Solar for rural properties: Key considerations and benefits

For rural properties, electricity is often doing a lot more than keeping the lights on.

From water pumps and workshops to sheds, milking systems and refrigeration, irrigation, effluent management, heating and the everyday demands of the family home, power use can quickly add up. That’s one reason more farms, lifestyle blocks and rural homes across Taranaki are considering solar as a way to take greater control of their energy use.

Rural properties often have more options

One of the advantages of installing solar on a rural property is space. Larger roof areas on homes, sheds and farm buildings can provide more flexibility when it comes to positioning and sizing a solar panel system.

But bigger doesn’t automatically mean better. The right rural solar system should be designed around how much electricity your property uses, when you use it, and what you want your solar investment to achieve.

Match solar to the way you use power

A farm or lifestyle block can have a very different electricity profile from a typical residential property.

Water pumps, machinery, refrigeration, workshops, heating and other equipment can all contribute to periods of higher demand throughout the day.

Understanding those patterns is an important part of designing an effective farm solar system.

The more of your solar energy you can use while it’s being generated, the more opportunity there is to reduce the amount of electricity you need to purchase from the grid.

Think about the whole property

When considering solar panels for a farm, lifestyle block or rural home, it pays to look beyond the obvious roof.

Orientation, shading, available roof or ground space, the distance between buildings, existing electrical infrastructure and future plans for the property can all influence the best approach.

You might be planning a new shed, adding equipment, changing how part of the farm operates or simply expecting your electricity requirements to increase.

Factoring those plans in now can help make sure your solar system is designed with the future in mind.

Solar designed for rural Taranaki

No two rural properties are quite the same, so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to solar.

A well-designed system starts with understanding the property and how it actually uses electricity. For Taranaki farmers, lifestyle block owners and rural households, solar can provide an opportunity to make better use of available space, reduce reliance on grid electricity and gain greater control over ongoing energy costs.

Considering solar for your farm, lifestyle block or rural property? Talk to Solar Plus about designing a solar system around the way you actually use power.