SA retirement village reduces energy costs using solar system

Rising electricity costs have reduced the financial security of the residents of Woodbridge Retirement Village in South Australia.

The community centre — which houses a heated pool and spa — saw power bills more than double since 2021, from $21,000 to an estimated $45,000 this year.

The retirement village’s board has recently acted to reduce costs, installing a SolaX AELIO 100 kWh all-in-one solar battery system projected to eliminate 100% of the community centre’s electricity costs. The board said this will free up funds that will flow directly back into resident services.

“Rising electricity costs are a major concern for our residents, the majority of whom are on an age pension or part pension,” said Woodbridge’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Thorne. “The increasing cost in electricity was putting upward pressure on residents’ maintenance fees.”

The SolaX AELIO system features a five-layer closed-loop fire suppression system, individual battery module monitoring and a fully self-contained cabinet design — purpose-built to meet the safety demands of environments where vulnerable people live.

Image caption: SolaX installation by Freedom Solar Solutions. Image: Supplied.

The decision to invest in a battery energy storage system was driven by a single goal: to protect the village’s nearly 300 residents from the volatility of the electricity market.

Thorne said the SolaX AELIO system gives residents real-time visibility over performance through the SolaX Cloud platform, tracking energy generation, storage and usage from their own devices.

“The portal gives us improved control and visibility over the energy usage at the community centre, and residents are able to access the SolaX Cloud to see how the system is operating and what money they’re able to save themselves,” Thorne said.

Joey Zhang, General Manager of SolaX Power Australia, said the Woodbridge project shows a growing challenge facing aged care and retirement village operators — and residents — across the country.

“Energy costs don’t discriminate, but they hit hardest for people on fixed incomes. Retirement villages running 24/7 facilities have been absorbing these increases quietly for years. What Woodbridge has done is take back control, with the savings going straight back into the services that matter to residents,” Zhang said.

For Freedom Solar Solutions, the installer behind the project, safety was the deciding factor in selecting the system for a residential environment.

“In our conversations with the team at Woodbridge, the biggest concern was protecting residents. It had to be something robust, reliable and, most importantly, safe. The AELIO stood out straight away,” said Damien Smith, Commercial Sales Manager at Freedom Solar Solutions.

Thorne explained that with the system now live, Woodbridge’s board expects to redirect its electricity budget towards essential resident services — and to shield residents from future energy price increases entirely, while reducing reliance on the electricity grid.

“By investing in solar energy storage, we’re helping our residents live their best, independent lives,” Thorne said.

Top image caption: SolaX AELIO 100 kWh all-in-one system onsite at Woodbridge Retirement Village. Image: Supplied.