How businesses can benefit from solar panels

Every year, more and more businesses in New Zealand are choosing to make the switch to solar. The reasons are as varied as the businesses: some want to go green, others want to save money, and a few just want to get a jump on the competition. 

But with all innovation, there’s always a little bit of hesitation before taking the plunge. So how could your business really benefit from a solar power system?

Reduce costs and free up cash flow

Cash flow is king according to the 80 per cent of New Zealand small-to-medium enterprises that are making it a priority over the next 6 to 12 months. With global pandemics and rising costs taking a chunk out of everyone’s bottom line, it’s no wonder that business owners are taking a close look at where their money is going.

For many businesses, a significant outlay for their cash flow is in utility costs. Electricity prices in New Zealand have been steadily increasing every year, with commercial power prices in particular having a huge jump recently - from December 2020 to June 2021, there was a whopping 25% increase in costs!

A solar power system, while requiring an initial investment, provides clean, green and free energy for any business from the moment it’s installed. This provides a hedge against future price increases and instantly provides a chunk of change. So ask yourself: what could your business do with some extra room in the budget every year?

Stay in business even during blackouts

A power cut can have huge ramifications for any business. Retailers lose their lights, restaurants and cafes lose their refrigeration, farms lose their equipment - in some cases, even a short loss of power can result in an enormous loss of revenue, either directly or through wasted work hours.

A commercial solar power system removes that risk. With the right solar panel and battery set up, your business can maintain operations even during blackouts.

What’s more, if you want to set up business in a remote area with only limited electricity connections, an off-grid solar power system offers the opportunity to do business wherever you want - as long as the sun shines there, your enterprise will have power.

Save during business hours, profit after closing

Both homeowners and business owners benefit hugely from solar power, but business owners have one unique advantage: their peak electricity use time is usually near the middle of the day. This also happens to be when solar power systems are at their highest generation capacity, resulting in power that’s gathered and then instantly used.

This is the most efficient way to use solar power, making businesses literal powerhouses with the right system.

And that’s not all. The sun doesn’t stop shining when the doors close. Any additional energy your business isn’t using or storing for later in the batteries (if included) can be sold right back to the grid for pure profit.

Save during the day, generate cash during the late afternoon and evening. Now there’s some real passive income!

Prove your green credentials

It’s official. Your customers care about how green you are. A recent Consumer survey revealed that 6 out of 10 people were changing their shopping habits to try and buy ‘greener’ products. 

But here’s the kicker: the majority (72%) also said that finding those greener products was a big hurdle. They didn’t know which products were really environmentally friendly, and about half said they didn’t trust the environmental claims they found on products.

An investment in solar power for your business is the real, trustworthy indicator that your current customers need to stay loyal, and could easily be the tipping point for your potential customers to make the switch from your less-green competitors.

Going green through solar power doesn’t just make sense: it makes dollars too.

No excuses

Any one of these reasons would be a great excuse to take the dive into solar for your business, but here are a few more answers to questions we know can make people pause.

Isn’t commercial solar expensive?

No! Solar power, for homes or for businesses, has been rapidly increasing in efficiency and dropping in price for decades. In fact, it’s never been more affordable to get a solar power system than right now.

Aren’t commercial solar power systems really complex and break easily?

No! Solar power for commercial use is user-friendly. It plugs directly into your existing power system and instantly starts generating free, clean, green energy. There are monitoring options available if you want to know more about your power use, but it isn’t mandatory. And on durability: solar power panels typically have 25-year warranties; that’s how much confidence the producers have. And after those 25 years have passed? The panels don’t just stop working: they take a slight efficiency dip, but keep on generating well past that point.

But commercial solar power systems need lots of maintenance, right?

No! The only thing you need to do regularly is take a hose to the solar panels to wash off dirt and dust. There are no moving parts, so there’s very little that can go wrong. And if something does go wrong? Those warranties we mentioned before kick in, with even the most error-prone part, the solar inverter, having a warranty of 5 to 10 years - or even more.

Solar power for your business can free up cash flow, generate profit on your off-peak hours, and even help you attract and retain new customers - and with solar for business being more affordable, more durable, and more accessible than ever before, there’s a reason that so many businesses are making the switch.

Find out how your business can benefit from a tailored solar power solution with the experts from ZEN Energy Systems.