King’s College provides accommodation for 320 men studying at the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and other tertiary institutions in Brisbane. The College operates as an academic residential community of undergraduate and postgraduate members drawn from country and suburban areas throughout Australia as well as many other nations. The College was officially opened on 14th June 1913 at 236 River Terrace, Kangaroo Point, Qld. The transfer to the Saint Lucia campus began in 1954. Academically, the College has had some outstanding success. Since 1915 the College has produced 5 Rhodes Scholars, 42 University Medalists and 251 First Class Honours and a UQ Young Alumnus of the Year in 2015. In order to facilitate this success, the College endeavours to foster an atmosphere in which friendships are made and residents grow through social, sporting and intellectual interaction.
King’s has some of the best facilities of any Residential College in Australia. in addition to their state of the art living spaces, facilities also include a well-equipped gymnasium (including weights and cardio rooms), swimming pool, rowing shed and pontoon, 24-hour access to technology, tutorial/study rooms, Old Collegians’ Learning Centre, half basketball court with barbeque facilities and car-parks. Such lucrative facilities naturally engender high energy demands and their associated green-house gas emissions, so in early 2017 the College embarked on a mission to find a respected solar energy provider who could provide the College with an engineered solution which would be both long-lasting and of the safest equipment available. After a rigorous selection process, Solar Hybrids was chosen in Nov 2017 to design and install a safe, intelligent solar power system.
The PV array consists of a total of 336 highest quality & efficiency LG solar panels with a combined capacity of 99.7kWp. The solar panels are connected via 336 x SolarEdge DC Optimisers to 10 x 8kW SolarEdge 3-Phase inverters. By using multiple smaller inverters, we were able to ensure that the max voltage of the DC array on the roof remains well below the 600V limit – a mandatory requirement for buildings used for accommodation. The DC Optimisers are small electronic devices installed beneath each solar panel that enable panel-level monitoring and ensures each module panel is continually kept at maximum power point. Electricity losses due to mismatch or partial shading conditions are also kept to a minimum through the use of SolarEdge Optimisers. Additionally, this SolarEdge system also provides a superior level of safety. The DC-DC optimisers revert to ‘extra low voltage’ when the system is switched off during daylight hours. If an accident occurs, the system will automatically isolate to safe mode once the communications link is breached or the system is shutdown. This allows firefighters to operate safely and use water to push back a flame front.
Under a very trying timeline, the Solar Hybrids team designed the system, procured the components, and project-managed the build from start to finish throughout the Christmas break, ensuring a safe and successful implementation of the highest quality system with minimal disruption to the students and College staff.
If you would like to know more about King’s College and their impressive facilities, visit their website.
Check out live performance data from this system by clicking on the image below:
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