by BHESCo’s community investors.
Can solar panels, heat pumps, or insulation be installed without disrupting residents?
Yes. We plan installation work specifically around occupied care settings, sequencing works to minimise disruption to residents, staff, and daily routines, and working closely with your team on timing and access.
Which energy upgrades save care homes the most money?
Heat pumps with zoned heating controls and improved insulation typically make the biggest difference — eliminating cold spots and maintaining a more even temperature across bedrooms and communal areas, while also reducing overheating risk in summer.
Why partner with BHESCo instead of arranging a project independently?
BHESCo is a not-for-profit co-operative with no commission-based sales incentives, so our recommendations are based on what your building needs — not what earns us the most. We also fund projects at zero upfront cost through our community investor network and manage the whole process, from survey through to installation.
Is our care home's site suitable for solar or a heat pump, even if it's an older or listed building?
In many cases, yes — our free survey assesses roof space, grounds, existing heating infrastructure, and any planning considerations (including for listed or conservation-area buildings) to identify what’s realistically achievable on your specific site.
Does my care home need to be privately owned, council-run, or a charity to apply?
No — we work with care homes across all ownership types, including private operators, charitable providers, and local authority-run homes. The Solar Savings Plan is structured around your building and energy usage, not your ownership model.