Solar + Batteries can help a company save more money
Are you thinking about investing in a solar energy system and also wondering if batteries would make sense to meet your energy needs? If saving money for your business and doing good by the planet are two goals, answering 7 key questions can help you make a decision.
The evaluation of this critical information helps us determine the best solar and battery options to meet the unique requirements of your commercial or industrial business.
7 Key Questions: Batteries for Solar Storage
1. Where will your photovoltaic system be located?
In the past, you may have been asked to supply site photos or drawings. Today with Google Maps and Bing a lot of valuable information can be obtained simply by entering a specific site address. This can show how much space is available, any physical obstructions like trees or other buildings that may block sunlight exposure, and other geographical considerations.
2. Do you own or lease the property?
This is a very important question in that owning the property makes things much easier as the owner of the building and the beneficiary of the solar energy system is the same, but commercial solar installations on leased property can also benefit both the landlord and tenant (by increasing property value and lowering electricity costs, respectively).
3. Can you provide your last 12 monthly energy bills? We need to do a deep dive into how you use energy.
This data will show day-to-day and cyclical electricity needs for any existing facilities, including peak periods of energy use. This is critical for letting us size your system correctly and determining how much more you would benefit from having a battery as well. The full year of bills is important if your business has a lot of seasonal variation – like a hotel for instance. If your energy usage is basically the same all year then just a few months of bills will do fine.
If you are a new business, or still in the construction phase, you might need to get more creative. In this case, analyzing historical usage rates for similar types of facilities—along with details on their loads—can often give you a clearer idea of how much energy you’ll require.
If you are thinking of spending the extra money on batteries, then getting an excellent analysis and profile of your energy usage and how you can use the batteries to maximum benefit is really very important, and this is not a simple process.
At Avolta Energy not only do we work with the top suppliers and use the most sophisticated analytical tools in the world to make sure that you get all the benefits you can from your investment in terms of money and resiliency, we also have ultra-experienced energy analysts on our team with years of analytical experience to ensure your system is sized correctly by the top experts in Costa Rica.
Depending on your energy usage profile and electricity tariff, there are numerous strategies to get more value from your batteries, but it takes work, experience and a detailed knowledge of your energy usage to measure, design and install a solar panel + battery system that will work best for you.
4. Why are you thinking about going solar? And why are you thinking that batteries are right for you?
Every organization has different motivations for considering solar energy– it can be to save money, to handle power outages, to ensure key machinery is always usable, or to be more ‘green’. Telling us why you are thinking about solar panels + batteries will help us better understand the objectives behind your efforts. This can lead to better solutions tailored to your specific needs or potentially uncover opportunities you never even knew existed.
If your main aim is to save as much money as possible over the lifetime of your photovoltaic system, that might point to one system; but if resiliency is also key – keeping the lights on during a power outage or keeping certain key machinery running at all times – then this can lead us to recommend a slightly different setup or system. If time is of the essence, in order to meet sustainability objectives or cash-flow restrictions, an entirely different set of actions may be necessary.
By letting us know why you’re considering solar energy, it helps us present a solution that comes as close as possible to meeting all of your requirements.
5. Are you new to solar panel and battery technology or have you been reading up and talking to solar providers?
Your response will help us discuss solar energy and solar systems at the most appropriate level—whether it’s beginning with the foundational basics or having more detailed conversations about specific solar energy options. If you have had a bad experience with another solar company, or have heard bad things about solar, talk to us about it! We have heard it all over the years.
Properly sizing solar system in Costa Rica is tricky due to regulations on how much energy you can feed into the grid once you add batteries to the equation. Getting the correct measurement of the solar and battery system to program the entire system to maximize the return on your investment is a complicated analysis.
There are many ways to use your solar batteries and figuring out when is the best time to charge and discharge your solar system to get the most value is an analysis that requires expertise.
At Avolta Energy we have dedicated thousands of man-hours to our analytical capabilities. We know how to get the best return on your investment if regulations change in the future and optimal use of your battery system will ensure that the battery program changes to reflect this.
If you are just starting to learn how solar panels and batteries work, you are probably just looking for a rough quote. If you’ve been researching how solar power works for a while, you probably need a firm quote to make a purchasing decision.
6. Do you have a budget in mind? Do you know what financing method you plan to use?
Knowing your budget in advance helps provide a simplified conversation starter with a limited list of the best possibilities and how to provide solar power.
Knowing what you are looking for to buy or rent will help us design and maximize the best solutions and benefits for your investment. It can also help ensure that the financial option you are seeking aligns with your project goals.
At Avolta Energy we have our own solar financing company that can arrange quick and convenient financing rather than using local banks directly which are known to take 6 months to 2 years to complete solar financings.
That said, we have an exceptional relationship with regional green credit champion Banco Promerica so we can help you find your best option for financing your solar energy.
7. Is there anything unique about your situation?
This is an open question that can lead to many interesting discussions. For example, do you have any specific time required to complete the solar installation? Perhaps you need to tap into funds now because the new solar system is planned to be part of a future construction project, or perhaps the circuit that includes your business is approaching the 15% solar layer and will be capped.
If new construction is already underway, your solar provider will probably want to know if there’s anything atypical with regard to the usual considerations: budget, authority, need, and timeline. What may seem unique to you might not be out of the ordinary for us.
Another approach to answering this question is to ask yourself: “What else do they need to know?” The more they understand your plans and needs, the more helpful we can be.
Ask us anything!
As previously mentioned, answering these seven questions will likely lead to more questions—and that’s a good thing. It means communication is flowing, and the process is working to find the best solar solution for your organization.
It also provides an opportunity for you to ask your own questions—getting to know and compare options. With systems expected to last 30 years or more, it’s essential that your business relationship is founded on clear expectations and open communication. If you’d like to talk with us to get started please contact Avolta Energy.
To discuss a solar panel + battery system, contact us at +506 2267-1840 or
info@avoltaenergy.com