Solahart system generates big savings
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Located in Brookevale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, St Augustine’s College is home to 1200 students from years 5 to 12.
Solahart installed a commercial-sized 232.26kW system with almost 600 solar panels, and the new rooftop solar system reduces the school’s carbon footprint by approximately 255 tonnes per year.
The Sydney-based school installed a 232kW high-performing solar system on the additional roof space constructed as part of its most recent development, the award-winning Goold Building.
With a goal to reduce daytime power consumption and offset carbon emissions, the future-focused school turned to Solahart to provide the solution.
St Augustine’s College director of strategy and compliance, Anthony Bataille, said the college is committed to environmental sustainability and investing in renewables.
“The construction of our new Goold Building was a great opportunity to engage Solahart Sydney to install rooftop PV," he said.
The Solahart Sydney team needed to find a solution that would meet the energy needs of the school and ensure as little disruption to the academic term as possible.
“To prepare St Augustine’s College for the large-scale installation, we were required to upgrade the school’s main switchboard,” explained Rory Chenoweth, manager of the technical arm of Solahart Sydney’s commercial solar business.
“We also needed to work within the construction timeline so that the students wouldn’t be further impacted.”
The project also saw the installation of SolarEdge three phase inverters, dual DC power optimisers, and a SolarEdge consumption monitoring system – allowing the school to monitor its energy consumption and system performance.
According to Chenoweth, ensuring the safety of the students was a critical component when selecting the right products for the school.
“We chose the SolarEdge DC inverter as it goes above and beyond in safety. In the event of a blackout at the school, the system will step down the panel voltage to ensure that there are no live high-voltage cables inside the school building,” he added.
St Augustine’s College has seen immense cost and carbon emissions savings since switching to solar. Along with reducing its carbon footprint by 40 per cent, the school is expected to see savings of over $40,000 per annum in electricity bills.
According to Bataille, the expected savings will be key to balancing the sustainability of the school’s current operations, as well as investing in future developments to ensure current and future students continue to receive a world-class education.
“Student voice is a priority at the College, with students being major stakeholders in the development of its strategic intentions,” he concluded.
“Our students nominated making the College more environmentally sustainable as a key target in our strategic plan, and we are pleased this project helps us in achieving that goal.
“We are proud of making the switch to solar, and allowing our students to see first-hand the benefits of renewable energy, and how the student body contributes to the growth and improvement of the College.”
Source: Climate Control News
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