Everyone dreads power bills but for Orange’s Ronald McDonald House, they eat away at the charity’s funds.
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Those bills will be a thing of the past thanks to a donation of $24,000 worth of solar panels.
“We have to fundraise everyday to keep the doors open, so any reduction in cost is vitally important and lessens the workload,” executive officer Rebecca Walsh said.
“We can redirect the money from electricity bills to other vital areas of the house enabling us to support our families on a daily basis.
“There will be improvements for the people who stay, if we can make our families’ stay a little easier – that’s what’s all about, keeping families together.”
Ms Walsh said the extra money was likely to be spent on linen and commercial cleaning as well as supporting the volunteers who “are the heart of of what we do”.
"Leah Tinson from Dynamic Solar has been the driving force behind the project and has been instrumental in bringing all the companies together for this important contribution to our community," Ms Walsh said.
So far this year, Orange’s Ronald McDonald House assisted 162 families.
Dynamic Solar is providing installation, cabling, switch-gear, as well as design and documentation.
“The community has supported us, and without that we wouldn’t be here,” Dynamic Solar’s Craig Tinson said.
“So we’re stepping up to give back, we all live here.”
Mr Tinson said the solar panel system being installed was close to one of a kind in the Central West. He said the system was opitmised to provide all of the house’s electricity and provide live monitoring.
Dynamic Solar isn’t the only company helping out. The solar panels have been supplied by Trina Solar, they’ve been optimised by Tigo Energy and Solar Juice has provided an inverter to manage power generation.
“When kids have to go to hospital, it can be traumatic and you need your parents there,” Solar Juice business development manager Harry Chami said.
“We thought, ‘what could we do to help less that trauma?’, it’s a no brainer to help.
“This will help lower the costs for Ronald McDonald House so they can focus on their specialty.”
Mr Chami said the donation wouldn’t be a once off, with Solar Juice set to extend their support into storage as the charity’s needs change.