Use facility and interval information
Start with at least twelve months of bills and, where available, interval data showing kWh, peak kW, operating hours, and time-of-use periods. Roof age, shade, structural capacity, electrical service, access, and future operations determine whether rooftop, carport, ground-mount, storage, or no project is the sensible next question.
Demand charges and export compensation can materially change an analysis. A proposal should show its utility tariff, production model, self-consumption assumptions, dispatch assumptions for storage, operations and maintenance, financing costs, and sensitivity to changed inputs.
Practical checklist
- Collect bills, interval data, facility drawings, and roof condition information.
- Identify operational loads that cannot be interrupted.
- Request a proposal with clear tariff, export, and demand-charge assumptions.
Compare the whole implementation path
Compare bids by scope, not only by dollars per watt. Include structural or electrical work, design, permitting, interconnection, insurance, monitoring, warranty, commissioning, and the responsibilities after handoff. Storage should describe both the operating objective and constraints rather than being represented as automatic savings or backup.
Tax treatment, incentives, financing, savings, and timeline are not universal commercial facts. They require advice and verification appropriate to the organization and the project location.
Practical checklist
- Separate energy-value assumptions from demand-management assumptions.
- Confirm who owns permitting and utility interconnection tasks.
- Have commercial, legal, and tax terms reviewed by the right professionals.
Give decision-makers an auditable record
A business team benefits from a simple assumptions register: source of interval data, tariff date, production model, facility constraints, ownership terms, and risks still under review. Operations, finance, facilities, legal, safety, and executive stakeholders can then review the same record. This is more durable than a single savings headline and creates a clear basis for later engineering and procurement decisions.
Practical checklist
- Keep assumptions, exclusions, and the next verification step in the written project record.
Practical FAQs
Questions to take into a review
Can a commercial battery automatically reduce demand charges?
Not automatically. Its value depends on tariff details, load timing, controls, system limits, and verified dispatch assumptions.
Does a carport make sense for every business?
No. Site layout, structural needs, access, operating constraints, economics, and permitting all need review.