Rooftop solar may be your company’s greatest untapped asset. This is because the rooftop is the most under-used real estate. What could you do with an extra $2/sqft/year additional cash? When you add solar panels, you lower operating expenses (or increase revenue) by $2/sqft/year or more. This increases the value of the building without having to add on to your facility, relocate, or expand anything. This also provides you with cash savings and carbon credits. When properly designed, your rooftop can save 50% of your power bills every year or more. This increases the property’s net revenue per square foot which increases your overall building value. But how do you know your rooftop is ready for solar panels? Does your business need rooftop solar? Is Your Roof Ready for Solar Panels? The rooftop is possibly the most important part of your building and maintaining its integrity is number 1. You are ready for solar if: Your roof was replaced less than 5 years ago Your roof’s estimated life is 20 years or more Your roof is being installed at the same time as the solar panels Solar panels give you at least 20 years of power so it is important that you have just as much life in your roof. If you install solar, then remove the solar, then reinstall it many times; you are going to burn through your savings. Solar panels give you at least 20 years of power If your roof is not recently installed, we can help you get your rooftop solar-ready. We work with 3rd parties and all major roofing manufacturers. This ensures we align your solar investment with your rooftop reality. You get what you want (savings, carbon credits, etc.) and you maintain your roof warranties to stay protected. This includes minor improvements and even major work. If you’re like most property owners, the rooftop is a massive capital expense with terrible timing. Many prefer to repair or replace sections regularly as needed. This makes your costs consistent but can be a waiting game until roof failure. Instead, installing a brand new roof with solar panels added makes you eligible for huge tax credits on a portion of those costs. These additional tax-credits can cover the entire cost of the solar panels or more. Let me explain: How Tax Credits Can Pay For Your Solar Panels If your rooftop helps generate solar energy: you save more money with solar and lower cooling costs. This combination allows you to get additional tax credits. Currently the tax credit stands at 26% . It is scheduled to reduce over time. When installed together, you can get up to 26% of eligible rooftop costs returned to you as tax credits. Next year it will drop to 22%. We can help you and your tax team understand the tax advantages and cash flow effects of your solar power savings now and in the future. Contact us for more info .

Solar energy design can be complex. There are virtually unlimited options and choices to make when optimizing solar energy for your business. A solar energy expert’s job is to help you understand your options. First we assess your unique facility, property, power company, and energy consumption habits. Then we optimize a solar panel design for your needs. One of the most common questions we get is, “should I get batteries?” Before we can answer that, let’s talk a little about batteries. How do you store solar energy? Solar energy is almost always used immediately when it is generated. 99% of the time, this is no problem. However if you want to store energy (or need to store energy) and use it at another time, you need an energy storage system. Batteries, Energy Storage, or BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) are terms used to describe any equipment designed to store your solar energy for later. Typically, solar panels use chemical storage systems to store the solar energy. These are most commonly Lithium Ion batteries and were often lead acid car batteries previously. Battery technology is evolving and many experts believe the current state of the technology is only the beginning. Why would you get batteries? Businesses get batteries for two reasons: to save money on their power bills or to go off grid. How do batteries save money? Batteries can save you money if solar energy is more valuable to you or your power company at different times than it is generated. Solar panels generate most energy from 10AM-2PM during the summer (although they do produce energy anytime the sun is shining). These times are often called peak hours. In rare cases it may make more sense to store energy and shift it to evening hours when the sun sets. Your batteries can sometimes be used by the power company and occasionally you are compensated for that use. There are a few places that offer additional incentives for batteries, most notably, certain places in CT and CA . Unfortunately, without these additional incentives, battery systems are rarely cost effective for businesses by themselves. Can I go off-grid? Off-grid solar is when your energy system is disconnected from “the grid” making it stand alone. Yes but it is expensive. For all of its inefficiencies, the power company drastically reduces the cost of electricity by managing the complex grid for everyone connected. If you were to totally unplug from that grid, you would pay much more to create your own grid. A better scenario is a hybrid model called net-metering. Net-metering is when you install solar on your building to lower your costs. If the system over produces, the power company takes that power for you and gives you credits to use in the future. Essentially the power company acts as your battery bank to make sure you always have electricity when you need it. This is the most cost effective way to “store” solar. You can use batteries as backup if the power grid goes down. We can help you understand if that is something that would benefit your business. For most companies going off-grid will increase your energy costs over staying grid-connected. Are there downsides to energy storage? Battery technology is still relatively new and in high demand for consumer electronics such as cell phones, laptops and also electric vehicles so they can be expensive. This will improve over time as their form (chemical composition) and function (use cases) grow. They do degrade as they are used meaning they lose capacity to store energy. This happens as they charge and discharge repeatedly over 10 years which is the expected useful life of batteries. This degradation is rapid relative to solar and many energy storage experts believe this will improve dramatically as new configurations and chemistries become mainstream. Do I need batteries? For most businesses across the country considering solar, the answer in 2022 is no. Most businesses do not need batteries to get the benefits of a solar energy system. As prices come down and utilities incentivize this technology that will likely change. It is worth noting that starting with solar panels and expanding into energy storage is a great way to see if and when batteries can add value to your solar energy project. Contact us to find out more.