With over 2.3 million solar rooftop installations, most Australians enjoy the benefits of solar energy. Certainly, technological advancements and innovations have helped the best solar companies in Perth to make solar power accessible even for apartments.
One-third of Australians live in rental properties or apartments. Earlier a significant portion of Australians were out of reach of solar power just because they don’t own a roof. But, now the situation has changed.
The number of people living in apartments are increasing year by year. This is likely to take a huge leap in the future. Unlike before, solar power systems can now be installed in apartments. Therefore, energy generation is possible even for the individual units of an apartment.
Procedure for Installing Solar in individual flats
Installing PV panels on apartments has become a recent trend. Going solar in apartments is more challenging than independent buildings, even though both work in the same way.
For panel installation at individual flats of an apartment, need permission from two parties. firstly from the owner, secondly from other residents. By generating electricity of their own, the owners or tenants can enjoy the benefits of clean energy and save hugely on electricity bills.
For energy generation in apartments, the decision-making and approval process is a bit slow as it needs 75% votes of the property owners. In some states, it is 50%.
By generating electricity, a solar power system can potentially supply all the power needs of residents in buildings with five stories or below. Australia’s apartments are relatively low rise. Therefore ample roof space is available for installing individual solar power systems. Certainly, the Taller the apartment, the lesser will be the area for panel installation. It is ideal if the building is less than three stories.
Major Problem in Installing Individual Solar in apartment
The first step is to contact the best solar company in Perth with experience in installing PV panels in apartments. Above all, roof allocation is the major problem that comes to one’s mind when individual owners insist on installing solar panels for their unit in an apartment.
It needs approval from the owner’s corporation regarding the fair allocation of roof space. On the other hand, doesn’t require any approvals from energy regulators. Depending on the availability of roof space, separate solar power systems can be installed for each unit of an apartment.
Those roofs which have full and equal access to solar power are easy to divide. The division becomes complicated if the terrace is multi-faceted and has shaded areas in more than one place.
Based on available roof space and the number of flats in the apartment, solar-friendly areas of the roof are equally allocated for individual flats. As a result, space is retained for future use. Even for those who are not installing PV panels now.
System Same as Independent Home Solar
Once the best solar company Perth is done with installing solar, electricity generation works just like a solar system on an independent house. There is no need for additional metering or monitoring equipment. There is no interaction between one’s solar system and their neighbours’ system.
Individual flat owners with a solar system can enjoy all the benefits just as how a residential solar owner does. They benefit from the feed-in tariff for the surplus solar power they feedback to the grid.
The best way for renters to go solar in their apartments is community solar. They don’t even need the consent of the landlord. Smart dividers deliver power to individual apartments. Solar power will be divided amongst those members who are participating. Robust monitoring software monitors the usage of each apartment.
The new approach of shared solar systems is very effective. With this roofless solar, even renters can enjoy financial payoffs and emission reductions. Microinverters are of great use for this option. In their 86-unit residential complex Perth-based developers Psaros equipped their 180 kW of solar that with Enphase microinverter technology. It wires the system in such a way that each unit effectively has its own 2 kW solar array.
A win-win situation for the tenant and landlord.
Switching to solar is a win-win situation for the tenant and landlord. Most importantly, tenants can save money on electricity bills. Meanwhile, the property value increases for the landlord. There are community energy groups that provide interest-free loans to facilitate landlords to install solar on their rental properties.
While installing PV panels in individual flats of an apartment, the owner can procure the amount he spent for installation back from the tenant, either as an increase in rent or as a payment per kilowatt-hour for the solar power they use, along with the feed-in tariff earned by them.
Experienced solar installers can provide professional advice on the best possible option of energy generation in individual flats of an apartment. They will find out how much each section of roof area will translate into in terms of solar panel capacity.
Solar systems installed for individual flats in the apartment are usually small. It is usually 1.5 kW-2kW. Compared to an independent house, individual systems generating electricity in apartments are more expensive on a watt per basis.
If other owners of the apartment are also interested in going solar, it is better to get all the installation done by the best solar company Perth. Bulk buying would definitely bring down the cost of installing PV panels.
For energy generation at individual flats in an apartment, an individual solar system has to be connected to the electricity meter of individual units. Since there is no sharing involved, they can be the boss of their own solar power system. They can plan and use energy in an effective way that they can save a lot on their electricity bill and earn a good feed-in tariff.
Additional costs for Solar Installation in individual flats.
Compared to independent houses, there are additional costs for apartments. Independent advisory services like Yarra Energy Foundation can help in finding these extra costs. The most common additional costs for individual flats in an apartment are:
- The cost of installing PV panels on flat, concrete or tall roofs of an apartment will be high as it might need extra work. It needs long cable runs and tilt frames.
- Additional installation costs for tall buildings as the installers need to hire specialised equipment like cranes to transport solar panels.
- Permitting and labour costs will incur if public property is affected.
- Additional costs in the planning and approvals stage.
- An additional cost for independent advice, feasibility study, legal advice, or regulatory fee.
The best solar company Perth has advanced technology to provide a completely customized energy-saving solution for apartments. The highlight of installing solar panels in apartments is that the transmission and distribution losses due to loads and power generation are incredibly low.
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