With conversation around the 2050 net zero target rife when RedEarth was preparing to power The Block, our own people were asking a very important question…
Why wait?
On Episode 27 of The Block 2022 (about six minutes in), RedEarth CCO Scott Andrews explained to Scotty from The Block the value of the 132-panel, 50kW ground-mounted solar array (installed with a lot of help from our partners RACV Solar!) that we supplied for the houses. For reference, most houses run off 6-10kW.
Given there was absolutely no powerline connected to the houses on The Block this year, going off-grid was always a given. The permanent oversized systems we’ve provided – backed up by a DropBear system for each house, fully loaded with 14 of RedEarth’s own 4.1kWh LFP Troppo batteries, PLUS a RedEarth Vault which houses an additional 11 Troppo batteries (total of 102.5kWh) – helps go a little bit further, giving an idea of what houses of the future can look like.
For the houses on The Block, we considered who the homebuyers may be, their lifestyles, and what their electricity uses in the future could be, and installed systems accordingly. These arrays and batteries are ready to power basic amenities such as fridges and lights; modern comforts such as air conditioners and heaters; emerging technologies such as EVs; and additional buildings which may be built on a 10-acre site in the future (such as pool houses, stables, etc) – as well as all the other stuff in between.
On top of the amount of electricity that may be required for use now and in the future, we also considered how much electricity would be generated. Geography is very important when it comes to purchasing solar systems, and how much daylight you expect to see – especially in winter – has a huge impact on the size of the system you may require.
We didn’t need the rain and mud our teams had to battle during installation to remind us where we were; our resellers and installers think about these things every day. With Victoria having fewer effective daylight hours than northern states, it was important to take this into consideration when sizing the solar array, so we made sure there was a little bit extra.
RedEarth creates its systems to be scalable, allowing our customers to purchase the system they need for today, and to continue to build on it based on their future needs. The initial investment is never lost or wasted. The systems provided for The Block houses can also continue to be added to if the household’s needs change or grow beyond the current capability.
The upside? These houses are net zero, 2050-ready in 2022. We were even able to power the construction with temporary solar systems for a truly renewable energy experience – you can learn more about that here. While we had generators as back up, they weren’t often needed – and with noise restrictions from 8pm to 8am, contestants learned about monitoring their energy use to make sure they could keep working through the evening using stored solar power.
For RedEarth, this entire experience has proven that net zero isn’t some lofty goal to be reached in the future; we already have the technology to do it right here, right now!
