Modern home seeks slick solar solution

On the northern outskirts of Auckland, there’s a property on which a local working farm sits beside a natural forested area. Located on the farm is a newly developed gated community with approximately 20 architecturally designed modern homes.

When searching for a home solar system, the owner of one of these residences opted for Taspac Energy, a wholesaler and distributor of solar energy solutions across all market segments in the New Zealand solar industry. The brief was to provide a solar mounting system for the two buildings onsite — a 150 m² primary residence and a 100 m² garage/home office studio.

Challenges

The homeowner had chosen a standing seam metal roof because of its design appeal and flat uniform shape. It was important to him to have a low-profile, sleek, all-black solar solution that would not penetrate the roof or void any roof warranty.

Additionally, the property features an outdoor swimming pool, a spa bathroom and an EV charging station onsite, which is integrated into the whole solar PV system. The goal was for the solar system to supplement as much power as possible, as the property consumes 35,000 kWh per year.

The solution

The homeowner chose the S-5! PVKIT rail-less solar mounting solution (in black) combined with the S-5-R-465 Mini non-penetrating, standing seam clamp to complement the aesthetic look of the roof so the whole system would look slick and black.

The secondary building features a standing seam metal roof with a 12.6 kW solar array secured in place utilising the S-5! PVKIT direct-attach, rail-less solar solution. The rooftop solar system consists of 32 405-watt black PV modules connected to a 10 kW solar inverter coupled with a 19.2 kWh battery storage system.

The S-5! system provides a simple, secure method to ‘lay & play’ PV modules with tested, engineered, direct attachment onto the seams of the metal roof. Also, using the S-5! clamps meant the homeowner could maintain warranties due to the non-invasive, penetration-free attachment.

The outcome

The homeowner was able to supplement the property’s power generation by 45%, reducing his dependency on utilities. The PVKIT system eliminated the need for a traditional rail system and provided an aesthetically pleasing, cost-effective PV-mounting solution — saving the customer time and money on installation and materials.

“We were naturally drawn to the quality of S-5! products and the fact that there are no known warranty claims or failures on any of the products they have ever produced,” said James Hanff, Grid Connected Project Manager, Taspac Energy Ltd.

“Their rail-less solution is super-compact and easy to transport, great quality, super-fast and user-friendly.”

Project stats

• Solar installer: Avid Solar
• S-5! distributor: Taspac Energy Ltd.
• Module manufacturer: 32 405-watt REC Alpha Pure Modules
• Inverter manufacturer: Fronius Gen 24Plus Hybrid Inverter
• Battery storage: BYD Battery-Box Premium HVM Battery Storage System
• Project size: 12.6 kW
• Roof profile: standing seam metal roof
   

Images courtesy of S-5!