Awards
2012 Clean Energy Council Award Winner for Excellence in Solar Hot Water System Installation and Design
Incorporated into the construction of an extension to a house in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote, this close coupled solar hot water system shows the way in technical, energy and water efficiency.
Solar heated water in the collectors rises by convection into the storage tank above, displacing the coldest water in the tank back to the bottom of the collectors.
An instantaneous natural gas booster is activated when a hot water tap is opened - solar heated water from the tank flows through the booster, which adds more heat instantaneously if required.
An upstairs bathroom next to the system gets its hot water quickly. Users in the downstairs bathroom and kitchen some way from the system are able to utilise an on demand hot water precirculation system.
See the case study for more information.
2011 Clean Energy Council Award Winner for Excellence in Solar Hot Water System Installation and Design
On an "off grid" secondary school campus dedicated to educating students in sustainable living, a challenge was presented to meet an approximately 400 litre per day hot water requirement for the central kitchen and laundry with as much renewable energy as possible.
The award winning design featured a hybrid collector array (pictured) of flat plates and evacuated tubes to produce superior efficiency to an array using the same area of either type of collector on its own. Collectors were installed at a 60 degree angle to the horizontal, facing due north, to reflect the large hot water demand in the cooler months of the year.
See the case study for more information.
2009 Clean Energy Council Award Winner for Excellence in Solar Hot Water System Installation and Design
This solar hot water system demonstrates the provision of mains pressure hot water heated primarily by solar energy, with the remaining heat provided by waste heat from a wood heater/stove and a supplementary LPG gas booster.
The system is installed in a frost prone location in regional Victoria.
The heat from the wood stove is collected using a passive heat exchanger located in the roof cavity between the wood heater and the tank.
LPG consumption has been observed (up to 2012) to be extremely low - the solar energy and wood fire waste heat provide an estimated 97% of the heating load for a 2-3 person household.
See the case study for more information
2011 Award for Excellence – PV - UPS
Box Hill TAFE, Melbourne, Victoria
“Best Design and Installation of an Uninterrupted Power Supply System less than 10kWp”
This project included the design, supply and install of a grid-connected power system – PV and wind – complete with a battery storage system for uninterrupted power supply (UPS). The installation was designed to demonstrate a variety of technologies to TAFE college students.
Features include a dedicated, ventilated, battery room, data from SP-Pro inverter integrated with the Building Energy Management System, LCD Display in the public reception area and premium quality German, Australian & American components selected.
See the case study for more information
2009 Award for Excellence Designing & Installing a Grid-Connect Photovoltaic System 5kW – 20kW
Uniting Church, Tecoma, Victoria
“It was a very satisfactory installation and we as a community are reaping the benefits already.” - Client 3/6/09
The project we entered featured a solar array layout designed to compliment the community image desired by the client, in this case in the shape of a large cross, for a church.
An increasing number of community buildings, including places of worship, are choosing to install photovoltaic panels and we believe these provide an opportunity to install quality systems and help promote the concept of solar energy to the wider society.
See the case study for more information
2008 Best Grid-Connected Solar System above 5 kW
The solar sound wall on the Tulla-Calder Interchange, Victoria.
The 500 metre PV system was designed and installed for the Tulla-Calder Alliance, a special government and industry consortium established to rework a major interchange between two freeways. The installation constitutes the first use of solar panels as a noise barrier on an Australian Freeway. The 24.36kWp amorphous silicon array can tolerate some shade, but clever system design was used to minimise even minor shading on the overall installation.
This system was supported by the Sustainability Victoria Renewable Energy Support Fund.
The judges were looking for “innovative, compliant and well-documented systems that demonstrate excellence in the design and installation of Grid-connected Power Systems.”
See the case study for more information
2008 Best Grid-Connected Solar System under 5 kW
Domestic system in Williamstown, Victoria.
This project features a solar array layout and orientation (for a new building) designed in conjunction with the client and his architect. It shows that an excellent outcome can be achieved with good planning, detailed preparation and regular consultation with the client.
Given the double storey design of the building, all of the usual OH&S precautions had to be taken and the normal care to make sure that the site was left in a tidy state. The original layout and design of solar grid connect system enabled pre-wiring of solar PV DC wires and solar inverter to the switchboard AC wires before the installation of new plaster boards. The result was the solar array and inverter to distribution board wiring was completed neatly and installed internally inside walls and ceiling cavities.
This installation, while typical of the standard that we strive to maintain, is an excellent example of a PV installation and a good model for our industry. Note that Going Solar also supplied and installed the solar hot water system shown at the far left of the photo.
See the case study for more information
2007 Award for Excellence in Grid-Connected Solar Power System (Design and Installation) above 5 kW
Building Integrated PV System at Ballarat University, Victoria
See the case study for more information
Click here for a chronological awards list.