Would you like to save money on your business’s energy bill? If you’re a business owner, your answer to that question was probably yes. After all, anyway that you can reduce your overhead can benefit your company and your staff in the long run. Your business can be saving money while helping the environment, simply by switching over to solar power. Solar power allows you to have your own source of renewable energy that you’re able to control while keeping costs down. Solar power is great for the environment and is a form of power that you should consider investing in for your business (especially since today’s consumer considers a businesses’ eco-friendly methods an important factor in their decision-making process). 

 

Here’s everything you need to know about solar power, including how it can save the environment (and your monthly costs):

Why Solar Power?

Solar power is an environmentally-friendly way to generate electricity that allows you to be self-sufficient. While energy reserves are stored in batteries as backups, the power of the sun can create energy for day-to-day energy usage that can keep your place of business running just as well as traditional electricity would. One of the best parts of all of this is that you end up saving a lot of money on energy costs. In some cases, you can save up to 80% on your current energy bill by switching over to solar power.

 

The benefits don’t just stop there. As previously mentioned, going solar is great for the environment. It reduces air pollution, reduces water usage, reduces the dependency on non-renewable energy such as fossil fuels, improves humanity’s health in the long run, and helps fight climate change. This is because fossil fuels release abundant amounts of carbon dioxide into the environment. While carbon dioxide helps keep our planet warm, too much of it can get trapped in the environment, slowly increasing the Earth’s temperature to a point that it has irreversible consequences. In fact, many climate experts in Ireland expect the country’s temperature to increase by 1.6 degrees Celsius if proactive steps to reduce emissions aren’t taken. 

 

When your company switches to solar power, you’re helping out the environment in more ways than one, even without realizing it. 

Making the Switch is Great for Your Brand Reputation 

As we’ve mentioned, there are plenty of great practical reasons to switch over to business solar. However, one of the best reasons to consider making the switch is the positive impact it’ll have on your brand. Businesses with green credentials are seen in a more positive and acceptable light to brick-and-mortar customers, as well as your online reputation. In some industries, it’s even starting to become required that your business operates with some level of renewable energy. Take Swedish company Ikea as an example. They are looking to make their business fully circular by 2030. They’re doing this by striving to produce more energy than they use. They are also trying to make all of their products recyclable by 2030 and have their products be delivered via electric vehicles by 2025.

 

Being a green, eco-friendly company not only helps the environment but tells your customers that you care. Customers are caring more and more about green companies and it’s a trend that’s expected to grow in 2022 as discussions of climate change come to the forefront. Not only will your company be self-sufficient when it comes to energy usage, but it will show your consumers that you take fighting climate change seriously.

Why Haven’t More Companies Taken Advantage Of Solar?

With all of these benefits, why haven’t more companies taken advantage of the switch to solar energy? On paper, it sounds incredible: save money and the environment while promoting a brand and business model that people like because it’s environmentally friendly. While in some cases, a business rents the building they’re in, which prevents them from installing solar panels, the main point of hesitation with moving forward with this process is the upfront costs.

 

This upfront cost is misunderstood. While, yes, the cost can be high at times, most companies will make the money back on the amount of energy they save. There are also government grants that will allow the cost of installation to be covered. This, combined with the ever-lowering prices of solar panels, means that the point of entry for getting solar panels installed for your business is easier and more cost-effective than ever.

How Can the Cost Be Covered?

As previously mentioned, the biggest hurdle when it comes to a company trying to justify the switch to solar power is the upfront cost. Sure, in the long run, they can save a good amount of money, but some companies just don’t have it in their budget to pay to have solar panels installed at the time they wish to do so. That’s what government grants come in. There are three grants for commercial installation of solar panels to consider.

 

  • Accelerated Capital Allowance (ACA): ACA is a revenue scheme. How this works is that the year you purchase the solar panels, you’re allowed to write off the entire cost, which means you can save 12.5% on your tax bill if your company generates a profit.
  • Green Plus Grant: This one is available for SMEs and large companies that are Enterprise Ireland clients. This allows you to save 30% on your installation if you are an Enterprise Ireland client.
  • EXCEED grant: The EXCEED grant is aimed at larger organizations with projects that are more than €100,000.

If You’re Looking to Install Solar Power for Your Business, Call Alternative Energy Ireland

At Alternative Energy Ireland, we promise to reduce your energy consumption and work hard to increase your onsite electricity through our solutions. We are a 100% Irish-owned business and we take pride in knowing our business inside and out. We’ve built up a reputation in Ireland for being experts at what we do while being fast, reliable, friendly, and professional. Call Alternative Energy Ireland now at 01-4433996 to speak with a team member about having your business assessed for a renewable energy upgrade or fill out our online contact form