Solar lights up Brisbane child care centre

Upper Mount Gravatt Kindergarten is a busy and successful child care centre on Brisbane’s south side. Over the past two years, they had been watching their energy bill steeply rise, so like many people, they started looking into solar. This was a choice they made carefully, being mindful to select a system that would significantly reduce their power bill, while also delivering a wonderful learning opportunity for their children.

Energy Partners provided a perfect fit. The centre chose a system that reduces their energy bill by over 90% and included benefits that make this partnership an ideal choice for them and a highly appealing opportunity for early childhood education (ECE) centres.

Why solar is great for ECE.

ECE centres have a lengthy list of standards they need to meet to be able to be responsible for the precious children in their care. Not only that, but educators need to provide a rich, varied, and interesting learning environment. When we installed their solar system, we also brought some special extras.

We have have created a fun and interactive presentation about solar power and caring for our natural environment, and it’s available to all our clients in ECE.

The presentation explains to children how solar power works, the impact of energy emissions, the benefits of sustainable energy, and how their own, new solar system is providing energy for their lights, music, and other devices. Children are shown a solar panel which they can touch and ask questions about, and they’re shown on tablets how much energy their solar panels are making.

We also installed an Energy Kiosk at the Upper Mount Gravatt Kindergarten – another inclusion for all child care centres. This digital display provides a live feed of how much power the centre’s solar panels are generating, how much energy is being used, and how much is being saved – all in bold, large numbers with graphics so everyone can understand.

Both the presentation and kiosk have been a huge hit, with children able to see how energy production and use are impacted by the weather, their use of lights and devices, and how much emissions their system is saving. Importantly, the savings are not only to the environment, but to the running costs of the centre.

Clean energy and huge savings for Brisbane child care.

Upper Mount Gravatt Kindergarten are the proud owners of a 10.8 kWp system, producing 18,240 kWh of energy. Before solar, they were purchasing 13,500 kWh of energy. After solar, they were purchasing 5,790 kWh, self-consuming 7,720 kWh, and exporting 10,520 kWh.

This means that the centre is now producing (57.9MWh) more than they are consuming (51.06MWh), almost halving their energy bill!

It also means that the centre was now saving 46.32 tonnes of CO2 emmissions, which is an equivalent of 2127.46 trees planted. This was wonderful news to both the children and educators.

At Energy Parnters, we also have experience conducting installations to minimise sound impacts on ECE centres while maximising savings according to centres’ unique energy use.

Also, like true partners, Energy Partners take after-care seriously, following up on bills and continuously monitoring the system to ensure it is performing at its best – after 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and beyond.

To find out more about our special solar packages for Brisbane child care centres, get in touch with us today!