Path-Q Solar
How should a business with irregular operating hours estimate its potential solar savings?
Answer
Estimate savings from interval electricity data and the timing of both operations and solar production, not from annual consumption alone. Model open and closed hours, seasonal schedules, demand peaks, self-consumption, and exported energy. A business that operates mainly outside sunny hours may receive less value from each unit of solar generation unless loads can be shifted or storage is economically justified.
Key points
- Hourly or shorter-interval load data is more useful than a single annual kWh figure.
- Solar production should be compared with the business load in each time period.
- Flexible loads such as refrigeration controls, pumping, charging, or water heating may increase daytime self-consumption.
- Demand charges, fixed charges, and export treatment can materially change savings.
What it depends on
- Operating days and hours by season
- Interval load profile and demand peaks
- Solar orientation, shading, and system size
- Electricity tariff structure and treatment of exported energy
Risks and trade-offs
- Annual energy matching can overstate savings when load and production occur at different times.
- Reducing energy use or demand may change the value of solar and should be modeled together.
- Battery storage can improve timing alignment but adds cost, losses, maintenance, and replacement considerations.
Information you may need
- Interval utility data, ideally covering a full year
- Operating schedule and planned changes
- Demand-charge and export-credit details
- Solar-production estimates for candidate designs
Your next step
What to do next
Request an hourly savings model that compares solar production with the business load and separately identifies energy-charge, demand-charge, and export effects.
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SQ01149