Valley View Care Home

A commercial solar PV system designed to deliver energy resilience and long-term savings at Valley View Care Home in Hengoed, part of the Caron Group.

LOCATION

Hengoed - Wales

SYSTEM SIZE

133.8kW

SOLAR PV

JA Solar

ANNUAL CO₂ SAVINGS

28 Tonnes

INVERTERS

Fox ESS

EST ANNUAL OUTPUT

109,189kWh

Overview

Green Flare was approached by Caron Group to design, install and maintain a 133.8kW commercial solar PV system, with the primary objective of reducing rising electricity costs and improving long-term energy resilience.

Valley View Care Home operates with high and consistent electrical demand, making it well-suited to on-site solar generation. The completed solar PV array consists of 294 solar panels, carefully designed to maximise on-site consumption.

Technology

After reviewing their electricity usage, which was around 300,000kWh per annum, Green Flare designed a solar PV system capable of supplying around 36% of the care homes' annual electricity demand. Green Flare specified JA Solar 455W modules due to their strong performance characteristics, product reliability, and our extensive experience installing and supporting their systems.

The 294-panel system has been installed using the Clenergy on-roof mounting system and is finished with bird protection. It spans the majority of the available roof space and is configured to optimise performance, with each roof orientation connected to its own MPPT to maximise energy generation throughout the day.

The system is supported by two Fox ESS V50 (50kW) inverters operating in parallel, selected for their high performance and versatility, enabling increased yield potential and longer, more consistent generation windows.

Challenges

The facility operates with high and consistent energy consumption, driven by 24/7 occupancy, medical equipment, catering, and laundry services. This meant the solar PV system needed to be carefully sized and configured to maximise on-site consumption and deliver meaningful reductions in grid electricity usage, rather than simply focusing on peak generation.

In addition, due to the nature of the care environment, our installation team had to adopt particularly considerate working methods. Minimising disruption to residents and staff was a key priority, requiring detailed planning, clear communication and phased installation works. Noise, access routes, and working hours were carefully managed to ensure the day-to-day operation of the care home was not affected.

Despite these constraints, the project was delivered safely, efficiently, and with minimal disruption, resulting in a system that meets both the operational and environmental needs of the site.