01The challenge
Every brownout brought public services to a stop. Staff could not process requests, the front desk went offline, and residents had to come back another day. A generator was expensive to run and slow to start, and it did not protect the network equipment from sudden power loss.
The office needed connectivity that stays up through outages and a power solution that would also reduce its electricity costs over time.
02Requirements
- Site conditions
- Two-storey municipal building with roof space available for panels and recurring brownouts.
- Users
- Municipal staff, front-desk public services and visiting residents.
- Budget range
- Public procurement budget, with solar sized to protect critical systems first.
- Timeline
- Delivered in stages to fit the procurement cycle, with the network upgrade first and solar second.
03Solution design
Assess
We reviewed outage history, measured the power draw of network and front-desk equipment, and inspected the roof.
Design
We sized a solar array and battery bank for the critical load, with a hybrid inverter that switches automatically between solar, battery and grid.
Deploy
The network rack, Wi-Fi and fiber connection were upgraded first, then panels, inverter and batteries were installed and tested under simulated outages.
Support
The office receives preventive maintenance for both the network and the solar system, plus responsive local support.
04Design overview
A high-level view of the design. Detailed addressing, credentials and device configurations are never published.
Key components and why we chose them
Rooftop solar array
Reduces grid dependence and daytime electricity costs.
Hybrid inverter
Switches between solar, battery and grid automatically, so staff do not need to act during an outage.
Battery bank sized for critical load
Protects the systems that matter most during brownouts without oversizing the budget.
Consolidated network rack with UPS
Keeps core network equipment in one protected, easy-to-maintain place.
Staff and public Wi-Fi
Separates internal systems from visitor access.
05Outcome
- 8 hoursNetwork runtime on battery (design target)
- Network, Wi-Fi, front deskCritical systems on backup
- Solar + gridPower sources
06Facing a similar problem?
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