Commercial Solar Power and Hot Water
Your business can simultaneously reduce energy costs and CO2 emissions through the implementation of renewable energy systems.
The most common systems we design are:
Grid-Tied Solar Electricity
Grid-tied solar electricity enables businesses to lock in their electricity rate for decades, avoiding the cost increases and volatility of utility-supplied electricity. GTPV is also the easiest way to start producing your own clean, renewable solar electricity to offset the massive CO2 emissions that come from America's coal and gas-fired power plants.
With no moving parts anywhere in the entire system, grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) systems are the most reliable renewable energy technology available. This is why PV manufacturers warranty their panels for 25 years, while the expected lifespan of PV panels is closer to 50 years.
As Fossil Fuel Costs Continue to Rise, Solar Energy Investments Become Financially Advantageous
Read more about this exciting projectView real-time system output online.
Solar Electricity Economics:
- Lock-in Your Electricity Rate
As the cost of utility electricity escalates, savings from a solar electric system will increase. Each kilowatt of installed solar electric panels will generate 1,300 kilowatt hours of clean, renewable electricity per year, for up to 50 years. While your solar electric system churns out green power year after year, it is reasonable to assume that utility-generated electricity costs will increase at 5% or more, per year. - Federal Tax Credit
Businesses that install grid-tied solar electric systems qualify for investment tax credits of 30% of the net purchase price. - Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS)
Businesses may qualify for federal tax benefits resulting from the rapid depreciation of the solar asset over five years. - Renewable Energy Certificates
Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) or Green-tags, can be earned by producers of renewable energy. The annual sale of solar energy certificates provides the solar system owner with additional income to help to amortize the cost of their solar investment.
Purchasing Options
Businesses may purchase a solar electric system for cash and take advantage of federal tax credits and depreciation allowance. Alternatively, the company may either finance the installed system or utilize a lease purchase arrangement.
Financing Options
ReVision Energy can help arrange financing for customers, either as a project debt or with a lease/purchase arrangement. Creative financing may enable a business to avoid using funds from its capital budget to purchase the solar system. Profitable businesses may also use financing to monetize their tax credits and apply the energy savings and earnings from energy certificate sales to offset the loan payments.
What does Grid-Tied mean?
Battery-based solar electric systems used to be the norm until about 10 years ago, when the grid-tied inverter was developed, forever transforming solar electricity. The inverter enables us to use the electrical grid as our "storage battery," eliminating the cost, complexity and toxicity associated with lead-acid battery storage systems. Now, instead of connecting solar panels to a battery bank, the solar electric system is connected directly to the Central Maine Power grid, or whatever utility grid is serving your area. The inverter allows your solar electric system to feed surplus solar power to the grid, or seamlessly draw electricity from the grid when there is not enough sunshine to meet your demand. During the summer months, when you are likely to be producing more than you need, the surplus feeds your neighbor's meter and you get a credit on your bill from the utility.
Once installed, your utility will send a technician to your business, test the system, and install a double meter on your existing meter, free of charge under Maine's net-metering law. One meter will record electricity imported from the grid, the other meter records when electricity is exported to the grid. Each month the utility will reconcile the two meters and either bill your account, or credit your account, accordingly. Credits can carry forward for a maximum of 13 months. At no time will the utility 'pay' you for surplus electricity produced by a grid-tied solar electric system.
ReVision Energy provides licensed and NABCEP-certified design and installation of Grid-tied PV systems.
How it Works
Solar electric panels are typically mounted on a south-facing roof section, but we also have plenty of experience ground-mounting systems when the roof is not a viable option. Major system components include the PV panels, wire and conduit, and the inverter.
When sunshine falls on the PV panels, direct current (DC) electricity is generated and flows through a wire to the inverter. The inverter converts the DC electricity to alternating current (AC), which is the type required by your home appliances. The AC electricity flows from the inverter through a wire into your electric panel. The solar electricity will then flow through your electric panel and satisfy electric demand. If your solar electric system is producing more than the demand in your business, the surplus will then flow out through your 'export' electric meter and travel against the normal flow of electricity through the utility line serving your business and back out onto the grid, looking for the next closest demand.
Grid-tied PV Rules of Thumb
- 1 kilowatt of installed PV panels will produce roughly 1,300 kilowatt hours of clean electricity annually
- 1 kilowatt of installed PV panels will generate roughly $190 of electricity annually @ $.15 kW/h
- 1 kilowatt of installed PV panels will offset roughly 1,700 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually
- 1 kilowatt of installed PV panels costs roughly $9,000
Commercial Solar Hot Water
The economic case for commercial solar hot water grows stronger as fossil fuel costs escalate. Using sunshine to produce hot water is a practical way to make a positive impact on the environment and save money. After 10 years of designing and installing hundreds of solar hot water systems in Maine's challenging climate, we've distilled our knowledge and experience into a robust design that offers the highest efficiency and durability. ReVision Energy can tailor its time-tested, field-proven system design to integrate with most existing water heating systems, whether it is gas, electric or oil-fired.
Schematic of a Complex Commercial Solar Hot Water System
Solar hot water collectors are typically mounted on a south-facing roof section, but we also have plenty of experience ground-mounting systems when the roof is not a viable option. Major system components include the collectors, a purpose-built solar storage tank, copper piping, pump and electronic controls.
Whenever sunshine makes the solar hot water collectors hotter than the water in the bottom of the solar storage tank, a differential temperature sensor automatically activates the solar pump affixed to the tank. Sun-heated antifreeze is pumped from the collectors and circulated through a heat exchange coil located in the bottom of the storage tank, transferring the heat from the sun to your domestic hot water supply. ReVision Energy builds automatic backup into all solar domestic hot water systems so that when the sun can't get the job done, you don't have to worry about cold water. The solar storage tank has a secondary heat exchange coil located in the top of the tank, which is plumbed to your existing heating system for backup. If this is not possible, alternative solutions include using a special tank with an electric element for backup, or installing an on-demand hot water heater.
SOLAR HOT WATER COLLECTORS: ReVision Energy recommends Apricus evacuated tube collectors for most solar domestic hot water systems. After installing hundreds of Apricus collectors, we have found that in real-world applications the collectors meet, and often exceed, the performance specifications on the manufacturer’s website. In Maine’s relatively harsh climate, the superior insulation of the vacuum tube design prevents system heat losses during cold weather. Flat plate collectors offer slightly better summertime performance than evacuated tubes. In applications where high demand will come in the warmer months (seasonal homes, i.e.), or where cost is a primary concern, we offer the Stiebel Eltron Flat Plate collector.
SOLAR STORAGE TANK: We believe Stiebel Eltron manufactures the best dual coil solar storage tank on the market. Stiebel's purpose-built tanks are super-insulated to store precious BTUs harvested from the sun and its two internal heat exchange coils allow for easy integration with almost any boiler-based heating system. This porcelain-lined steel tank comes with three inches of foam insulation and a sacrificial anode that is easy to view and replace if necessary. For applications where access is difficult, where backup hot water is provided with electricity, or where a two tank solution is preferable, we use Superstor or Marathon water heaters.