A complete 8.4kW rooftop solar installation for a four-bedroom family home in North Austin — designed, permitted, and installed.
Project Overview
Cutting a Family's Energy Bill
by 72% in Year One
The Harrison family had been considering solar for over two years. Rising electricity bills — nearly $420 per month in summer — and a desire to reduce their environmental footprint finally prompted them to request a quote from Enerza.
After an initial consultation and a thorough roof and shading assessment, our engineers determined that the south-facing 52° pitched roof was near-ideal for solar — with minimal obstruction and excellent annual irradiation levels. We designed a 24-panel system using 350W SunPower monocrystalline panels with Enphase IQ8 microinverters, allowing each panel to operate independently and maximise output even when other panels are partially shaded.
“The roof assessment revealed 23% more viable surface area than the family had originally estimated — allowing us to size the system significantly larger than initially planned, without additional structural work.”
A Tesla Powerwall 2 battery was added to store excess daytime generation for evening use and to provide backup power during grid outages — a priority for the family given two working-from-home parents relying on uninterrupted power. The system went live on March 14, 2024, and the first full month of monitoring data showed it was producing at 104% of projected output.
Project Details
Project Type
Residential Rooftop
Location
North Austin, TX
Completion Date
March 2024
System Size
8.4 kW
Panel Count
24 × 350W Panels
Battery Added
Tesla Powerwall 2
Monitoring
Enphase MyEnlighten
Grid Export
Net Metering
Status
Live & Generating
Warranty
25 Years (panels)
Challenges & Solutions
The Challenge & Our Solution
Every roof is different. Here’s how we tailored this install to the Hartfield home.
The Challenge
Partial shading from a boundary wall on the east side of the roof, reducing usable area
Ageing roof tiles requiring structural reinforcement before mounting
High daytime AC load creating variable consumption difficult to size accurately
Homeowner required zero visible cabling on the façade for aesthetic reasons
Lithium iron phosphate · 6,000+ cycle life · wall-mounted installation
SolarEdge Power Optimisers
21× P404 module-level optimisers for shade mitigation & panel-level monitoring
IronRidge XR100 Racking
Aluminium flush-mount system · wind-rated · minimal roof penetration
Revenue-Grade Smart Meter
Bi-directional metering for net energy billing · BPDB approved
“We went from dreading our electricity bill every month to genuinely looking forward to checking the app. The system paid for more than we expected in year one.”
Karen Harrison
Homeowner · North Austin, TX
Project Gallery
From Empty Roof to Power Station
A selection of photos captured across the assessment, installation, and commissioning stages of this North Austin residential solar project.
Year-one results
12 Months of Real Output
Monthly generation data from the Enphase monitoring platform — showing solar production vs grid draw across the first full year of operation.
12,300kWh
Total Year 1 Generation
4.2% above forecast
$2,100/yr
Net Annual Savings
↑ vs $420/mo before
8.6t
CO₂ Emissions Avoided
Eq. to 9 trees planted
98.2%
System Uptime
↑ 0 faults in Year 1
Start Saving with a Smarter Solar Solution
Whether you need residential solar, commercial installation, or battery backup support, we help you move toward reliable energy and lower monthly costs.
