About solarpanelsforbusinesses.co.uk

Who we are

solarpanelsforbusinesses.co.uk is the SME-focused commercial solar division of SEO Dons Ltd, the UK consultancy and installer network led by Donovan Fawcett. We design, deliver, and commission rooftop solar PV systems for UK businesses across offices, retail, light industrial units, mixed-use commercial buildings, and garden centres / leisure venues. Our head office is in Covent Garden, London; our engineering team operates UK-wide and we have completed installations in every English region, Wales, and Scotland.

Why we focus on UK SMEs

Most commercial solar installers either chase mega-projects (multi-MW ground-mount sites for utility developers) or stay in residential. The 25 kW–500 kW SME segment — the businesses that pay £20,000 to £200,000 a year for grid electricity and would benefit most from solar — is repeatedly under-served. Quoting is generic. Sales pressure is heavy. Financial modelling is shallow. Post-install support is patchy. We built our SME practice deliberately to fix all of that. Every quote is grounded in your half-hourly meter data and a PVSyst yield model. Every proposal includes PPA, asset finance, and capital purchase options so you can compare like-for-like rather than pick whichever the salesperson is incentivised to push. Every install is delivered by our own engineers, not subcontracted to whoever is cheapest that month.

Our team

Our engineers hold MCS commercial certification, NICEIC approved-contractor status, and minimum 18th Edition wiring qualification. Our designers run PVSyst, Helioscope, and AutoCAD, and produce yield models that audit-grade against your actual generation in year one (we typically come in within 3% of model). Our project management team co-ordinates DNO applications, structural surveys, scaffolding, asbestos surveys (for pre-2000 buildings), and council planning where listed-building consent or conservation-area restrictions apply. The combined team has delivered SME and commercial PV installs across UK England, Wales, and Scotland since 2010.

Our approach: model-driven, manufacturer-independent, transparent

We do not tie our quotes to a single panel manufacturer or inverter brand. We specify the right kit for your site — usually Tier 1 panels (JA Solar, Trina, REC, or LONGi for most commercial work), Tier 1 inverters (SolarEdge, Huawei, SMA, Fronius), and certified mounting systems (K2, Renusol, Schletter, or in-house engineered for non-standard roofs). We share the full PVSyst model and DCF spreadsheet with every quote so your accountant or finance team can audit the numbers. We don't use bait-and-switch deposit models. We don't bury contingencies in change orders.

Insurance-backed warranty

Every install we deliver comes with a 10-year IWA (Insurance-backed Warranty Association) workmanship warranty. This is independent of any manufacturer warranty (panels are typically 25-year output warranty plus 12-25-year product warranty depending on brand) and gives your premises insurer the assurance they need to continue cover with no friction. We don't sell self-insured warranties — they're worthless if the installer goes out of business.

How we're different from generic installers

Three things separate us from a typical commercial solar pitch. First: we model from your real meter data, not desk-based estimates from postcode and roof area. The difference is typically 15–25% in self-consumption assumptions — and self-consumption is the single biggest driver of SME solar IRR. Second: we include three financing options as standard. PPA, asset finance, and cash-with-AIA each fit different SME profiles, and a finance director needs to compare them rather than be sold one. Third: if your site doesn't suit solar, we'll tell you upfront and walk away. We've turned down several quotes in the last 12 months for buildings whose roofs were structurally unsuitable, lease terms too short, or grid constraints too tight to make the economics work. We'd rather walk away than damage our review record with a marginal install.