Western International Market

Award-winning 1.73MW Rooftop PV & Self-Consumption system
in London

The Western International Market (WIM) is managed by London Hounslow Council, with approximately 70 tenants renting the units in the market to sell wholesale fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Most sellers use cold rooms and refrigeration units, driving the site’s electricity consumption to 3.4 MWh per annum. The Hounslow Council decided to reduce the energy expenses of the market.Revolution Energy specializes in solar PV installation and commercial battery storage and has a strong history with the Council in these areas along with all areas of energy management. Market. This system helps reduce the consumption from the grid by nearly 45% significantly reducing the Council’s costs and securing long term clean, affordable and secure energy.PV Asset ManagementThe SolarEdge DC optimised inverter solution with real-time remote monitoring at the module, string, and system levels acts as a strategic solar asset management tool for Revolution Energy in order to help reduce operation and maintenance (O&M) expenses and increase system uptime. The SolarEdge cloud-based monitoring platform provides clear tracking of the system’s performance through a variety of features:

• Comprehensive analytics tracking and reports of energy yield, system uptime, and financial performance;
• Pinpointed and automatic notifications for immediate fault detection, accurate maintenance, and rapid response;
• Remote troubleshooting for fast and efficient resolution with minimal on-site visits. 

 “With SolarEdge module-level monitoring, we can track the system output 24/7; making sure the system performs at its best at all times. This solution-enabled us to offer the customer a full warranty package, including products, workmanship, and performance.” 

Increased Self-Consumption

WIM is predominantly used in the early hours of the morning with most tenants vacating the site by 10 AM. Daily energy usage is very similar over a 6 day period. As the site is closed on Sundays, only a lower base-load of energy is consumed on this day. 

Typically electricity consumption is highest in the morning, with a spike in between 6.30 AM and 9.30 AM. This peak has been identified as the electricity draw from the forklift as tenants finish their work and plug in their forklifts to charge for use the following day. However this created a challenge since PV production peaks in the early afternoon (dependent on the time of the year) and in the winter periods there will be little to no PV generated in the morning when demand is highest. In order to overcome this challenge, Revolution Energy added timer switches that lock off the circuits that charge the forklifts until peak PV production. These timers allow WIM to maximise self-consumption from the PV array.

In addition, two Li120 lithium storage batteries were added to the AC side of the array, separate from the SolarEdge system, in order to store any excess PV energy during the day for base load consumption during dark hours. This brought PV energy export to the grid down to just under 10%; reaching the target set by Hounslow Council and reducing the local authority’s carbon emissions by 791 tonnes every year.The installation won the 2015 Annual European Energy Service Awards for ‘Best Energy Project’.

Superior Safety

One of the main reasons for selecting SolarEdge technology for this installation was the built-in safety feature, SafeDC™. This feature allows the SolarEdge DC optimised inverter system to protect installers, maintenance personnel, firefighters, and assets. The certified DC disconnect is designed to automatically decrease DC voltage from all string wires, whenever inverter or grid power is shut down. The voltage of each module is reduced to 1V.