Solar Power: Commercial Applications

Many people think of solar power as solar panels on the roof of a home. The reality is that landlords, businesses and property managers can benefit even more than home owners. With direct savings on utility costs, tax incentives and increased rentals, green energy becomes the obvious choice.

Green Power for Retail Locations

Retailer locations can benefit greatly from solar energy. Retailer locations generally have a wide footprint, with just one or two stories of shopping. This yields a greater roof area per tenant and increases overall output capacity. With federal, state and utility credits and incentives reduce the cost of the system significantly. Tenants have the added benefit of being able to boast the user of green energy, a strong selling point to their retail customers. Solar options include solar electric panels and solar heating tubes, as well as wind turbines for electric production.

Green Power for Residential Multi-Tenant Environments

Apartment buildings benefit greatly from green power. With solar heating tubes, you can produce heat year round. Whether used for hot water heating, steam heat production or forced air heat, this can significantly reduce your energy costs. Solar electric panels and wind turbines can also produce electricity for the building, reducing your demand from the power grid.

Tenants are also attracted to green energy buildings, particularly with the 18-35 year old demographic. By offering rentals in a green building, you can increase your occupancy rates, attract tenants focused on environmental issues and enhance your reputation in the community.

Green Power for Office Buildings

Offices consume tremendous amounts of electricity. In most office environments, hot water is a lesser issue, although situations vary. A combination of green energy technologies, including both solar panel arrays and wind turbines, maximize your electricity production. Remember that, particularly in offices, electrical demand on weekends is minimal and your energy system produces seven days a week, creating energy on the weekends that can be sold back, automatically, to the power grid.

Green Power for Industrial Use

Industrial complexes - warehouses and manufacturing - often have a large footprint with less dense electrical usage (although equipment run tends to be high demand). By leveraging unused space on the roof, you can supplement - or replace - your own electrical usage with electricity generated by solar panel systems and wind turbines. As with offices, many industrial buildings are closed on weekends, giving you the opportunity to produce additional electric that can be sold back to the utility.