Victorian installer Solahart Eastern Ranges has delivered a major upgrade to the solar infrastructure at Mount Lilydale Mercy College in Melbourne’s outer east, adding an additional 75 kW of capacity to help the secondary school reduce its daytime power consumption and offset carbon emissions.
A 124 kW rooftop system spread across two buildings was already in place at the school, but Solahart has now boosted the generation capacity with the installation of an additional 75 kW of solar PV.
The Solahart team installed an additional 167 Solahart SunCell panels paired with GoodWe three-phase inverters, to bring each system to 99 kW capacity, resulting in a combined 198 kW of solar power across the campus, that comprises 14 separate buildings and two separate electrical main feeds.
To complement the solar upgrade, Solahart collaborated with energy management system provider Combined Energy to design a suitable monitoring system – one that includes 14 power meters installed on site.
Solahart Eastern Ranges General Manager Mark Baker said the Combined Energy solution is simple, efficient and smart, and allows the college to monitor the grid and its solar energy usage in real time.
“Smart energy management is fundamental in the move towards a renewable future as no amount of solar will save you money at nighttime without supporting technology,” he said. “Resources, such as energy management systems, are designed to complement renewable energy and maximise efficiencies.”
The rooftop solar and energy management system is projected to achieve combined savings of $21,475 (USD 14, 031) and 77 tonnes of carbon emissions in the first year.
Mount Lilydale Mercy College Assistant Business Manager Cathy Pote said the results have been impressive and the school is now looking to integrate the system into the curriculum to give students a deeper understanding of the benefits of renewable energy.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, we are excited to engage students in learning about energy consumption strategies using the monthly energy management system reports,” she said. “We also look forward to growing our energy efficiency potential with the installation of additional PV panels in the coming years.”
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