Modelled scenarios, not client case studies
Thirteen modelled scenarios showing what a commercial solar system of a given size does for a given kind of building — generation, saving and payback at this site's standard assumptions. None of them is a real client or a real install.
Check any installer against these schemes — this site is an independent guide, not an installer
These are modelled worked examples of how solar panels for businesses perform across the UK — from a 65 kW care-home rooftop to an 850 kW food-production plant. Each one takes a plausible building and load profile for its sector and applies the same assumptions used throughout this site: 900-1,150 kWh per kWp of yield depending on region, a 24-32p/kWh grid tariff, 12p/kWh export under the Smart Export Guarantee, and 100% Annual Investment Allowance at a 25% corporation tax rate. They are not client projects; we publish this site and do not install.
Use them to see which variables matter for a building like yours — above all self-consumption, which is why the 24/7 sites pay back fastest. For the pricing behind the numbers see the 100kW solar system cost breakdown and the full commercial solar cost guide, or compare finance routes in business solar panels. For sector-specific economics, jump to warehouses, factories, hotels or schools — or check whether the maths works for you in are commercial solar panels worth it?
Modelled scenario
A 45-person agency in a converted warehouse, electricity bill around £18,000 a year, daytime office load.
Assumptions
Modelled on asset finance over six years; the saving exceeds the repayment in year one at these assumptions.
Modelled scenario
A plastics manufacturer in a 1990s estate unit, electricity spend around £58,000 a year, single daytime shift.
Assumptions
Capital purchase with AIA; 76% self-consumption assumed for a single-shift load.
Modelled scenario
A 24/7 laboratory and pilot line, electricity spend around £215,000 a year, high constant baseload.
Assumptions
AIA plus asset finance over seven years; 96% self-consumption assumed because the baseload never drops below the array output.
Modelled scenario
A 6,000 sqm warehouse outside Leeds, electricity spend around £62,000 a year from lighting, fleet EV charging and refrigerated zones.
Assumptions
Capital purchase with AIA; 76% self-consumption assumed.
Modelled scenario
A 60-person agency in a converted warehouse, electricity bill around £24,000 a year.
Assumptions
Asset finance over seven years.
Modelled scenario
A vegetable processing and packing facility with spare field adjacent, electricity spend around £165,000 a year, load peaking in the October-to-March harvest season.
Assumptions
Planning permission and a full G99 connection assumed; 65% self-consumption because the load peaks in winter when the array produces least.
Modelled scenario
A 78-room Grade II listed hotel with a rear roof suitable for panels, electricity spend around £58,000 a year, daytime kitchen, hot-water and HVAC load.
Assumptions
Listed-building consent would be needed; a PPA route is modelled so no capital is spent. See the listed building guide.
Modelled scenario
A precision-machining facility on a two-shift pattern, electricity spend around £412,000 a year, profiled steel roof.
Assumptions
An IETF grant is modelled at 28% of eligible capex, which is within the published intensity range for that fund; 84% self-consumption assumed. Without the grant the payback is around 6.6 years.
Modelled scenario
Kilns and drying tunnels running 24 hours, five days a week, electricity spend around £298,000 a year, part of the site in a conservation area.
Assumptions
Modelled with an IETF grant; rooftop consent in a conservation area is a planning question for the local authority.
Modelled scenario
A four-storey self-storage building with a 3,200 sqm flat roof and low on-site demand of around £18,000 a year.
Assumptions
An export-led scenario: 24% self-consumption, the rest exported at 12p/kWh (Octopus Outgoing fixed rate as at July 2026; supplier rates change on short notice).
Modelled scenario
A ready-meal manufacturer running 24/7 with refrigeration, cooking and sterilisation load, electricity spend around £685,000 a year.
Assumptions
Modelled with an IETF grant at 29% of eligible capex and a 500 kWh battery; 92% self-consumption assumed for the 24/7 refrigeration baseload.
Modelled scenario
A 48-staff metalwork firm, electricity spend around £52,000 a year, pre-2000 building needing its asbestos-cement roof replaced first.
Assumptions
Roof replacement (around £64,000) and PV (around £87,000) modelled on a single scaffold; AIA applies to both. The payback shown is on the PV capex alone.
Modelled scenario
A 60-bed residential home with laundry and 24/7 baseload, electricity spend around £38,000 a year.
Assumptions
91% self-consumption assumed with the battery shifting daytime surplus into the overnight resident load.