Solar Power For Apartment Buildings

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Solar Power For Apartment Buildings – More and more people are moving into apartments and that means the demand for solar panels for apartment buildings is increasing. Solar energy is a great way to save money on your electric bills and help the environment at the same time! In this blog post, we will discuss some of the benefits of installing solar energy in apartment buildings. We also offer tips to start the solar installation process.

It’s important to understand the issues you face when you want to install solar in an apartment building or strata complex, and the challenges many solar installers have faced for solar strata.

Solar Power For Apartment Buildings

In most cases, adopting a new bylaw requires a special resolution where the roof area to be used is public property (in almost all cases). This requires a 75 per cent majority, which until recently was reduced to 50 per cent in NSW. Since these initiatives have to take place in the General Assembly, the decision-making and approval process is lengthy.

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Many apartment buildings have flat or pitched roofs that do not face south in direct sunlight. This can lead to additional installation costs if the solar installation needs to be ballasted and tilted.

Your solar system must be lifted onto the roof and transported through busy streets, which can cause significant inconvenience to the local community.

In this case, the solar panel installer has to coordinate with several parties (council, traffic management companies) and incur additional costs too! Solar installations themselves are subject to height restrictions due to power lines and other factors.

Strata buildings usually have limited space for an inverter that converts solar energy into electricity that can be used in your home. The inverter should be close to the fuse box, so this is important to consider when installing solar systems.

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Many solar companies offer solar loans, but strata properties can be difficult to access. Solar credits are based on the capacity of your system, not on how much energy it produces per year: they have no incentive if you’re in the shade all day or don’t look directly at the sun!

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Solar credits can also only be applied once, so if you’ve already used them on another system, don’t try to reapply with another provider.

An apartment complex can have rental properties and owners. Depending on who you are, the incentives to go solar can vary. If a landlord wants to install solar energy, he must first negotiate with the tenant to increase the rent payments.

From the simple and easy to the most technologically advanced and complex, here are three possible solutions to the problem of solar energy in apartment buildings – from the simple and simple to the most technologically advanced and complex.

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Although costs are largely similar in all strata buildings, each has specific charges: charges for common areas, elevators and other utilities, which operate through a separate electricity meter; The electricity bill for this meter is paid for layer-by-layer charges. It’s an easy way for a solar company to install rooftop solar on very tall buildings with little roof space, because it’s a community expense and everyone can (or should) benefit equally from lower bills. Additionally, the investment in equipment required to create such a system is surprisingly small, especially if the strata complex does not have shared elevators, air conditioning, swimming pools or other energy-consuming amenities. Any maintenance costs like cleaning the solar panels every few months can be shared equally.

If apartment owners are more interested in solar energy to benefit themselves or their tenants immediately, or if common area bills are already low, investing in solar energy systems for each apartment is worth it. But still the question arises about the isolation of the roof. This is a factor that most people don’t think about when buying an apartment, but it definitely comes up when a person wants to add a solar system to their apartment (except for a townhouse).

In this scenario, it makes sense to proactively distribute the sun-friendly (ie, unshaded and north/west/east facing) portions among all the homeowners for a “fair share”. This can be difficult, especially if the roof is versatile and has shading problems in more than one location. If the layer complex includes a portion of the roof that has full and equal access to solar energy, this problem should be easy to solve.

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After your strata committee gets to this point, you need to determine how much solar panel energy each square foot of roof area will provide. Finally, each system can be quite modest (1.5kW-2kW), especially if the structure is more than 2-3 stories tall and has a lot of floor space compared to roof space. If you’re considering installing solar power on your apartment building, it’s the most cost-effective way to do it all at once from the same company, since smaller systems tend to cost more per watt than larger ones. And buying in bulk will probably lower the total price.

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This method is the most difficult, time-consuming and expensive of all the options presented here if your structure is not already embedded in the network. Embedded networks are small micro-networks located in complex layers. Each device is individually metered by a “master meter”, which connects to the building’s utility network. Regardless of whether solar power exists, lower rates are generally guaranteed for the capacity of individual devices on an embedded grid.

When solar is installed on an embedded grid, it is theoretically possible to “share” the energy equally between units and deliver it at a lower cost (or perhaps for free) than a PPA. Additionally, purchase credit can be shared among different entities. Residents of individual apartments will still be able to choose their electricity supplier (if they live in an area with a competitive market).

Although the embedded network solution is the most comprehensive listed here, it is the most complex and time-consuming to install in existing structures, as it requires retrofitting. Getting approval from the strata committee is the first hurdle, requiring a unanimous decision to take action. Given the high costs involved and the different ways to approach the project, an initiative may never progress beyond the committee’s initial discussions without significant commitment from its members.

Another major issue is the need to obtain permission from the Embedded Network Manager (ENM). Every network embedded in the National Electricity Market (NEM) must have a registered operator under the Power of Choice rules. ERM has no incentive to install body corporate solar because it consumes less power through their gate meter and sells less power to residents. Solar energy requires changes to the ERM billing system, which can be difficult to adapt.

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Myth: Solar isn’t worth it because my apartment building’s roof area is too small or doesn’t face directly south to the sun.

Regardless of the surface or position of your roof, solar is worth it. Solar systems can be installed on roofs that do not face south and generate electricity from sunlight reflected from surrounding tall buildings or trees. Solar systems come in all shapes and sizes, so talk to a solar company about what options are available to you! Solar systems can be designed small enough to fit in the most inconvenient places, from chimneys (hence the term “chimney effect”) to skylights and downspouts. Solar power plants can also use mirrors or reflectors instead of traditional photovoltaics – these systems are generally not as efficient but are worth considering if you have a lot of roof space.

Solar energy can definitely increase the value of your property. Don’t just take our word for it, talk to your local real estate agent about how solar power will affect your property value before making any decisions. Solar energy is becoming more popular every year, so adding solar energy to your building can only be a good idea for prospective buyers. Solar panels are easy to remove even if they don’t suit the aesthetic of your property or if you want to sell it, so the cost of installation shouldn’t deter potential buyers.

Your solar energy systems don’t have to be an eyesore – they can help improve the beauty of your property! Solar panels can be installed in many ways so that they are not visible from street level or nearby. New models of solar panels have increased aesthetic appeal

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