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PENTA-H Renewable Energy

Service

Consultation and system design

A load study and an engineered design, available as a standalone service or as the first stage of an installation.

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What it is

The design decides the outcome, not the equipment

Most underperforming systems in this market are not the result of bad panels. They are the result of a design that was never done. An array sized from a single electricity bill, an inverter chosen from a price list, and a battery added later without checking whether it can talk to either.

A design starts with measurement. What the site consumes, when it consumes it, what must keep running and what can be allowed to stop. From that comes the array size, the inverter specification, the storage capacity and the protection scheme.

We provide this as a standalone service for buyers who want an independent design before they go to tender, as well as the first stage of our own installations.

House A1,200 units a monthDaytime cooling, empty eveningsSHARE OF USE AFTER SUNSET34 percentWE SIZE8 kW, no batteryHouse B1,200 units a monthQuiet days, heavy 7pm to midnightSHARE OF USE AFTER SUNSET86 percentWE SIZE8 kW + 16 kWh
Two houses on the same monthly bill need different systems, because what decides the design is when the power is used, not how much of it. This is the single reason we measure before we quote.

Deliverables

What you receive

  • Load profile measured across a full operating cycle
  • Roof or ground survey including shading and structural notes
  • System sizing for array, inverter and storage together
  • Single line diagram and protection scheme
  • Itemised bill of materials with each line justified
  • Indicative generation and savings under current tariffs
  • Net billing eligibility and application requirements

Questions about design work

Can I buy a design without buying the installation?
Yes, and some people should. You end up with a load study, a system design, a single line diagram and an itemised specification that you can take to any installer, including one that is not us, and compare quotes against a defined scope rather than a sales pitch.
What does a load study involve?
Measuring what you use and when, across a representative period, rather than reading a total off a bill. For a home that means understanding your evening. For a business it means a full operating week. The output is a load curve, which is the thing an honest system is sized against.
Why does when I use power matter more than how much?
Because since net billing a unit consumed inside your building is worth roughly four and a half times a unit exported. Two customers with identical bills can therefore need very different systems: one needs panels, the other needs panels and a battery.
Will you tell me if I do not need a system?
Yes, and it happens. Sites with low daytime load and a short remaining tenancy sometimes should not spend the capital. We would rather lose the sale than sell a system whose numbers we would be embarrassed to revisit in year three.
How long does a design take?
Usually a week from survey to issued documents for a residential system, two to three weeks for commercial where a structural assessment and protection design are involved.
What if I want a second opinion on a design I already have?
We will review it. The most common findings are an array sized against the bill rather than the load curve, a string inverter that forecloses adding storage later, and protection devices missing from the bill of materials.

Where to next

Buy the design before you buy the equipment

A load study and an engineered design stand on their own. You can take them to any installer, including one that is not us, and compare quotes against a specification rather than a sales pitch.

Request a designBook a free site survey