PETERSFIELD showed its green credentials this week when the minister for climate change raised the curtain on a major initiative to "radically reduce" carbon dioxide emissions. Drum Housing Association has installed 33 solar panels at Siward House sheltered housing on Borough Road. It is hoped the panels, which were officially unveiled by Angela Smith MP on Tuesday, will produce at least 3,300 units of electricity – saving hundreds of pounds a year in energy costs while cutting down carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 tonnes. And although it will not produce quite enough energy to power the entire sheltered housing complex at peak times, excess electricity at periods of low usage will be sold back to the National Grid. Angela Smith (pictured above centre) said: "I am very impressed by the system and surprised how little it affects the look of the building. Drum are to be congratulated on their initiative in the use of a 'green' alternative that is kind on the environment and also cuts the cost of electricity bills. "I hope we will see more and more of this type of scheme across the country" A panel located near the front door enables residents to see how much electricity is being generated at any one time, the total that has been generated since it became operational, and the cumulative savings in carbon dioxide emissions. Resident Bob Lloyd regularly monitors the figures. He said: "It is a smashing idea. It is good to know that we are helping to make a difference to carbon dioxide emissions. The residents here are from a generation that was very careful to save and conserve. "It was part of our upbringing. So we are all very pleased to be doing the same for the planet." The solar panels are known as photovoltaics (PV), a technology originally developed by NASA for their space programmes. The panels take energy from the sun and feed this into the buildings power supply. A unit known as an inverter converts the electricity from DC to AC to enable the electricity to run lights and other appliances.