12 photovoltaic panels on a 19th century house with guest rooms

  • 2022
  • Roquefort-les-Pins, France
  • Power output : 6 kWp
  • Panels : 12 photovoltaic panels
panneau-solaire-mas-sud

When they bought the house 10 years ago, Olivier and Stefanie decided to completely renovate it. The residence of 400m2 now partly meets new energy regulations (RE 2020 in France) after all the renovations which include among many projects, the installation of 12 DualSun FLASH solar panels for self-consumption. The Energy Performance Diagnostic (DPE) of the house is now rated A which is best score for energy efficiency.

Here is a look back at this project, which was completed in March 2022.

Olivier is married and has 4 children. He works in industry and Stefanie is a heritage management consultant. In addition to their jobs, they manage the 4-room guest house they have built onsite: the Mas Osmeea.

What motivated Olivier to invest in solar was to improve his carbon footprint but also to save money on his electricity bill. His house is entirely electric and investing in solar was especially pertinent to cover energy needs for the following units:

  • The reversible air conditioning in the guest house
  • The swimming pool
  • The charging station for the electric car and the electric bike which are used every day. Olivier travels 6000 km/year by bike!

The most recent part of the building dates back to 1850 and the oldest back to 1750. With a very long roof facing south, installing solar panels made sense. As he launched the project, the quick rise in energy prices only made his determination stronger.

An internet search led Olivier towards DualSun. By simulating his project on MyDualSun, he was put in touch with Capital Energies, one of our local partners who oversaw the installation of the DualSun FLASH panels.

In terms of aesthetics, the solar panels are not visible from the ground which was important for Oliver. Nonetheless, the installation is quite beautiful when seen from above!

On the production side, Olivier is very happy. “Even in winter it produces well” he says. Thanks to his production monitoring application, he can even check production in real time. For example, in 9 months, he produced €1,000 in electrical equivalent, which represents about 20% of his electricity needs!

The construction site went well and was fast: less than 2 days for the solar panels. The construction site was also an opportunity for them to replace their old hot water tanks by thermodynamic tanks.

Today, Olivier recommends DualSun solar panels to his friends and family!

“So far I am happy with my solar installation and even impressed. I am also relieved to have been able to equip myself at the right time compared to the current situation of rising energy prices. The panels are producing beyond our expectations because for the past year they have covered between 20 and 25% of our electricity needs.”

Technical information

Characteristics House for 6 persons + Guest house
Number of panels 12 DualSun FLASH solar panels
Power output 6 kWp
Rooftop installation On-roof, south facing, 30° slope
Photovoltaic system Micro-inverters, self-consumption of electricity