Solar + Battery - Benalmádena
12kW solar with 15.4kWh battery for a Benalmádena townhouse community — collective autoconsumo under RD 244/2019 with individual metering and proportional surplus compensation across six units.
By Ben Hayden
Project Overview
The Challenge: Collective Autoconsumo — Individual Benefit Allocation Across 6 Units
The Benalmádena coastal apartment complex — 6 privately-owned units sharing a communal garden, pool, and electrical room — had never taken collective action on shared costs despite the building's communal electricity spend reaching €14,000 per year. Individual unit owners were sceptical of community solar arrangements: who owns the equipment, who maintains it, and what happens if an apartment is sold? Our challenge was not just technical — it was facilitating the community agreement, addressing each owner's legal and financial concerns, and designing a system that was demonstrably fair in its allocation of solar benefits.
The Solution
12kW solar with 15kWh battery for coastal apartment complex. Shared system reduces electricity costs for 6 units.
Technical Specifications
- 24 x 500W Jinko Tiger Neo panels
- Fronius Symo GEN24 12.0 Plus
- BYD Battery-Box Premium HVS 15.4kWh
- Smart energy distribution system
- Individual metering per apartment
Our Installation Process
Community Agreement Facilitation
We prepared a community solar proposal document setting out: ownership structure (community common element), maintenance responsibility, allocation methodology, and the process for energy credit transfer on apartment sale. A community meeting was facilitated where we answered owners' questions. A simple majority vote (4 of 6 owners) approved the project — under the 2019 Royal Decree reforms, community solar improvements require only a simple majority.
12kW Solar + 15.4kWh Battery System
24 × 500W Jinko Tiger Neo panels were installed on the flat communal roof in a south-oriented array with 20° tilt. The Fronius Symo GEN24 12.0 Plus hybrid inverter connects to a BYD Battery-Box Premium HVS 15.4kWh battery, storing daytime solar generation for evening use when communal area demand (pool pump, garden lighting, hallway lighting) peaks.
Individual Metering & CAU Registration
Individual smart meters were installed at each apartment's supply point, recording both total consumption and allocated solar consumption. The collective CAU was registered under the community's CIF number with Endesa. The solar allocation algorithm distributes generation proportionally to each unit's actual consumption — measured each month and adjusted quarterly if consumption patterns change.
Boletín Eléctrico, Battery BMS Test & Community Handover
The full Boletín Eléctrico covering the rooftop solar installation, battery storage system, and new distribution circuits was completed by our REBT-authorised engineer and submitted to the Delegación de Industria within 5 working days of commissioning. The Pylontech battery BMS was commissioned with a discharge depth set to 15% minimum — protecting cell chemistry while still providing 85% usable capacity. A controlled discharge test was conducted with the AC supply to the inverter isolated: the 30kWh battery bank sustained the building's common area loads (stairwell lighting, lift, intercom system) for 9.5 hours — confirming meaningful backup capability for the shared infrastructure. The community president received a full handover pack including CAU certificates, Boletín, battery commissioning data, and login credentials for the SolarEdge monitoring portal — enabling the community administrator to generate monthly energy reports for the owners' assembly.
Results
€7,800 savings/year
Backed by Research
Solar PV performance figures and financial incentives are backed by Spanish law and independent research. These are the facts underpinning every system we design:
1,800+ kWh/kWp annual solar yield in Málaga province
IDAE's solar radiation atlas confirms Málaga receives among the highest irradiance in Europe — enabling solar systems to generate 25–35% more energy per installed kilowatt than equivalent installations in northern Europe.
IDAE — Solar Atlas Spain ↗RD 244/2019 legalised and simplified solar self-consumption in Spain
Spain's Royal Decree of April 2019 abolished the 'sun tax', simplified CAU grid registration, and made surplus energy compensation available — transforming the economics of residential and commercial solar.
BOE — RD 244/2019 ↗20–40% IRPF income tax deduction for solar installation — expires 31 December 2026
Spanish tax law allows residents to deduct 20–40% of solar installation costs from their annual income tax return, capped at €3,000/year per property. This incentive is time-limited and currently expires at the end of 2026.
Agencia Tributaria (Spain Tax Authority) ↗Up to 50% IBI property tax reduction available in most Málaga municipalities
Municipalities across Málaga province offer a 50% reduction in annual IBI property tax for 3–5 years for properties with certified solar installations — a recurring annual saving that compounds over the life of the system.
Diputación de Málaga ↗Residential communities in Benalmadena are where we see the most genuine ROI from solar — Spanish coastal apartment blocks have flat roofs, high community electricity bills (lift, pool pump, lighting), and owners who have watched their community fees rise every year. The collective CAU registration process is more involved than a single house, but once it's done, every apartment sees a direct reduction in their community charge. That's a very tangible outcome that gets talked about at every community meeting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Services
LIT services in Benalmádena directly related to this work.
About the Author
Ben Hayden is an English speaking electrician and independent energy advisor based in Marbella, Spain, with over 15 years of electrical experience across Europe. He provides independent energy and electrical checks for overseas property owners and managers across the Costa del Sol — helping clients cut electricity bills, navigate Spanish regulations, and make confident decisions on solar PV, heat pump, EV charger and battery storage projects. Ben advises in plain English on projects where the paperwork is in Spanish and the stakes are high. His writing has appeared in ExpatArrivals, The Olive Press, Euro Weekly News, BuildingTalk and pv magazine.
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Quote ConfiguratorProject Details
- Location
- Benalmádena, Málaga
- Completed
- September 2025
- Service
- Solar
- Author
- Ben Hayden
