An 87% self-consumption rate. A payback period of 5.66 years. A lifetime return on investment of 436.5% and a net present value of £96,245. Those are the numbers from this commercial installation at Bank House in Englefield Green, and they tell you everything you need to know about why commercial solar makes sense.
Blue Anchor Holdings, trading as Capital Thermal from their commercial premises, approached us to install a solar PV and battery storage system. They wanted to cut their operational energy costs, reduce their carbon footprint and get set up for Smart Export Guarantee payments on any surplus.
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| Solar Panels | 18 x AIKO Solar Neostar 2S 455W (8.19 kWp total) |
| Inverters | 18 x Enphase IQ8AC microinverters (97% max efficiency) |
| Battery Storage | 2 x Tesla Powerwall 2 (27 kWh total) |
| DNO | Approved via Eco Power Club — SSEN network |
| Certifications | MCS, Part P, EIC certificate, G99/G100 DNO approval |
| Handover | Full pack with SSEN connection letter for SEG payments |
Commercial installations are a different beast to residential work. This project involved coordinating the DNO grid connection approval through SSEN, arranging scaffolding, and managing a multi-day installation programme. We had originally scheduled it for a bank holiday weekend but rearranged to the first week of September to avoid disrupting the business. That kind of flexibility is standard on commercial jobs — the installation works around the client’s operations, not the other way round.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Annual generation | 8,020 kWh |
| Self-consumption | 87% |
| Estimated payback | 5.66 years |
| Lifetime ROI | 436.5% |
| Net present value | £96,245 |
| Previous annual energy cost | ~£9,000 |
The 87% self-consumption rate is the standout figure. The vast majority of the electricity this system generates is used directly by the business rather than exported. That is where the real financial value sits — every unit consumed on-site is a unit they are not buying from the grid at commercial rates. The remaining surplus goes back under the Smart Export Guarantee.
The business was spending around £9,000 per year on electricity before this installation. That baseline has been significantly reduced, and the system will continue generating for decades.
