If you’re considering installing solar on your business but are still undecided, looking at how leading American companies have successfully integrated solar energy to enhance their business efficiency and savings is insightful.
As of 2015, Walmart led the commercial solar initiative, boasting 348 solar panel installations that generate 142 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. This move underscored Walmart’s commitment to sustainability and demonstrated significant cost savings and energy efficiency improvements.
However, Walmart is not the only corporate giant harnessing solar power. Other prominent companies, including FedEx, Apple, and Verizon, have also embraced solar installations as a strategic component of their business operations. Far from being just an environmentally conscious gesture, these corporations exemplify how solar energy can be a practical and profitable element in a comprehensive business strategy, significantly impacting the bottom line.
These examples serve as a testament to the feasibility and financial benefits of incorporating solar energy solutions in the business sector, transforming the perception of solar installation from a mere ‘green initiative’ to a smart, cost-effective business decision.
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How Solar Installation Can Save Money for Small to Medium-Sized Businesses
Major corporations like Walmart benefit from commercial solar installation, but can it also work for small and medium-sized businesses? Of course, one would assume that giant companies can afford a “luxury” like solar installation while smaller companies with smaller budgets cannot afford to make such an investment.
But the reality is, that commercial solar installation holds even more promise for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) than ever because of how much money they will save. And the smaller your operation, the more you need to save money.
Here are a few ways commercial solar installation will decrease your monthly electricity costs:
Cheaper Installation
More than 99% of businesses in the U.S. are small and medium-sized businesses (or SMBs). Some commercial solar installation companies now cater to SMBs by offering affordable installation. With large installations, solar installation companies hire subcontractors, which takes longer and ultimately costs more money. By using a company that uses its local networks, crews, and technology, small and medium-sized businesses can reduce the cost of commercial solar installation by more than 30 percent.
Reduced solar installation costs.
In 2015, SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) conducted research showing commercial solar installation has reportedly decreased. With declining solar installation costs, there are now more opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to take advantage of this green technology. Solar Installation offers 3 primary forms of commercial installation: rooftop arrays, ground mounts, and carports.
The type of solar panels best for installing solar in your business depends on the kind of business you have. (For example, rooftop arrays work best for retail businesses). Today, companies are making smaller, lightweight solar panels that cost less to make and install, therefore costing less for the small business owner. This also allows workers to install panels much faster, significantly reducing installation costs.
Scaling
In the past, commercial solar installation companies could only service corporations on a large scale, making it unaffordable for small and medium-sized businesses. Today, these companies have innovated ways to serve small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) on a smaller scale.
Scaling down these services has proven to be very cost-effective for SMBs, who have another concern: Space.
While companies like Target have large rooftops on their facilities with unused square feet for solar panel installation, Walgreens has opened the door for small and medium-sized businesses with smaller facilities and limited solar panel rooftop space. Walgreens stores also have limited square feet but in 2015 they installed 85 smaller commercial solar installation systems at retail locations nationwide.
Walgreens’s success has proven that these smaller systems work and can now be scaled down for companies with less surface area on their rooftops. One SMB solar panel company uses their patented solar panel system, ZS Peak, which is lightweight and lets SMBs fit 20 to 50 percent more solar panels on each roof surface.
These smaller solar panels cost less to manufacture and to install, therefore costing less for the small business owner. This also allows workers to install panels much faster, significantly reducing installation costs.
Learn how to afford cost-effective solar installation for your Small business today.
With the Summer just starting, sun rays are stronger than any time of the year (although solar panels are effective all year round). If you’re a small and medium-sized business looking for cost-effective ways to save money, solar installation is now available to you, too.
