Site study
Interval load analysis, roof and plant review, essential-load map, tariff model and electrical constraints.
Distributed energy for shared buildings · fictional developer
Make the building behave like an energy system.
Sunroom designs solar, batteries, controls and essential-load circuits around the way a site actually uses power. The point is not more equipment. It is a clearer relationship between generation, demand, resilience and cost.
Site SRG-18 / 14:20
38.6 kW
roof generation
72%
battery state
21.4 kW
building demand
-6.8 kW
grid import
About / system view
Panels make electricity. A microgrid decides what the site should do with it.
Sunroom is a fictional distributed-energy practice for apartment buildings, schools, workshops and small campuses. We start with interval demand, outage priorities and the site's electrical topology before selecting hardware.
The design then coordinates generation, storage, essential loads and grid interaction around an operating objective: reduce peak import, improve resilience, share generation fairly or combine those goals without hiding the trade-offs.
Offerings / system layers
Solar design
Array layout, yield assumptions, inverter architecture and maintainable access around the roof.
Storage
Battery sizing against actual load shapes, outage objectives, cycle strategy and replacement assumptions.
Controls & commissioning
Metering, operating logic, protection, alarms, handover tests and a measured commissioning report.
Process / from meter to operating rule
Design the decision logic before the equipment list.
1
Observe
Collect interval demand, bills, outage history and site constraints.
2
Prioritise
Separate essential, flexible and discretionary loads; agree what must remain live.
3
Model
Test solar, storage and control scenarios against tariff and resilience objectives.
4
Engineer
Resolve protection, metering, cable routes, roof loads and equipment interfaces.
5
Commission
Prove control logic and islanding where applicable, then compare measured behaviour with the model.
Projects / site stories
Different buildings need different rules.
SITE 018
Courtyard 36 / apartment block
Common-area solar had been proposed without considering daytime vacancy. The final concept prioritised hot-water load, lift resilience and a smaller battery rather than maximising roof coverage.
SITE 019
Ridgeview School / learning campus
Classroom loads fell before afternoon solar peaked. Storage was modelled around evening sports lighting and essential IT instead of generic self-consumption.
SITE 020
Makers Row / light-industrial cluster
Three tenants had different demand peaks. Shared metering and allocation rules were designed alongside the electrical upgrade so cost-sharing was not left to monthly spreadsheets.
Proof / measured performance
Commissioning ends with evidence, not screenshots.
14
sites modelled this year
31%
median peak import reduction in commissioned examples
100%
essential circuits function-tested
90 d
post-handover performance review
People / system team
Electrical, commercial and operational decisions meet in one model.
Power systems engineer
Thando Maseko
Protection, controls, single-line design
Energy modeller
Ari van Wyk
Interval data, tariffs, storage scenarios
Site delivery lead
Leila Osman
Contractors, commissioning, resident handover
Insights / grid notes
Self-consumption is not the only objective
A battery sized only to absorb midday solar may be wrong for a site whose real priority is carrying essential loads through outages.
Governance is part of electrical design
Shared solar needs agreed allocation, metering ownership and maintenance responsibility before residents can trust the system.
Commission the controls under failure
A normal sunny day proves little. Test loss of grid, low battery, communications failure and safe recovery while the team is still on site.
FAQ / before procurement
Is a microgrid the same as rooftop solar?
Not necessarily. The fictional Sunroom model combines generation, loads, storage, controls and an agreed operating objective. A site can have solar without functioning as a coordinated microgrid.
Can an existing solar installation be included?
Yes. We would first review inverter compatibility, metering, protection settings, warranties and available control interfaces before assuming legacy equipment can participate.
What happens during a grid outage?
Only systems designed and approved for islanded operation can continue energising selected circuits. Essential-load design, protection and safe reconnection are part of the engineering scope.
How do residents know who benefits?
Shared-generation projects need an allocation method before hardware is installed. The fictional process models tariff, common-area load, tenant allocation and governance so the commercial rules are visible.
Contact / site study
Send the bills, the single-line and the outage problem.
We will tell you what data is missing before proposing equipment, then build the first model around actual site behaviour.