Installers in the UK see commercial PV installations as an extremely attractive investment for their customers and are expecting this market to grow. They see the different guidelines and system configurations as the major challenges of such plants compared to those posed by domestic systems. In addition, most of the uncertainties centre on the financing models that can be applied in the commercial sector.
These are just some of the findings of the SolarTruck Roadshow held by Dutch inverter manufacturer Mastervolt, which was visited by over 120 installers and distributors at 12 locations throughout the UK. During the roadshow, held in Mastervolts mobile training facility, participants received training on commercial distribution processes, technical solutions and how to calculate commercial PV systems.
Mastervolt has developed a system calculator and a financial tool for precisely this purpose which allows installers to calculate the profitability of commercial installations in just a few steps and present this information to clients.
Commercial solar is seen as a very attractive target market for installers because their customers consume what they produce, collect the feed-in tariff and gain certain tax advantages that make such plants very lucrative investments, says David Craig, General Manager of Mastervolt UK & Ireland.
Mastervolt has a powerful range of inverter models and extensive experience in installing commercial PV plants. The UK-based team has already assisted in implementing hundreds of commercial projects with a cumulative capacity of over 10MWp, supporting installers with tasks ranging from plant design to commissioning.
