Farms are some of the best solar sites in New Zealand: big north-facing shed roofs, serious daytime power loads, and long distances from town that make resilience genuinely valuable. Here's how solar fits the way Kiwi farms actually use power.
Farm Loads That Match Solar Generation
- Milk cooling and refrigeration: Vats and chillers run through the day, every day, a near-perfect match for solar generation.
- Water and effluent pumping: Pumping is flexible; run it in daylight hours and it becomes almost free to operate.
- Irrigation: Peak irrigation season is peak generation season, the sunniest months are exactly when pumps work hardest.
- Cool stores and pack houses: Steady daytime refrigeration loads with big roofs directly overhead.
The Shed Roof Advantage
A typical implement or dairy shed offers hundreds of square metres of unshaded steel roof, space most houses can only dream of. That means farm systems can be sized for the real load (often 15–100kW+) without compromise, usually on the three-phase supply farms already have.
Resilience When the Lines Go Down
Rural lines are more exposed to weather, and an outage during milking or in the middle of irrigation season is expensive. Pairing solar with battery storage keeps critical loads running when the network doesn't, and lets you use your own generation in the evening instead of selling it back cheaply.
What a Farm Proposal Looks Like
Every farm is different, so we start with your usage data and an on-site look at your sheds, supply and pumps, then model a system around your actual operation. Installation is by licensed electrical workers using Tier 1 hardware with long warranties, and $0 upfront options are available. Talk to us about your farm and we'll put real numbers on it.
Wondering about sizes? Our system size guide covers the fundamentals, and our commercial guide applies to larger farm operations too.