Solar upgrade and a safer power room for a medical warehouse in Abuja

The new 41.8 kWp rooftop array on the warehouse.

The challenge

The warehouse stores medical supplies, so power cuts put temperature-sensitive stock at risk. It already had Victron equipment but needed more solar, reliable lithium storage and automatic back-up, without replacing equipment that still had life in it.

Midway through installation the brief changed. The original design put the inverters and batteries in a room inside the warehouse. On inspection, the client raised two concerns: access would run through the sterile storage area, and lithium batteries would sit indoors. The power room had to move outside.

Adapting the design

• By the time the question came up, the roof structure, protection systems and bypass switches were already installed. Work paused from early June to mid-August 2025, and we used the pause to re-engineer the layout.
• Three-location assessment: we compared three outdoor locations on eight points: cable runs and losses, PV string extension, access, security, visibility, cost and ease of maintenance.
• Practical final choice: the best-scoring location couldn't take a container delivery, so the power room went beside the generator house, with the bypass switches moved inside it for easy operator access.
• Purpose-built outdoor power room: a 10 ft container on a precast concrete base with air-conditioning, smoke detection, fire suppression and a solar security light.

The solution for the medical warehouse in Abuja

• Solar array: 68 × 615 Wp JinkoSolar half-cell modules, 41.82 kWp
• Inverters: 3 × Victron Quattro 48/10000 (30 kVA three-phase) + 1 × Fronius Symo 20 kW (AC-coupled)
• Charge controllers: 4 × Victron SmartSolar MPPT 250/100 VE.Can
• Energy storage: 6 × BYD Premium LVL 15.4 kWh with BYD BMU, 92.4 kWh
• Control and monitoring: Victron Cerbo GX with VRM remote monitoring
• Back-up: grid plus generator auto-start at 25% battery, auto-stop at 50%

Medical refrigeration, lighting and cooling are critical loads that stay on solar and battery, with about 6–8 hours of battery autonomy. Main and auxiliary bypass switches let staff move the warehouse to grid or generator in minutes. The design was backed by simulation, with an expected yield of about 98.7 kWh a day.

Delivery and results

• Commissioned on 9 September 2025 and handed over on 12 September 2025.
• Joint completion review with the client's energy specialist; handed over with an operating procedure, power contingency procedure, maintenance schedule and staff training.
• 5-year warranty, 12 months of free maintenance and remote diagnostics through Victron VRM.

A safer installation. Batteries and inverters are now outside the building, keeping sterile areas free of maintenance traffic. The roof array, protection and switchgear already installed were reused, so the change cost weeks, not a redesign.