Is your school ready for solar?

Before choosing a solar provider, there are a few important things to establish about the school’s existing electrical infrastructure. 

Here's our checklist:

1. Check your electrical supplies 

Firstly, it’s important to find out whether the school has more than one electrical supply. This is different from having multiple meters on the same supply (such as separate meters for a school and kitchen, for example). 

Generally, Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) do not allow a single building to be fed from multiple supplies.  This can create safety risks. For example, you might think one supply has been isolated when another interconnected supply is still live. If supplies come from different sub-stations, they may also have different earth potentials, creating a potentially dangerous voltage between adjacent earthed metalwork. 

This situation can arise where buildings that were once separate — such as an infant and junior school, or a sports hall and teaching block — have subsequently been connected. 

2. Check your electrical supplies 

A solar system needs to be designed around how much electricity your school actually uses. 

Ask your provider to assess your historical consumption – ideally data across the period of year or more - rather than relying on generic assumptions about a typical school of your size. 

3. Single or three-phase? 

Establish whether your site has a single-phase or three-phase electrical supply. This will affect the design and potential size of your solar installation. 

Questions to ask your provider: 

• How many electrical supplies does the site have?  

• Are any buildings interconnected?  

• Has our actual electricity consumption, over a period of time, been analysed?  

• Is the site single or three-phase?  

• Are there any existing electrical systems that could affect the solar installation?