Do higher quality solar panels get better financial returns for commercial properties?

When it comes to investing in solar panels for commercial properties, it's important to consider the long-term investment and payback. While a cheaper panel may seem like a good deal initially, a better quality and higher efficiency panel will ultimately save money in the long run, with a shorter payback period of around 6-12 months. Investing in a high-quality panel that will last for 25 years compared to a lower quality panel that only lasts 10 years is key to maximising the return on investment.

Design and sizing are also crucial factors, especially for commercial projects where peak loads need to be analysed and energy consumption minimised. By analysing bills, looking at loads, and maximising system performance for operation hours, businesses can reduce their operating costs significantly. With a return on investment calculation, it's easy to see the financial benefits of investing in solar power, with some customers seeing a return on investment within just two and a half years.

Between a cheap panel and a decent panel on a commercial property, can be a very short payback period, so six months 12 months extra. You've got a panel that's going to last 25 years, compared to a panel that's going to last 10 years. So they get drawn in by the initial price, when should they should really be looking at the overall long-term investment and payback. Commercial clients really need to look at the quality. Adding a higher efficiency panel, where you can fit more panels on your roof. So it's allowing you to squeeze the biggest system possible onto that roof space. So you're reducing your costs and helping the environment at the same time, which is a win-win for everyone.

They should be looking at the return on investment of the system over the 25 year period of the warranty. Which if you're changing the panels after 10 years, there goes all your return on investment. So look at the panel you're putting in, make sure it's quality because in the long run you'll be the one that's paying for it. Design and sizing is very important, especially on a commercial job, if we're looking at peak loads and trying to minimise their energy consumption. So we spend a lot of time analysing these bills to get the right outcome. Getting the interval data from the retailer. Looking at the, their loads. Putting data loggers in prior to the installation, to work out the loads that they're using and what times of day. Looking at their operation hours to maximise their system performance, and minimise their electricity bills.