Path-Q Solar

How should shared laundry or common-area electricity use be included in a solar design?

Answer

Include shared laundry and common-area loads in the solar design only if the array's electrical connection and billing arrangement can offset those loads. Use their separate historical consumption where available, add planned equipment and operating changes, and model their timing because laundry, lighting, pumps, ventilation, and elevators may have different load profiles.

Key points

  • Identify which common-area loads are connected to the solar-serving meter.
  • Use separate meter data or submeter estimates rather than allocating total building use by floor area alone.
  • Laundry and other controllable loads may be shifted toward solar-production hours where practical.
  • Include standby, circulation, ventilation, lighting, and seasonal equipment if they are on the same meter.

What it depends on

  • Meter configuration and electrical connection
  • Historical common-area and laundry consumption
  • Equipment schedules, occupancy, and planned replacements
  • Building load profile and solar-production timing

Risks and trade-offs

  • Including loads on the wrong meter can overstate the solar benefit available to common areas.
  • Annual consumption may not show whether the loads coincide with solar production.
  • Load shifting can improve self-consumption but may require controls, resident cooperation, or operational changes.

Information you may need

  • One year or more of relevant meter bills and interval data
  • Electrical single-line or meter diagram
  • Inventory and schedules of shared equipment
  • Planned laundry, lighting, pump, HVAC, or elevator changes

Your next step

What to do next

Have the designer map the solar-serving meter to each shared load and provide a time-based model showing self-consumption, exports, and any controllable-load assumptions.

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Some details may depend on your location, installer, utility, incentives, regulations, or specific property.

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