| 10 Homes | 80 Total Panels | 35.84kW Solar Array | $17,619 Combined Savings |
Project Overview
Solar installation NZ projects don’t usually mean installing the same system ten times over, but that’s exactly what this Bay of Plenty group housing development called for. Future Energy designed and installed ten individual rooftop solar systems for Flowerday Homes, a group housing provider in Te Puke, giving each home a standardised 3.52 – 3.6kW solar array and fitting three of the ten with battery ready hybrid inverters for future expansion. Across the portfolio, the rollout totals 80 Suntech panels, 35.84kW of combined solar capacity, and an estimated $17,619 in combined first year power bill savings for the housing provider.
The Challenge
Group and supported housing providers run on tight, predictable budgets, and power costs across a multi home site add up fast with no single lever to bring them down. Flowerday Homes needed a solar installation NZ solution that could be rolled out consistently across ten separate dwellings on one development, each with its own electricity connection and household consumption profile, without turning the project into ten disconnected one off designs and ten separate approval decisions.
Rather than quoting each home in isolation, Future Energy standardised the core system, a 6kW SolaX inverter paired with eight Suntech panels, then adjusted the finer details, orientation split, panel wattage, and battery ready hybrid inverters on three homes, to suit each roof. That balance of consistency and site specific tuning meant Flowerday Homes could budget and approve the project as a single portfolio decision, while every home still received a system sized to its own roof and usage.
The System
80 x Suntech 440 – 450W Panels Across 10 Homes
Each of the ten homes received eight Suntech monocrystalline panels split across two roof orientations at a 25 degree tilt. Eight homes used the STP450S H48 Nth+ module, rated at 450W with up to 22.5% efficiency, for a 3.6kW array. The remaining two homes used the STP440S C54/Nshtb+ module, rated at 440W, for a 3.52kW array. Combined, the ten roofs carry 80 panels and 35.84kW of total solar capacity, backed by a 25 year panel warranty on every home.
SolaX Inverters: 7 Standard, 3 Battery Ready
Seven homes were fitted with the SolaX X1 BOOST 6K G4, a 6kW grid tied string inverter carrying a 12 year warranty. The remaining three homes received the SolaX X1 IES 6K, a 6kW hybrid inverter that is battery ready out of the box, so Flowerday Homes can add battery storage to those three properties later without replacing the inverter. Every system, standard or hybrid, carries a 10 year installation warranty.
A Standardised Rollout, Tuned Per Home
Rather than treating this as ten unrelated jobs, Future Energy ran the quoting, design, and install process as one coordinated project. All ten quotes were issued within a single week in March 2026, and every system was scheduled for installation within the same week in May 2026, letting Flowerday Homes plan the rollout as one project with one delivery date rather than ten staggered ones.
The Results
- 80 Suntech solar panels installed across 10 homes, for 35.84kW of combined solar capacity
- 60kW of combined SolaX inverter capacity across the development
- 3 of 10 homes fitted with battery ready SolaX X1 IES hybrid inverters for future battery storage
- 120.9kWh of combined daily solar generation across the ten homes
- $17,619 in combined estimated first year power bill savings, an average of $1,762 per home
- $4,219 in combined estimated annual solar export credit across the development
- Typical payback of around 5 years per home
- An estimated 5.5 tonnes of CO2 offset per year across the development
- 25 year panel warranty, 10-12 year inverter warranty, and 10 year installation warranty on every home
Ten homes. One coordinated rollout. One combined power bill saving of $17,619 a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a solar installation NZ rollout work across multiple homes on one site?
Instead of quoting and designing each home separately, Future Energy standardises the core system, in this case a 6kW SolaX inverter and eight Suntech panels, and then fine tunes roof orientation, panel wattage, and inverter type per home. This let Flowerday Homes review and approve one project covering all ten homes rather than ten separate quotes, while every system was still installed and commissioned individually to suit its own roof and household consumption.
Why do only some of the homes have battery ready inverters?
Three of the ten homes were fitted with the SolaX X1 IES 6K hybrid inverter, which supports battery storage, while the other seven received the standard SolaX X1 BOOST 6K G4 grid tied inverter. None of the ten homes has a battery installed yet. Fitting a battery ready inverter on select homes now means Flowerday Homes can add battery storage to those properties later, prioritised by need or budget, without an inverter replacement or additional rewiring.
How much can a housing provider save by installing solar across a group housing portfolio?
Across this ten home Te Puke development, Future Energy estimates combined first year power bill savings of $17,619, averaging $1,762 per home, with most systems paying for themselves in around five years. Because every home carries its own electricity connection and consumption profile, savings are modelled and tracked per property, giving the housing provider a clear per home and portfolio wide view of the return on a multi property solar rollout.
How long does it take to install solar across 10 homes?
For this project, all ten quotes were issued within a single week and every home was scheduled for installation within the same week roughly two months later, so the whole portfolio went from signed quote to installed solar in a single coordinated build. Running a multi home rollout as one project, rather than ten separate jobs, is what keeps a portfolio scale solar installation NZ project on a tight, predictable timeline.
Considering solar installation NZ for a multi home property, group housing development, or portfolio? Future Energy designs and installs residential solar systems across New Zealand, from single homes to coordinated multi property rollouts. Talk to us about a system, or a portfolio of systems, sized for your properties and your budget.
