Dairies run on a daily rhythm: milking twice a day, milk cooling, vacuum pumps, plant washing and water heating. Livestock farms add water pumping, feed handling and workshops. These are steady loads that solar can cover during the day, with batteries available for the early morning and evening milking peaks.
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What we design around
- Milking times and the equipment running during each session.
- Milk cooling tanks and how much they use through the day.
- Hot water for plant washing, which can be supplied from a solar geyser or heat solution alongside the system.
- Water pumps for troughs, boreholes and dams.
- Feed mixers, workshops and the farmhouse on the same supply.
Morning and evening peaks
Milking often happens when the sun is low or down. Solar covers the mid-day cooling and pumping load directly, and batteries can shift some of the energy into the milking window. We tell you honestly whether batteries pay for themselves on your farm.
Reliable supply matters
A missed milking or a warm tank is costly. A hybrid system with batteries, or a generator working with solar, can keep critical loads running during outages. We design around the equipment that cannot stop.
Frequently asked questions
Can solar run a milking parlour? Yes. Vacuum pumps, cooling and washing can be supplied from solar, and batteries can cover part of the milking peak.
Do I need batteries on a dairy? Not always. Solar alone handles the daytime load. Batteries are worth it where outages are frequent or milking happens outside solar hours.
Can solar heat water for plant washing? Yes, through solar water heating or an electric element supplied from the PV system. We advise which suits your farm.
Related farm solar guides
Back to our farm solar hub for the Western Cape. Other farm types: Irrigation and borehole pumping, Cold rooms and packhouses, Wine estates and cellars, Dairy and livestock farms. See where we work in the Cape Winelands, the Swartland and West Coast, the Overberg and the Klein Karoo and Cederberg.
Get a solar quote for your farm
Send us a recent electricity bill and a few details about your site, such as roof or ground space, the equipment that runs the most, and whether you are supplied by Eskom or the municipality. Request a solar quote or read about our solar installations.