The Client
T. Manners, Bishop Auckland
The Brief
Design and install a 3-phase solar technology solution to a metal trapezoidal roof for a commercial customer, delivering greater power self-generation and usage efficiency.
The Activity:
Despite T. Manners & Sons’ client enjoying rapid expansion and growth within their business, they were also experiencing the impacts of recent increases in energy costs and instability, as per many commercial businesses.
Looking to offset these increases, the client was considering investing in self generating electrical power solutions.
As a result of our long term working partnership with T. Manners & Sons Ltd., we were invited to design, commission and install a large solar panel project, supported by optimisers, inverters and a 3-phase meter, to ensure the electrical power to site supported the needs of the business now and for the future.
Due to the metal substrate and trapezoidal design of the roof, the weather caused the team some challenges once the supporting scaffolding and edge protection barriers were in place (our thanks to Twin Scaffolding, and Nationwide Platform for supplying the health & safety required scissor lift), however the team worked hard, as always, to complete the job to the agreed schedule.
Once in place, the team installed cement boards in preparation for mounting the inverters (materials from Jewson Builders Merchant, Bishop Auckland), laying 6mm DC cabling, housed in a newly installed cable tray, and 25mm 5 Core cabling to support the 80A power supply required for the inverter (thank you Cleveland Cable!).
Now the prep was done, it was time to get installing the solar panels combined with a 3-Phase inverter and manager for maximum system performance, easy to monitor validation of installation, and less time required for future servicing, resulting in less cost to the client, backed up by a meter to easily monitor the amount of solar power being generated and used by the site.
The full solar technology power solution incorporated:
- 144 x Longi 435w solar panels (City Electrical Factors)
- 72 x SolarEdge S1000 power optimisers (CCL Components)
- 1 x 50w SolarEdge Synergy Manager (Segen)
- 1 x SolarEdge 3-phase solar inverter (Segen)
- 6 x DC isolators (Waxman Energy Wholesalers)
- 1 x Emlite 3-Phase Generation meter (Waxman Energy Wholesaler)
The Result:
Despite the challenges that the weather put in front of the team, the works were completed on time, delivering a renewable technology solution that is estimated to deliver HUGE savings of around £14,300 per year on their energy bill, with around 36% of energy being consumed by the site and an estimated payback of only 3.2 years.
Definitely worth the investment, we would say!
And the future is looking bright with opportunities to further upgrade the solar power solution with additional panels and deliver a greater contribution of self-generated electrical power.
What the client said:
“The Tomlinson Longstaff team produced a solution with exceptional impact for our client, potentially saving £14,000 every year on energy usage. As always the team were professional, thorough, and delivered an excellent job. Thank you.“
Simon Manners, Director T. Manners & Sons Ltd
Read more about our commercial and renewable electrical solutions and recommendations.
Tomlinson Longstaff Ltd is an electrical contractor based in Country Durham, north east England. We offer a wide range of electrical services including design, testing, installation and maintenance.