"Goshawk Cresent installed a 301 kWp solar facility consisting of 619 x 490 JA Solar panels and 780 kWh of battery storage. It decreased their electricity costs by 80% and decreased their carbon footprint by 11,284 tonnes, the equivalent of planting 188,061 trees. The estate will save over R60.3 million over the lifecycle of the plant and provide reliable renewable electricity to the 138 homes in Goshawk Cresent."

So that's about 5kWh per residence, plus a bit left over for common facilities.

They don't say if it's large, centralised storage , or a smaller battery per residence. 

But it can be done. 

Actually looks like a contiguous group of properties within a larger complex. Even more interesting.

Pretty impressive - wonder if they created a mini-grid and can back feed into it etc...

14 minutes ago, mzezman said:

Pretty impressive - wonder if they created a mini-grid and can back feed into it etc...

There's lots of detail that aren't given. The broad strokes are already interesting though. A sectional title complex raised the finance and then got this done. So if there's the will and the money then it can happen, and not for individual residents who have obtained permission from the body corporate. This is people working with common purpose. 
 

Edited November 29, 20223 yr by Bobster.
grammar

That's not a small project, designing something on that scale must have been quite an interesting undertaking. While more details would have been nice, it was a good read

49 minutes ago, Psy said:

That's not a small project

Also not a cheap project.

Edited November 29, 20223 yr by Bobster.
sppeling

8 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

Also not a cheap project.

R60mill saved over lifecycle, well worth the cost and financial room to add more storage

I just wish more complexes would be willing to take on something like this. My complex has a handful of units that are perfectly placed/orientated for solar panels and endless issues during load shedding (dead gate motor, security system, Internet collapses etc). I know it can be a lot to lay out in the short term but the long term benefits are totally worth it.

I wanted to put a single panel on my balcony for the little inverter I have at home and the body corps said it would "ruin the aesthetic of the complex", so they are definitely "forward thinking" and will take solar options seriously soon [said with audible sarcasm]

37 minutes ago, Psy said:

I wanted to put a single panel on my balcony for the little inverter I have at home and the body corps said it would "ruin the aesthetic of the complex", so they are definitely "forward thinking" and will take solar options seriously soon [said with audible sarcasm]

Ja, Nee...
Mind boggles sometimes.
I would take power over prettiness any day 🤣

1 hour ago, Psy said:

I just wish more complexes would be willing to take on something like this. My complex has a handful of units that are perfectly placed/orientated for solar panels and endless issues during load shedding (dead gate motor, security system, Internet collapses etc). I know it can be a lot to lay out in the short term but the long term benefits are totally worth it.

I wanted to put a single panel on my balcony for the little inverter I have at home and the body corps said it would "ruin the aesthetic of the complex", so they are definitely "forward thinking" and will take solar options seriously soon [said with audible sarcasm]

I think it's not easy to get this kind of project agreed on by all residents. And I think, based on the experiences of various family members, that it can't be taken for granted that any given complex is well run and financially sound. 

So good on these guys. They would have had to vote on a large amount of capex, but everybody ended up on the same side. I would think that took some solid research and a lot of getting people on side. 

It's not just the roof angles and the technology that is needed.
 

1 hour ago, WannabeSolarSparky said:

Ja, Nee...
Mind boggles sometimes.
I would take power over prettiness any day 🤣

I can understand concerns around generators in a complex. But bodies corporate need to rethink their attitudes and regulations as regards PV or even the likes of a PowerWall. These would not keep anybody awake at night (except, maybe, to wonder what life would be like with such a system). There are some questions about changing wiring, re-certification, and making sure that people are not exposed to the danger of electric shock. But those are not insurmountable issues. As this case shows.

I suspect it depends on who is available to sit on or advise the body corporate. If you have engineers and electricians already in your camp, you know what questions to ask and you are better protected against BS artists.

23 hours ago, Psy said:

I just wish more complexes would be willing to take on something like this. My complex has a handful of units that are perfectly placed/orientated for solar panels and endless issues during load shedding (dead gate motor, security system, Internet collapses etc). I know it can be a lot to lay out in the short term but the long term benefits are totally worth it.

I wanted to put a single panel on my balcony for the little inverter I have at home and the body corps said it would "ruin the aesthetic of the complex", so they are definitely "forward thinking" and will take solar options seriously soon [said with audible sarcasm]

I got two balconies and wanted to put up a total of 4 x 120w across them, also got told no. But then again they say no to anything they possibly can say no to, so this is no surprise. The easiest way would be to run for trustee for a year and approve them that way and then quit being a trustee.

Meanwhile there are rusty and ugly DSTV dishes as if streaming is no such thing, and the odd aircon etc which are also delightful to look at. 

8 minutes ago, Lee2 said:

I got two balconies and wanted to put up a total of 4 x 120w across them, also got told no. But then again they say no to anything they possibly can say no to, so this is no surprise. The easiest way would be to run for trustee for a year and approve them that way and then quit being a trustee.

Meanwhile there are rusty and ugly DSTV dishes as if streaming is no such thing, and the odd aircon etc which are also delightful to look at. 

I am a Trustee (and a retired engineer) of a HOA. I wrote up a set of rules that dealt pricipally with safety of the common infrastructure and aethetics of the installation. These were circulated for perusal prior to our AGM. We achieved approval for individual owners to do PV within the framework of the rules. We also had to ensure that these rules were not in conflict with the founding constitution for the complex.

We are currently considering an amendment which will insist on a COC (albeit a legal requirement for an electrical installation) being placed on record with the Trustees. We have just had an owner who is not a registered electrician doing their own installation.

5 minutes ago, Lee2 said:

I got two balconies and wanted to put up a total of 4 x 120w across them, also got told no. But then again they say no to anything they possibly can say no to, so this is no surprise. The easiest way would be to run for trustee for a year and approve them that way and then quit being a trustee.

Meanwhile there are rusty and ugly DSTV dishes as if streaming is no such thing, and the odd aircon etc which are also delightful to look at. 

Exactly! There's a DSTV dish rusting away on my balcony and I am sure it hasn't been used in like a decade but putting up a single 550W panel would make the building look bad xD

The worst part is that my complex is owned by a complex so there isn't a board or committee to infiltrate... Although I noticed one of my neighbors had a bright spark, they just have a panel inside of the house in front of a north facing window. So it's technically not mounted on the outside of the building so they can't say anything xD

3 minutes ago, Peter V said:

am a Trustee (and a retired engineer) of a HOA. I wrote up a set of rules that dealt pricipally with safety of the common infrastructure and aethetics of the installation. These were circulated for perusal prior to our AGM. We achieved approval for individual owners to do PV within the framework of the rules. We also had to ensure that these rules were not in conflict with the founding constitution for the complex.

We are currently considering an amendment which will insist on a COC (albeit a legal requirement for an electrical installation) being placed on record with the Trustees. We have just had an owner who is not a registered electrician doing their own installation.

You see, that sounds far more reasonable. However, in my case I just wanted to have a single panel with a stand (No mounting or modifications needed) sitting on my balcony. It would have been wired directly into a little 1600W inverter, no modification and no installation. Plus I work with ish for a living, but I have had every request declined without explanation. While many complexes are reasonable about this, there are just as many that just don't care or they make a decent amount of money off our power bills... 

16 minutes ago, Peter V said:

I am a Trustee (and a retired engineer) of a HOA. I wrote up a set of rules that dealt pricipally with safety of the common infrastructure and aethetics of the installation. These were circulated for perusal prior to our AGM. We achieved approval for individual owners to do PV within the framework of the rules. We also had to ensure that these rules were not in conflict with the founding constitution for the complex.

We are currently considering an amendment which will insist on a COC (albeit a legal requirement for an electrical installation) being placed on record with the Trustees. We have just had an owner who is not a registered electrician doing their own installation.

I have some sympathy for the trustees in any complex. They, or the body corporate, have certain responsibilities in law and they can hardly be expected to make a rod for their own back, nor can they be seen to be playing fast and loose with the money put aside to keep the common property maintained. But it is not impossible to change the regulations.

Which is why, for me, the most interesting part of the story I posted here is not really the technical details, but how they managed to amend their own regulations and get all the residents on side and then raise the money required.
 

No amendment required where I live. Brought it up at AGM, got verbal and later written approval that individual owners can install PV if they so wish.

 

30 minutes ago, madness_za said:

No amendment required where I live. Brought it up at AGM, got verbal and later written approval that individual owners can install PV if they so wish.

 

I am assuming though you have a duplex or house in a complex or HOA, as opposed to an apartment where you don't own the roof

56 minutes ago, madness_za said:

No amendment required where I live. Brought it up at AGM, got verbal and later written approval that individual owners can install PV if they so wish.

 

This looks like something different though. This looks like 138 owners acting together with common vision and purpose, and agreement. OK... maybe they didn't have to change their rules, but they still had to get all the owners on-side.