This installation at a livery yard in Trowbridge combined a large rooftop solar array with Tesla Powerwall battery storage, designed to meet the sustained daytime energy demands of a working equestrian yard and residential dwelling on the same site.
With horses and staff on site throughout the day, a livery yard is well placed to make the most of solar. High daytime consumption means more of the electricity generated is used on-site directly, rather than exported to the grid, which is where solar delivers its strongest returns.
System highlights
- 48 x Trina Solar 455W panels
- Total capacity: 21.84 kWp
- 2 x Tesla Powerwall batteries (27 kWh usable storage)
- 3 inverters for load distribution and system resilience
What does this mean in practice?
On a good summer’s day, the system can generate up to 120 kWh of electricity. Across the year, self-sufficiency levels are estimated at 70 to 90% in summer, 55 to 75% in spring and autumn, and 30 to 50% in winter. During peak solar months, up to 90% of electricity costs can be offset.
The 27 kWh of battery storage means surplus generation is saved for use later in the day, and can provide between 8 and 24 hours of backup power for essential loads during a grid outage. For a site where uninterrupted power directly affects animal welfare, energy resilience is key.
Three inverters were specified to distribute load across the system and ensure that no single point of failure could take the whole system offline, an important consideration for a site of this size and complexity.
Solar installations for agricultural and equestrian properties are zero-rated for VAT. For a high-consumption site like a livery yard, the payback period is typically faster than a standard domestic install, making it one of the more compelling cases for going solar.
