Commercial Solar Panels Can Help Reduce Your Business Energy Bills Significantly

With so many government grants for homeowners switching to green energy, you might think that similar support would be available to businesses, but this isn’t actually the case, at least not on a national level as with grants for homeowners like ECO4, for example.

There are, however, some grants available at a local level – but you’ll need to check with your local authorities and councils to see which ones apply to you and how much support might be available through these various schemes.

But just because grant support isn’t available doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways you can cover the cost of your commercial solar installation. Many businesses will choose to take out a business loan, and then use their energy bill savings to cover the cost of their loan repayments. Another option is a power purchase agreement, which again could prove helpful to some businesses.

If you’re unsure how you might be able to cover the cost of your solar panels, speak with one of our advisors. We may have a finance option available that suits your needs and makes your new solar panels even more affordable than you realise.

A power purchase agreement (PPA) is just one way that a business might choose to have solar panels installed on their property without having to pay a large amount of money upfront for what can be a very expensive installation depending on the size and type of commercial solar installation you opt for.

A PPA essentially allows a business to enjoy the benefits of a solar installation with no upfront cost to themselves. A business would just rent their roof space out for solar panel use, and then purchase discounted solar energy from the solar panels on their roof, saving them significant money.

After your business has enjoyed the use of the solar panels, some PPAs allow you to take ownership of the panels because you will have essentially bought them over the term of the PPA (typically 25 years or so).

There are obvious blockers to such an agreement. You’ll need a certain roof space size to meet the requirements of the PPA and you’ll still be paying for electricity, although it’ll be much cheaper than the bills you’re paying now. You’ll also be locked into that premises for the length of the PPA if you want to benefit from the panels.

A PPA isn’t for everyone, and most find finance options to be better, but it’s certainly suitable for some businesses.

Although a brilliant investment for most businesses large or small, there are certain things you’ll need to be aware of when purchasing commercial solar panels that could be considered a drawback for some businesses.

For example, whilst solar panels will save you significant money on bills and eventually pay for themselves, they will take much longer to pay for than a typical household solar panel setup because they are much more expensive due to their sheer size. It will take years for commercial solar panels to pay for themselves, so it isn’t an overnight thing and you’ll need to stay in your current premises to make the most of those savings.

You might also have a high annual energy usage due to the nature of your business, but just because you use a lot of energy in your business doesn’t mean you’ll have sufficient roof space required for a solar panel setup that’s capable of covering 100% of the energy you use. If that happens, you’ll need to seriously consider if commercial solar panel installations are viable for your business.

If you’re unsure, speak with one of our advisors. We won’t ever advise commercial solar panels for your business if a commercial solar PV installation doesn’t make financial sense.

Almost certainly. Most businesses will benefit from solar panels because it will mean much lower energy bills for you, which can often be the largest expense for a business in the UK right now. Large or small businesses will benefit from solar panels for this reason alone.

The only time a commercial solar PV system won’t make sense is if your annual energy usage is very high and your roof space is very small. But even then, the savings you might make by covering a % of your energy usage might be worth it, but you’ll need to think it through carefully and discuss it with the professionals, like our team at Effective Home.

In most cases solar panels for businesses will be considered permitted development because they’ll typically be installed on a roof without impacting the look of the building in an obvious way or impacting neighbouring properties.

The only time where planning permission will be required for commercial solar panels is if you intend to install them on the ground. Ground mounted solar panels will obviously affect the way your property and the local area looks, so if the panels are more than nine metres squared, then you’ll need planning permission.

As they’re for your business, most ground mounted solar systems will be more than nine metres squared anyway, due to their typical size.

We also always recommend checking your local authority’s or council’s website to ensure the rules aren’t different in your area, even if your panels will be installed on the roof.

Installing solar panels is a huge decision for anyone to make, especially businesses because the cost is that much higher. Since most businesses operate during daylight hours, solar panels are an obvious decision for many, and even those with night shifts can be covered with solar batteries as part of your installation.

But just because they make sense on the face of it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider how solar panels for your business might affect you. At Effective Home, we encourage all our customers to think carefully before investing, so they’re certain it’s right for them.

Think about things like your energy bills – are they too high? If so, you would benefit from solar panels, but you’ll also need to consider if you can cover the high upfront cost associated with them, too. If you can, then switching to greener energy could work wonders for your business image, encouraging green-minded, eco-conscious customers and businesses to consider your business above others who haven’t made the switch to solar yet.

There are many things to think about, but we can point you in the right direction, so contact us today!

Absolutely! They’ll save you money, improve your business reputation, show off your desire for a greener future, and give you back some energy security and independence that relying on the National Grid for your power just can’t.

Considering the amount of energy you’ll be generating with a commercial installation, you’ll also make a not-insignificant profit through selling any excess energy your business doesn’t use to the Grid via the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), so it’s certainly worth it to many businesses, especially when you’ve broken even and the panels have paid for themselves in electricity bill savings and SEG payments!