Client overview
The Crown & Anchor, a long-standing community pub in Newport, East Yorkshire, faced a pivotal moment in 2024. Following a change in management, the new owners confronted excessive monthly energy bills that were eroding profit margins — on a heritage building with an EPC rating of E.
The challenge
A busy hospitality business has unique energy demands: consistent daytime loads, evening consumption spikes, heating requirements, and the complexity of working within a heritage building. The pub's highest electricity use falls in the evening — lighting, kitchen equipment, refrigeration and customer activity — precisely when grid electricity is most expensive. The owners needed to cut costs, improve the EPC rating, and move toward energy independence.
Project goals
Cut cumbersome energy bills
Energy costs were described by management as "cumbersome" — the primary driver for the project.
Improve the EPC rating
A starting rating of E posed risks to long-term sustainability and operational efficiency.
Handle evening demand spikes
Shift consumption away from the expensive evening peak that hospitality businesses rely on.
The solution
36-panel mixed solar array
18 × 645W JA Solar panels (peak sunlight output) plus 18 × 450W Trina Solar panels (stable low-light performance) — 11.61kWp + 8.1kWp combined, chosen for strong generation across varying Yorkshire weather.
SigenStor hybrid inverter + 20kWh battery
A SigenStor EC12.0TP hybrid inverter manages solar, battery and grid together. Two 10kW SigEnergy batteries store daytime surplus for discharge during the pub's busiest, most expensive evening hours.
Ideal Heating Logic Air heat pump
A dedicated air source heat pump for the second-floor tenant flat, configured to run from the solar array wherever possible — replacing fossil fuel heating and improving the EPC rating.
In-roof solar tile system
The street-facing front roof pitch was fitted with fully integrated, low-profile solar tiles that replace conventional roof tiles entirely — preserving the heritage building's traditional character.
Results & benefits
Bill reduction
65% reduction in monthly energy bills, by prioritising self-generated solar power and storing surplus for the evening peak.
EPC improvement
Energy Performance Certificate rating improved from E to A — a dramatic jump driven by the heat pump and full renewable retrofit.
Payback period
System payback under 4 years, turning what was previously pure energy cost into a partial revenue stream via grid export.
Three technologies, one ecosystem
Solar, battery and heat pump were engineered together around the pub's specific daytime-generation, evening-consumption profile — not installed as separate add-ons.
“By prioritising self-generated solar power and storing surplus energy, the pub has significantly reduced its monthly utility bills. Excess energy not used or stored can be exported back to the grid, generating additional income — turning an energy cost into a revenue stream.”
YEERS Project Summary, Crown & Anchor Inn
