Everything you need to know
Energy costs are one of the most significant overheads for any commercial business in the UK. With grid electricity sitting at 22-28p/kWh for most businesses right now, the case for generating your own power has never been stronger.
Commercial solar panels, paired with battery storage, give businesses a practical, proven route to lower energy bills, and in many cases, you don’t need to spend a penny upfront to get started.
This guide explains how commercial solar PV and battery storage work, what your funding options are, and what you can realistically expect in terms of savings.
How do commercial solar panels work?
Commercial solar panels convert sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic cells. When installed on a commercial roof or ground-mounted on your site, they generate electricity directly for your business to use. The more you consume during daylight hours, the more grid electricity you displace, and the greater your savings.
Unlike domestic solar, commercial installations are typically much larger, often ranging from 50 kWp to several hundred kWp, depending on available roof space and energy demand. A well-designed system is sized to match your consumption profile as closely as possible, maximising self-consumption and minimising wasted generation.
To put that in context: a 107 kWp system can generate close to 88,000 kWh in its first year alone, enough to make a material difference to most commercial energy bills from day one.
Where does battery storage fit in?
Solar generates electricity when the sun shines. Your business uses electricity around the clock. That mismatch is where battery storage solves a real problem.
A battery storage system captures surplus solar generation during the day and stores it for use later: in the evening, overnight, or during peak demand periods when grid rates are highest. Without storage, excess generation either gets exported to the grid at a relatively low rate or is simply wasted. With storage, you hold onto that energy and use it yourself, at full value.
The result is a higher percentage of self-consumption, a lower grid import bill, and a system that works harder for your business across more hours of the day. For businesses with significant out-of-hours consumption (overnight processes, refrigeration, security systems), battery storage can be the difference between a good return and a great one.
Find out what solar could do for your business
SMARTech energy is a NICEIC accredited solar and battery storage installer. We handle everything in-house, from design and survey through to installation and commissioning, using our own experienced engineers.
PPA or Capex: what's the difference?
There are two main ways to fund a commercial solar installation, and neither is universally better. The right option depends on your priorities.
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
A PPA means zero upfront capital investment. A third party funds, installs, and maintains the system on your site. You simply purchase the electricity it generates at a fixed, agreed rate, from as little as 8.5p/kWh with SMARTech energy, compared to 22–28p/kWh from the grid.
The saving is immediate, and the risk is low. You don’t own the asset, but you benefit from it from day one without touching your capital budget. PPAs typically run for 20–25 years, with a predictable per-unit rate that protects you from grid price volatility.
Capex purchase
If you’d prefer to own the system outright, a Capex purchase makes sense. You invest in the installation, own the asset on your balance sheet, and benefit from the full electricity saving rather than a discounted PPA rate. Payback periods for commercial solar typically sit at four to six years, after which the system is generating effectively free electricity for your business.
SMARTech energy offers very competitive Capex options alongside our PPA model. If ownership and long-term return on investment are the priority, a Capex installation delivers the stronger financial outcome over the lifetime of the system.
What kind of savings can a business expect from commercial solar panels and battery storage?
The numbers vary depending on system size, energy consumption, tariff rates, and whether battery storage is included. But to give you a real-world example: a 107 kWp installation with battery storage, funded via PPA, is projected to save one of our customers over £360,000 across 20 years.
The key drivers of saving are straightforward:
- The gap between what you pay per unit from the grid and what you pay for solar-generated electricity is currently as wide as 20p/kWh or more.
- The volume of solar generation your site can self-consume, which battery storage increases significantly.
- Any export revenue earned on surplus generation is fed back to the grid.
Is my site suitable?
Most commercial buildings with a reasonably sized roof and a meaningful electricity bill will benefit from solar PV. We’ve installed systems for businesses across manufacturing, construction, agriculture, professional services and education.
Things that improve the case for solar include daytime electricity consumption (production processes, machinery, lighting, HVAC), south-facing or unshaded roof space, and high annual kWh usage. That said, east-west orientations and flat roofs can also work well with the right system design.
The honest answer is: the best way to know is to get a proper assessment done. We provide a free design and quote service: no obligation, no pressure. If the numbers don’t work for your site, we’ll tell you straight.
Why now?
Grid electricity prices remain high and volatile. The technology behind solar PV and battery storage has matured significantly, bringing costs down and performance up. And the PPA model has removed the main barrier that stopped many businesses from acting, the upfront capital requirement.
Businesses that looked at solar three or four years ago and decided the payback was too long are revisiting the numbers and finding the picture has changed considerably. The combination of higher grid rates, better technology, and flexible funding means the commercial case is stronger now than it has ever been.
Interested in what solar could save your business?
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