Is solar worth it for business?
Is solar worth it for business? Solar energy for companies is getting more and more attention these days. Many people are interested in being able to save money in a way that is truly socially responsible. Companies are used to trying to save money in any way that they can and also improve their corporate image by going green. The fact that they might be able to improve their corporate reputation at the same time should make a huge difference for a lot of them, especially if they work in certain sectors. The good news is that today there are some online solar tools – a great place to learn about how to go solar!
Hospitals use more electricity than many other organizations. Farms and companies in the agricultural sector will also tend to use a great deal of electricity in general, and this makes a huge difference for anyone involved. Some companies will spend more on electricity than others, depending on the size of the company. A kWH of electricity will typically cost around twelve cents, and this can add up quickly. Solar panels are often at least twenty percent efficient, and saving twenty percent on energy cost can be monumental.
It should be noted that the solar savings that different industries can expect will always vary. Some office buildings might be able to more or less run on solar power, depending on their sun exposure, for instance. Office buildings that are large enough to support extensive solar panels will certainly be able to benefit from this form of energy strongly. Other buildings will be limited in terms of the amount of solar energy that they can use because there is no place for the solar panels, or the sun exposure that they can expect is limited.
Southern businesses in the United States will spend significantly more on electricity than the businesses in other parts of the country by a very wide margin. This is largely due to the fact that the American South would be largely uninhabitable without air conditioning. Air conditioning is going to consume more energy that almost all other devices when it comes to electricity. In most other businesses, it will be the lighting and the computers that will consume the most energy. While Northern businesses will consume more electricity during the summertime, it will still never even out entirely.
The fact that Southern businesses can manage to save so much money on solar energy is all the more reason for them to try to benefit from all of these new advances. The South has a lot of sun, and that just gives the South more of an incentive to try to make the transition. The North can still benefit from solar power, but these benefits will be relatively minor compared to what people can expect with their electricity savings in the South. Being able to get a single solar panel installed at a Southern business will be able to make all the difference in the world for all of the employees there. Since a lot of Southern architecture emphasizes a broad size range, there will also be a lot of places for the solar panels to be installed in the first place, making the whole thing that much better.
Companies should try to use EnergySage in order to really get a sense of the energy savings that they can expect from their particular location, their business buildings, and based on their unique energy consumption levels. Some businesses will save so much money in the process of switching to solar panels that it could be one of the best financial decisions that they have ever made.
In other cases, companies will save a little. Some companies will just break even relatively quickly. However, one way or another, it should still make a big difference for a lot of companies in general. EnergySage and many of the other tools online such as a solar panel calculator should be able to help companies plan ahead. They will get a sense of what different sorts of solar power installation schedules will cost them, and they can plan out their strategy for their new solar panel kits.
How Much Solar Do I Need for Dairy Farms
Solar power and alternative energy will always be particularly important in the agricultural sector, even compared to many other industries. Dairy farms are already more sustainable than some farms because of the nature of their product. However, using solar milk cooling refrigerators could make all the difference in terms of the energy expenditure of dairy farms. Milk cooling accounts for 25 percent of the energy use of dairy farms. Solar-powered water heating and solar-generated electricity could continue to save dairy farmers money.
The exact savings that dairy farms can suggest will always depend on the size and scope of the farm. The energy expenditure of American dairy farms ranges from 800 and 1,200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) for every single cow every year. This means that every single cow costs as much as 144 dollars a year in electricity alone.
After the initial installation of the solar power, the solar milk cooling refrigerators could save them 25 percent of that. Around 4 percent of the energy expenditure on dairy farms goes to electrical water heating, and 24 percent goes to lighting. As such, switching to solar energy could save dairy farmers around 53 percent on their energy costs.
To out find out how much Solar is needed for a Dairy Farm start using this solar panel calculator.
How Much Solar Do I Need for Hospitals
Hospitals might be able to switch to solar-generated electricity and save on 20 percent of their electricity requirements. Hospitals can have enormous expenses when it comes to electricity. Many of the different types of hospital equipment, such as MRI machines, can consume a tremendous amount of electricity just in a single use. Hospitals can have electric bills of 180,000 a month in some cases. Saving twenty percent on that will equate to savings of 36,000 dollars a month, which is tremendous.
To out find out how much solar is needed for a hospital start using this solar panel calculator.
How Much Solar Do I Need for Hotels
The size of the hotel matters a lot when it comes to the actual energy consumption. It’s estimated that every year, a hotel will use 14 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per square foot. The average hotel in the United States will measure around 48,000 square feet. This equates to 672,000 kWH of electricity used per year for the average American hotel. This hotel will spend around 80,640 dollars a year just on electricity.
Assuming that the hotel’s solar panel kits are at least twenty percent efficient, which is often the case, this average American hotel will save around 16,128 dollars in a given year. In the case of a four-star hotel, these savings could be significantly more dramatic. In a lot of cases, these sorts of hotels will more or less provide people with a great deal of controlled lighting in every room with a high level of possible illumination, and that is in addition to a lot of different features that few people need and that few people would ask for on their own.
Four-star hotels might be able to save a tremendous amount of money in a given year just on the electricity that they need to keep on providing an exemplary service to their customers. A lot of wealthy customers are socially aware and care about solar power these days. They might be more likely to use an establishment if it uses solar power now. Solar panels are prominently displayed, and certain four-star hotels will be demonstrating their public spirited quality all the time.
To out find out how much solar is needed for a hotel start using this solar panel calculator.
How Much Solar Do I Need for Factories
Factories will vary tremendously in terms of their energy needs depending on what they produce, when, and according to what schedule. It’s difficult to generalize across all factories. Some factories will be able to almost completely switch to solar power because of their location and the size of their facilities. They might simply have more space for large solar panels.
To out find out how much solar is needed for a factory start using this solar panel calculator.
How Much Solar Do I Need for Office Buildings
In general, solar energy for companies should be fairly straightforward in the context of office buildings. Office buildings won’t have a lot of special expenses in terms of electricity. For the most part, the electricity expenditure will be based on the lighting, the computer usage, and some of the appliances used around the office. Some office buildings are increasingly taking other steps to reduce their consumption of electricity, such as using energy-saving computers, trying to make more use of natural light, and encouraging employees to do more telecommuting.
Switching to solar panel systems for generating electricity could save a large office building with more than 250 employees 6,000 dollars a year in some cases, assuming that the solar panels were efficient enough. Even assuming an efficiency of twenty percent, they would still save 1200 dollars a year. Office buildings located in sunnier areas would probably be able to benefit more strongly from these solar panels. However, even in the case of more northern office buildings, the solar panels could certainly help.
To out find out how much solar is needed for an Office Building start using this solar panel calculator.
How Much Solar Do I Need for Financial Institutions
Financial institutions do not use significantly more power than the majority of other companies. Most of their power will go to powering the lights and the computers that they use. Of course, a lot of their employees will work very long hours, with some employees putting in well over forty hours a week at the actual offices.
Financial institutions typically have a lot of employees, and they will have an electricity expenditure of at least 50,000 kWH. The largest financial institutions might consume as much as 100,000 kWh. This means that they spend around 12,000 dollars. Getting twenty percent of those needs met with solar power could manage to save them around 2,400 dollars.
To out find out how much solar is needed for a Financial Institution start using this solar panel calculator.
How Much Solar Do I Need for IT Companies
IT companies use a tremendous amount of electricity. Switching to solar power could eventually allow IT companies to save on their electricity costs. IT companies certainly have other environmental issues to work with, particularly electronic waste. However, just in terms of solar energy, they are better off finding alternatives to traditional electricity generation.
The electricity expenditure for all IT companies will vary depending on the size of the company. Many IT companies will have between 50 and 250 employees, meaning their electricity consumption is 30,000 kWh – 50,000 kWh. Replacing all of that with solar power would lead to savings of 3,600 dollars to 6,000 dollars a year with very efficient solar panels. Even IT companies situated in areas that get less sunlight could save 1200 dollars a year. Since a lot of the major IT companies are located in California, which famously gets a great deal of sunlight, IT companies can really benefit from solar energy in general.
IT companies are getting better at backing up their data. However, power outages can still be disastrous for IT companies in a lot of cases. Being able to rely on solar panels, which will keep on generating power even when other sources of power fail, can really give companies the opportunity to stay in operation even during some of the most difficult points during the year. IT companies located in sunny areas will still have problems like these.
To out find out how much solar is needed for a IT company start using this solar panel calculator.
How Much Solar Do I Need for Social Institutions
Fortunately, social institutions don’t tend to consume a lot of energy as a matter of course. However, social institutions can still benefit from solar installations. Many social institutions will have comparatively few employees and they will tend to generally use less equipment than other organizations. However, social institutions that have between 12 and 50 employees will have a tendency to use around 25,000 kWh worth of electricity. This will make it easier for them to get a sense of their solar energy savings, which would equate to around 3,000 dollars a year.
To out find out how much solar is needed for a Social Institution start using this solar panel calculator.
Conclusion
Getting solar energy for companies can truly make all the difference in the world. Many people are considering solar energy for business today. Installing solar panel systems is less expensive than many companies will think. A lot of people are interested in solar panels for business in most cases today, because they have heard about all of the benefits.
These benefits will certainly vary from one company to another. However, it should be noted that a lot of people are still able to get the benefits of solar energy from only a few panels and a relatively modest solar panel installation effort. Get started today to determine what will be the estimated solar potential of your business based on your geographical location and your specific address. If financing is a problem, click here to learn how to go about it.
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