Path-Q Solar
What information is needed to estimate solar savings for a business operating only part of the year?
Answer
You need time-based electricity use and costs for both operating and closed periods, the business schedule, demand information, future changes, and the proposed system’s production by month so savings can be matched to when the business actually uses energy.
Key points
- Gather bills and interval data covering the full year, including operating, seasonal, weekend, and shutdown periods.
- Document operating hours, production levels, occupancy, equipment loads, and planned changes.
- Identify fixed charges, demand charges, time-based rates, export treatment, and any separate meters.
- Compare monthly solar production with on-site consumption and expected exported energy.
- Ask for savings under both normal operation and closure or low-production periods.
What it depends on
- Seasonal load profile and operating calendar
- Demand pattern and billing structure
- Solar production by month and system size
- Future business operations, building use, and expansion plans
Risks and trade-offs
- Annual consumption alone can overstate savings when generation occurs during business closures.
- A larger system may increase surplus exports without producing proportional value.
- Demand-charge savings depend on when solar production coincides with peak demand and may not be captured by simple annual models.
Information you may need
- Full-year bills and interval data
- Operating, production, closure, and occupancy schedules
- Utility rate and meter details
- Roof, electrical, ownership, and future expansion information
Your next step
What to do next
Give the installer a full-year load and operating calendar and require a month-by-month savings model that separately shows self-consumption, exports, demand effects, and fixed charges.
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SQ01092