Ruapuke Batch

By SUNZ Solar Energy Specialists

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Sunz were engaged by the architect to provide the power system for this remote beach house south of Raglan. As part of the consultation process we identified the daily load of the building and talked through the various implications on heating, cooking and water heating when building off the grid. After a couple of false starts the on the building, the power system was commissioned at 3pm on the 24th December, just in time for the owners to spend the Christmas holidays in their slice of paradise.

One of the unique features of this system is the use of a frequency power diverter for heating the hot water. With off grid power systems, the solar power normally shuts down when there is no power being used and the batteries are full. With this site being a holiday home and being unoccupied mid week, we wanted to utilize this wasted solar energy. The Frequency diverter does this by heating the water in the extra large capacity hot water cylinder. Through out the summer, the hot water cylinder is maintained at 80oC from all the spare solar power. Even in poor weather conditions, the cylinder is normally above 60oC and in the rare event its not, because its always warm, it only takes the wetback fire an hour to get it hot enough for showers when the owners turn up on a Friday night. IF the owners cant be bothered lighting the fire there is also a backup element in the top half of the cylinder for a quick heat up time.

The system uses the latest Lithium Iron Phosphate battery coupled with a marine grade Off grid Inverter/charger and Honda auto start generator in a small shed. The monitoring and control panel is mounted in the house hall way for easy access and as its connected to the internet, the owners have full access from their cellphones. The solar power system is split, with most of it connected to a solar inverter to power the home and hot water directly, and a small number of panels dedicated to battery charging. This is a reliability feature we always incorporate into our off grid as it will allow the system to automatically recover with out user intervention in the rare event of an flat battery. As the generator has a battery charger on its start battery, and a service contract with Honda, the only time this ever happens is if someone forgets to put petrol in it. 

SUNZ Solar Energy Specialists
Waikato
Ruapuke Batch
Ruapuke Batch
Ruapuke Batch
Ruapuke Batch
Ruapuke Batch
Ruapuke Batch
Ruapuke Batch
Ruapuke Batch
Ruapuke Batch
Ruapuke Batch

Products used in
Ruapuke Batch

Solar Power Off Grid
Solar Power Off Grid
By SUNZ Solar Energy Specialists

Professionals used in
Ruapuke Batch

SUNZ Solar Energy Specialists
SUNZ Solar Energy Specialists
Manufacturers and Suppliers

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About the
Professional

Sunz Solar Energy Specialists was formed in 2000 to offer clients energy-efficient renewable energy solutions. Energy costs are rising and have been doing so for many years. The hydro lakes always seem to be in some state of emptiness, there’s no new oil and gas exploration allowed, and New Zealand imports coal from Australia just to keep our lights on. 

In the early days, solar water heating was the only real financially viable renewable technology so most of Sunz systems we built around highly efficient solar water heating products from Europe and the USA. Technical improvements and cost reductions in solar power and battery products over the last 10 years have these systems now not only financially viable for most New Zealand households and business, but actually the preferred option.

Energy costs are rising and have been doing so for many years. The hydro lakes always seem to be in some state of emptiness, there’s no new oil and gas exploration allowed, and New Zealand imports coal from Australia just to keep our lights on.

Sunz expertise is in offering energy-efficient solutions tailored to the clients’ requirements. We assess what the client wants to achieve and provide an integrated solution to meet that requirement, often combining multiple energy sources and technologies in our systems. While our systems are primarily renewable energy-based, we can integrate with almost any other energy source, grid power, gas, diesel, heat pump, wood, or waste process heat.

So whether it's providing electricity to power your home or business, or heating your home, your domestic hot water, swimming pool, or spa, we can offer a solution for you.

At ArchiPro we recognise and acknowledge the existing, original and ancient connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have to the lands and waterways across the Australian continent. We pay our respects to the elders past and present. We commit to working together to build a prosperous and inclusive Australia.