On this project, the brief was to design and implement a system capable of powering three buildings built in an idyllic forest setting in rural Aragon.
The first property, a stunning holiday rental, was previously fitted with an under-powered solar system. As construction began on the second property – 300m away through the forest – the client contacted us to upgrade the system to one capable of powering both main buildings and an additional holiday cabin. The system was also designed to be expandable to cope with any future increases in power demand.
As an exclusive holiday rental, most guests would not expect to limit their power consumption for an off-grid property, therefore a robust system was essential. The new system was designed to cope with guests’ high expectations; it included the highest quality Outback Power equipment, a large 48V battery, and an array of 30 solar panels on the roof of a purpose built open-sided barn. This would give the power capacity needed to supply all of the loads, have suitable back-up capacity for any rare grey days and be capable of future expansion.
It took us two weeks to install the main components of the solar system, with a few additional days on site to distribute the power to the properties and to transfer the whole site to the new system with as little downtime as possible – just in time for the first guests of the summer season.
To enable remote monitoring of power production and consumption, we set up a 4G router – through which the Outback Mate3s controller can communicate with remote monitoring software, Optics RE – giving the client peace of mind, wherever they are, that their guests are enjoying the power provided by their new solar system.
Equipment list
- 30 x UKSOL 285W Solar panels on Wagner rails, fitted to a custom-built open barn (8.5kW peak)
- 1 x Outback combiner box, with breakers
- 2 x Outback FM80 Charge controllers
- 1 x 7kW Outback Radian inverter, with the possibility of expanding to a 14kW system in future
- Outback Mate 3s controller
- Huawei 4G wi-fi router
- 48V battery of 24 x 2V, 1000Ah lead-acid cells
- The client has a 7kW Honda back-up generator on those very rare occasions when the sun doesn’t shine for more than 3 or 4 days
- Steel-armoured distribution to the three locations
We had quite a complicated set of needs and Simon was able to design a system to work for us. He installed it under some time pressure with zero fuss. The system is perfectly adapted to fit our requirements and we barely have to think about our consumer usage. An electrical engineer who really knows his stuff.
– Evie James, holiday rental owner in Teruel, Aragon
Fancy getting away from it all with a stay at this stunning off-grid property? Why not check it out at https://www.coolstays.com/property/el-caracol/17778
Optimising Solar Panel Locations
