{"id":967735,"date":"2026-05-18T01:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/967735\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T01:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:39:17","slug":"henry-vacuum-maker-launches-uk-first-solar-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/967735\/","title":{"rendered":"Henry vacuum maker launches UK-first solar park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Numatic International<\/a>, manufacturer of the iconic Henry vacuum cleaner, has switched on what it says is the UK\u2019s first commercial solar array using high-efficiency space-saving technology more commonly found on domestic properties.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u00a31m \u201cmicro-solar-park\u201d, installed at the company\u2019s Chard manufacturing site in Somerset, is designed to help shield energy-intensive production operations from rising electricity costs while supporting long-term sustainability goals.<\/p>\n

Developed by SunGift Solar, the five-acre installation uses AIKO All-Back-Contact (ABC) solar cells paired with Sigenergy hybrid inverters to maximise electricity generation from a relatively compact footprint.<\/p>\n

According to the company, the technology allows the site to generate up to 1.73 MWp of power in a space that would traditionally only support around 1.6 MWp, delivering more than 7% additional energy output per panel compared with conventional ground-mounted solar systems.<\/p>\n

The array of 2,672 panels is expected to meet around 20% of Numatic\u2019s annual on-site electricity demand, with output capable of supplying 100% of site requirements on some days. The system feeds directly into the company\u2019s plastic moulding operations, one of the most energy-intensive parts of the manufacturing process.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Numatic International\u2019s new \u00a31m solar park at its Chard manufacturing site will supply up to 20% of the company\u2019s annual energy demand while helping power production of the iconic Henry vacuum cleaner.<\/p>\n

Stephen George, Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability Manager at Numatic International, said the investment formed part of the company\u2019s wider \u201cOperation Cleansweep\u201d sustainability strategy.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBy investing in cutting-edge solar technology, we\u2019re reducing our environmental footprint at the same time as protecting our manufacturing operations from rapidly rising energy costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Stephen George, Numatic International.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He added that the installation would allow the company to manufacture \u201cthe equivalent of 500,000 Henrys a year from sunshine\u201d while reducing annual CO\u2082 emissions by almost 267 tonnes.<\/p>\n

Numatic said the project could achieve payback in under five years, with that timeframe potentially shortening further if energy prices remain elevated.<\/p>\n

The solar park has also been future-proofed to support battery storage integration during a second phase of development, helping the manufacturer reduce peak demand charges and increase the proportion of self-generated electricity used on site.<\/p>\n

Gabriel Wondrausch, Director at SunGift Solar, said the project demonstrated how manufacturers with limited available land could still deploy high-output renewable energy systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cProviding a blueprint for other high-energy-use manufacturers to follow, the technology shows how small parcels of land adjoining factories or businesses can be converted into direct-feed solar power generation centres,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The installation builds on Numatic\u2019s existing renewable energy infrastructure, including previous rooftop solar systems installed in 2013 and 2019, as the company works towards achieving Net Zero by 2035.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Numatic International, manufacturer of the iconic Henry vacuum cleaner, has switched on what it says is the UK\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":967736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,22792,3993,35,393,4884,3181,3739,1144,712,3695,16,15,1764],"class_list":["post-967735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","category-united-kingdom","tag-britain","tag-businessmodels","tag-collaboration","tag-energy","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-leadership","tag-net-zero","tag-northern-ireland","tag-scotland","tag-sustainability","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-wales"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116593031005836122","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=967735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/967736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=967735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=967735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=967735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}