Industrial, Commercial And Institutional

The early days of solar power did not cater to the residential market – indeed that took many years to take off in anything like great numbers. The very first customers of solar panel technology in the 1960s were industrial, commercial and institutional clients all over the world. These dedicated, industrial solar systems proved a fertile testing ground that set the stage for the residential and agricultural applications that have become so important in recent years.

Solar industry statistics suggest that while commercial photovoltaic (PV) power and related solar system devices tend to be oversized and quite expensive, given the amount of money saved in power consumption (especially in places that have higher industrial rates) can sometimes pay for the entire commercial solar power infrastructure in just a few years.

Perhaps the most common industrial use is commercial solar lighting. Even small warehouses spend thousands of dollars every year on lighting. Commercial solar light is very especially useful for operations that run on 3-shift schedules. In situations such as municipal parks and retail applications, commercial solar path lighting is notable for conserving power by using lamps that not only use less wattage but also, last a lot longer – by a factor of 10 or so in the case of commercial solar exterior lighting that uses LED lamps.

Sometimes industrial applications are necessarily high-powered operations such as commercial production facilities. The traditional passive applications of using solar radiation to crate heat, such as in the case of industrial solar dryers (commonly used in food production) or a commercial sized solar baking oven. Like an industrial solar heater, the heat for tanks is directly applied and the water itself acts a bit like a battery, slowly absorbing and releasing energy like the oceans themselves.

However, many solar powered industries rely upon active solar power in the form of commercial solar panels. These can power just about any type of device that the power company can. Generally, you’ll find a commercial solar panel array rated in tens to hundreds of kilowatts. This is plenty, when used with large enough batteries, to power most devices, even commercial solar powered vehicles.

A smart manager will want to design an industrial system with plenty of headroom to allow for expansion. Though such systems do usually pay for themselves in a short amount of time, you should make sure you choose the right sort of solar for your needs before you spend a single dime on the project. Have a clear idea what you want to accomplish with commercial solar power and be ready to expand on a great idea when your company or governmental agency saves a ton of money in the long run.