Solar Power for Delft Primary School, Cape Town – 50 kW Solar Installation

First Energy Solar Installers has completed a 50 kW grid-tied solar installation at Delft Primary School in Cape Town, between Belhar and Cape Town International Airport, as part of the Western Cape Education Department’s programme to put solar on public schools. Seventy 550 W glass-on-glass panels feed a 50 kW Deye three-phase inverter, and the system is expected to generate at least 65,142 kWh a year – avoiding more than 27 tons of CO₂ annually.

The brief: lower running costs for a busy primary school

A primary school’s electricity use is concentrated in weekday daylight hours – lighting, classrooms, kitchens, administration and IT – which is exactly when solar produces. The brief from the WCED was a safe, robust and low-maintenance system that would cut the school’s electricity bill and be installed outside teaching hours.

The solution: 70 panels on a 50 kW Deye three-phase inverter

• 70 × 550 W glass-on-glass solar panels (38.5 kWp)
• 1 × 50 kW Deye three-phase hybrid inverter, installed grid-tied and ready for a battery
• Roof-mounted on aluminium rails with SSEG-compliant DC and AC protection and surge protection
• Online monitoring of generation and consumption
• Electrical Certificate of Compliance and City of Cape Town SSEG registration handled by First Energy

Glass-on-glass modules were specified for their fire performance and long life, and the Deye hybrid inverter allows a battery to be added later so the school can keep running through outages.

The results

• Estimated annual generation: 65,142 kWh – roughly 5,430 kWh a month
• Carbon avoided: over 27 tons of CO₂ per year
• Weekday daytime consumption now largely supplied by solar

Read more about our work with the WCED and how solar keeps learning uninterrupted.

Solar installers for schools across Cape Town

We install for schools, businesses and homes across Delft, Belhar, Kuils River, Blue Downs, Bellville and the wider Cape Town metro. See our Kayamandi High School 50 kW installation and our commercial solar page.

Frequently asked questions

Why is solar such a good fit for schools?
Almost all of a school’s electricity is used on weekdays between 07:00 and 15:00, which is exactly when solar produces. Very little generation is wasted, so payback is faster than for most homes.

Can the school add a battery for load shedding?
Yes. The 50 kW Deye inverter is a hybrid unit, so a lithium battery can be added to keep classrooms, offices and IT running through outages.

Does a school solar system in Cape Town need to be registered?
Yes. All grid-connected systems in the City of Cape Town supply area must be registered as small-scale embedded generation. First Energy handles the application and the Certificate of Compliance.

Commercial solar for your business in Cape Town

Send us 12 months of electricity bills and we will come back with a preliminary design, system size, cost and payback for your premises – request a free commercial solar assessment. Call 087 148 2012 or WhatsApp 084 597 1279. See our commercial solar installations in Cape Town and the Western Cape page for spend brackets, finance options and more case studies.