CASE STUDIES

Full Moon Hotel on Bramble Bay

The Full Moon Hotel on Bramble Bay, at Sandgate in Queensland, first opened its doors in 1867. The hotel has expanded over the years to include a sports bar, gaming lounge and bottle shop. It also has entertainment, function, meeting and catering facilities and restaurant, café and al fresco dining areas.

Investing in solar made sense for the owners, as a large consumer of energy they were motivated by the economic value of solar and to reduce their impact on the environment.

Challenge

The first challenge was to design a solar system without impacting the 154-year-old building, whilst delivering maximum energy savings. The second challenge was to design the solar system across multiple buildings with rooves of different orientation, pitch, materials and construction. The solar designers also had to contend with shading issues cast by air-conditioning equipment, antennas and vents when designing the panel layout. In addition, the hotel is situated near the ocean and the solar panels and materials needed to withstand the harsh conditions.

The premises is the base for a mobile telecom tower, so the next challenge was to create a plan for the installation that avoided exposure to EMF for workers and limited downtime of the tower’s services. The owners were also sensitive to inconveniencing hotel patrons, especially during peak periods, so minimising the impact of solar installation works was a further challenge.

Solution

The solar designers opted to use SolarEdge technology as it provided greater design flexibility and panel layout options, it meant panels could be placed at different orientations, on different roof pitches and mitigated shading issues, resulting in maximum solar generation output. The solar frames and mounting systems used were manufactured from corrosion resistant materials. Whilst the solar panels used were tested and certified to the highest level of the IEC salt mist/corrosion standard, to ensure longevity and reliable operation.

To minimise disruption to daily operations, the installation crew worked outside the busy periods of the hotel. Starting early in the morning to receive deliveries of equipment and crane materials onto the roof while the carparks were empty. Most critically works were carried out during the period when the telecom tower was powered off, this placed a high demand on the installation crew to be efficient and expedient, while ensuring a high standard of workmanship.

Results

Completed in July 2021, the 99.9kW system by Planet Ark Power is meeting all energy and cost saving expectations. Purchased outright by the owners and operated as a cash flow asset, the solar system is on target to save the owners almost $20,000 during the first twelve months. The solar system has also contributed to reducing peak demand charges, achieving even greater cost savings.

To demonstrate the energy cost savings and environment impact of the solar system to its patrons, the owners at Full Moon Hotel on Bramble Bay intend to implement a live feed for solar performance on their website, hoping to inspire and motivate others.

Customers ask regularly who we used and if we are happy with the solar system. We shopped around a lot but settled on Planet Ark Power because we felt confident in Tom McVerry and the team as well as the equipment that they use. Solar is a long-term investment, and you need to be able to rely on the company, installer and equipment. With the wettest summer in a long time, it has not been good for producing solar electricity. But taking that into account our system is performing well, and we are seeing the benefits financially.

Toby Black, Publican, Full Moon Hotel on Bramble Bay (May, 2022).

To learn more about Full Moon Hotel visit their website at fullmoonhotel.com.au

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