Warehouses typically have large areas of unutilized rooftop space as well as extensive lighting and refrigeration installations. They are mostly located in off-grid or grid-scarce areas, requiring a heavy reliance on diesel power.
Installing solar panels on the warehouse’s rooftop can be a highly effective measure for increasing their energy efficiency, which can result in significant savings for business owners due to the higher operating costs involved. And, with sustainability becoming an increasingly important issue for business owners, solar panels for warehouses can be an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint while demonstrating tangible Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to environmentally conscious customers and business investors.
Solar panels for warehouses can provide lots of advantages. Some of the most important ones are:
Significant cost savings for your business
Warehouses typically have higher operating costs than smaller commercial buildings, and solar panels can significantly offset these costs, resulting in significant savings for your business. Since solar panels generate a majority of their energy during the day, they are especially useful for offsetting largely fixed daily operating costs, such as temperature control and lighting.
A particularly efficient installation may be able to generate energy not only for the warehouse but also for nearby buildings on the site. Indeed, solar panels do not have to be capable of doing so to be worthwhile investments. According to the Carbon Trust, a 20% reduction in energy costs represents the same bottom-line benefit as a 5% increase in sales.
Energy Security and Financial Stability
Solar panels for warehouses save you money by reducing your reliance on the National Grid, and they also have many other advantages. For instance, it protects your business from market fluctuations and rising energy costs, as by generating your on-site energy with solar panels, you're effectively forward-buying your electricity at a fixed price. This protects your business from market impacts and regulation, making financial forecasting much easier. This flexibility allows you to decide whether to use your saved electricity right away, save it for later, or even sell it for a profit. It also provides valuable reserves to draw on in the event of a blackout, protecting your business from costly downtime due to power outages.
A Significant Reduction in Carbon Footprint
Your energy consumption will also increase as your business expands. Large industrial buildings and commercial properties, such as warehouses, frequently house carbon-intensive activities. Solar panels for warehouses are an effective way to offset these carbon emissions, allowing you to meet your current sustainability goals while also reducing your impact on the planet.
Fulfilling Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Carbon emissions have reached a tipping point, and everyone from governments and regulators to consumers and investors is looking to businesses to demonstrate how they are actively attempting to reduce their environmental impact. It is especially important for consumers, who increasingly rely on ethics to guide their purchasing decisions.
This is where the popularity of solar panels can benefit your company. It's an obvious and tangible demonstration of Corporate Social Responsibility, demonstrating that you take your sustainability goals seriously. Keeping this in mind, solar panels for warehouses are beneficial not only for the cost savings they can provide but also for encouraging future business through improved lead generation and sales.
Warehouses and distribution centers became popular during the pandemic as online shopping accelerated the rise in e-commerce, due to which the need to have warehouses became important. Warehouse construction companies witnessed a massive demand for warehouses during the pandemic.
Many businesses are now making efforts to make their buildings more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. For instance, they are now converting their warehouse’s rooftops into solar farms.
Experts say that buildings such as warehouses account for roughly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet, with carbon emissions coming from their daily operations. Warehouses and distribution centers, which typically have large, open interiors dedicated to storage with only a small amount of square footage dedicated to office functions, appear to be easier to green than other types of real estate. When compared to more densely occupied structures like office buildings or hotels, many of them use very little energy to operate.
Because of all these reasons many warehouse construction companies are now including solar energy in their plans as they build new warehouses, rather than adding it as an afterthought. These companies are expected to increase their sustainability efforts to save money on energy while also prioritizing corporate responsibility and benefiting from improved consumer perceptions.
Conclusion
Solar panels for warehouses not only help to offset the significantly higher operating costs but also make excellent use of the considerable roof space available, which would otherwise go largely unused. Whether you want to reduce your operating costs, reduce your carbon footprint, or improve your energy security, the installation of solar panels could be just what you need to transform your business's energy supply. Nowadays, many warehouse construction companies are also including solar energy in their new warehouse design plans. BuildMyInfra offers a variety of solar energy solutions to make your warehouse more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. Contact BuildMyInfra for more information.