Case Study: Solar PV and Batteries
Client: Light Commercial Business – 12500 kWh Annual Consumption
Completed: November 2022
System Hardware:
24x 410w Ground Mounted Solar PV Panels
1x 3 Phase Inverter
1x BMS (Battery Management System)
4 x 3.84kWh Solar Batteries (15.3kWh) with provision to add two more
Location: Rural Cheshire
System Cost: £28,000
Current ROI: 9.8 Years
CO2 Reduction: 2.08t
Services Used
- Design
- Ground Works
- Installation
- Maintenance
Solar Electricity – An essential building block of our Zero-Carbon plan.
Objectives
Partial independence from the electrical grid and substantial cost savings by generating and storing onsite solar electricity.
The company also wished to reduce its carbon footprint as part of an active sustainability policy.
System Hardware:
The solution was designed using 24x ground-mounted solar electric PV panels. Ground panels were selected to make the best use of the company’s available outdoor space. An added advantage of ground panels is that they can be mounted at the optimum angle to receive the most sunlight.
The panels are mounted on frames and positioned in rows using ground screws, an excellent green alternative to a concrete base.
GRP (Glass reinforced polymer) was selected as the material to construct the bespoke support frames for the panels:
- Lightweight, weather durable and very long-lasting
- It has cost savings over aluminium
- GRP uses 75% less energy to manufacture than steel and is 100% recyclable
Solar Batteries
Incorporating battery storage improves efficiency by surplus energy being stored in the batteries and used when required; this enables solar electricity to be used both during the day and after sunset.
Additionally, battery storage allows for higher short-term peak demand during the day without drawing upon the national grid.
The batteries also store energy generated on Sundays when the business is not open.
Monitoring
This particular system is monitored online through a cloud service, and all data from the inverter shows both real-time and historical usage. In addition, a BMS (Battery Management System) controls battery balance to supply, and gives live readouts to both desktop and Smart Phone APP.
System Performance
Historical annual electrical consumption: 12500 kWh
After system installation, 7440 kWh of electricity is produced and used onsite – 60% of the annual consumption.
A further 17% of what is produced is sold back to the grid.
C02 footprint reduced by 2.08t
Return on Investment
System cost: £28,000
The current return on investment is 9.8 years. (Based on the company’s current capped energy costs)
Other ROI fuel-cost projections:
kWh @ 21p and VAT @5% = 13.4 years
kWh @ 45p and VAT @5% = 6.3 years
What did the client think of the installation?
“We needed a solution to reduce our overheads and improve our sustainable credentials. Our customers require more carbon-saving reporting. These reports are now an essential part of the awarded contract requirements.
The design and installation by the Meel Group Sustainability Solutions team were seamless with minimal disruption.”
