Benefits of Solar For Small Businesses

September 19, 2017

Why choose solar for small businesses?

Solar for small businesses is becoming a necessity with rising energy costs. Research from the Federation of Small Businesses has shown that 1 in 10 small businesses are generating their own power on-site. The majority of these businesses are using primarily Solar PV to generate free renewable energy, showing how Solar PV has become more accessible and cost-effective.

In previous years, Solar PV installations were an expensive option that was not easily available, but since 2012 the cost of a 50kW system has dropped by more than 30%. With an installation of this size, a business is paying around 5p per unit or less per unit for their electricity, much less than costs for grid-supplied power from major suppliers. Current electricity prices are around 11p-15p per unit but these prices are set to increase further, making the savings from solar for small businesses even greater.

What are the benefits of solar for small businesses?

Reduce operating costs, increase profits, and be protected against inevitable future energy price rises.
Benefit from a 20-45% return on investment and a 2.5 to 5-year total payback period.
Reduce carbon emissions
Demonstrate your green credentials to customers and suppliers and maintain a competitive advantage.

Not only does a business pay less for their energy, they also have a fixed price of 5p per unit for 25 years irrespective of the prevailing rate of energy cost inflation. This protects small businesses from inevitably rising energy costs, ensuring they will pay less for a very long time. Most Solar PV installations have an average payback of 3 to 5 years and will make a business cash flow positive in just 2 years. Little maintenance is required and all panels come with a 25 year performance warranty, at which point the panels are expected to still produce 80% of their original output.

The renewable energy that a business generates from solar panels can be used for free within the business, whilst they also receive feed-in and export tariffs – Generating a 20-year income stream. Perfect Sense Energy are commercial solar panel installers and we are more than happy to install solar for small businesses.