Global Pen Manufacturer

Headline stats

Cost: £100,000
Payback: Sub five years
Self-consumption: 63%
Energy savings: £16,000 per annum
Export payment: £8,000 per annum
Combined energy & export savings: £24,000 per annum
Reduction in CO2: 66 tonnes per annum

The client

DMB Solar were engaged by a large pen manufacturer to install a solar panel system on their production facility in Buckinghamshire. 

The brief

Led by a principal contractor, DMB Solar’s brief was to design a system that would reduce consumption across the production facility. The solar needed to run in parallel with a new IR heating system being installed and the output needed to factor in the increased load from the new heating system.

We designed the system around manufacturing on 21st December, in order to ensure the system would work efficiently on the shortest day of the year. This meant that the system worked even more efficiently during days with longer daylight hours. 

Outputs

The system was designed to produce 140,000kWh per year, of which the facility used 63%. 

Savings

The client expects a huge reduction in energy bills – around £16,000 per annum. In addition, they expect to generate another £8,000 in exported energy savings. 

Cost

The total cost of the new IR / Solar PV system was around £300,000, with solar costing around £100,000. 

Government figures versus actual achieved

Government figures suggest that a typical commercial solar system saves around 6-12% of energy costs, with payback in between 5-9 years.  

Return on investment

Our client achieved a 12% reduction in energy costs and will pay back the cost of the solar in under 5 years. 

With a lifespan of 25-30 years for a commercial solar installation, we expect the return on investment to be anything from 150-400%. 

Sustainability

Because solar PV directly offsets electricity, for every 1KWh of solar, 0.28kg of CO2 doesn’t have to be burned at the power station. So in addition to the energy cost saving and export revenue, our client was able to offset 66 tonnes of CO2 from its system alone. Better for the planet, better for our client!