Businesses
Commercial solar panels, planned around your operating hours
We design and install commercial solar panels around the way your business uses electricity: your operating hours, your daytime demand and your running costs. Our own installation team works from our base near Okehampton, and we take on commercial projects across most of England, though not in Wales or Scotland.
Or call 07441 369 505
- Workmanship
warranty10years - Family run
since2022 - The Solar Owners
Club included1year
Where we start
Commercial solar panels that work when your business does
Solar PV (photovoltaic) panels turn daylight into electricity. If your business is busiest in the same hours, much of what the panels generate can be used on site as it’s made, instead of being bought from the grid. So before we suggest a single panel, we look at how your business actually runs.
Operating hours
When you open and close, whether you work weekends, and how your year changes with the seasons. A business that works through the daylight hours needs a different design from one that runs late into the evening.
Daytime demand
What draws power while the sun is up: lighting, machinery, refrigeration, heating and cooling, computers. The more of that load falls in daylight, the more of your own generation you can use directly.
Running costs
Send us a copy of a recent electricity bill and we’ll design around your real use rather than a guess. Electricity is a running cost that moves with markets you don’t control, as our piece on how oil and gas prices reach your electricity bill explains.
Your plans
Anything that will change your demand, from new equipment and longer hours to an electric vehicle (EV) charger as part of the system. Solar shouldn’t be sold from a price list: your property, your consumption and your plans decide the design.
Energy is an overhead. Let’s reduce it.
The right system for your site, not the biggest one we could fit.
Roof or ground
Pitched roofs, flat roofs and open ground
The roof of a warehouse, workshop, office or barn can be a good place for solar panels. During the site survey we assess its orientation, shading and space, then design the array around what we find rather than around a standard layout.
Flat roofs and ground-mounted systems are options too, for premises without suitable roof space. If your roof isn’t right for solar, we’ll tell you, and talk you through the alternatives.
Running a farm? See solar panels for farms, planned around milking, refrigeration and ventilation as well as the farm’s other daytime loads.
The process
How a commercial project runs
One team runs your project from the first conversation to the handover, and we keep you informed along the way.
Conversation and site survey
We talk through your operating hours, your demand and what you want the system to do, then assess the site in person: roof orientation, shading and space. You can book a free site survey online.
Design and proposal
We design the system with Easy PV Pro, working out the number of panels and the battery options, and set out a proposal with clear options. No pushy sales pitches, ever.
Equipment
We source from trusted suppliers. Our no-nonsense, full-disclosure approach means we only recommend what genuinely benefits your business, nothing more and nothing less.
Installation
Our own installation team carries out the work. Commercial systems take longer than a home’s one to three days, depending on the system size.
Handover
We show you how the system works and how to follow it in the app, and your year of The Solar Owners Club begins.
Battery storage
Storing electricity for later in the day
A battery stores the solar electricity you don’t use as it’s generated, so you can use it later: towards the end of the working day, into the evening or when demand is higher. Whether that suits your business depends on when you use electricity. Our page on how solar battery storage works covers the basics.
- We size storage to how and when your business uses electricity.
- If your demand carries on after the panels stop, for an evening shift, a cold store or an early start, stored daytime electricity can cover some of it.
- Sometimes the better use of the budget is battery capacity rather than more panels, and sometimes it’s the reverse. We’ll explain which, and why.
- Backup power where it’s included and suitable. We’ll tell you plainly whether yours can.
Who does the work
Our own team, from survey to aftercare
Solar Upgrades is family run. Ellie and Adam founded the business in 2022 and are both Managing Directors, and we’re based at Allerford Farm in Lewdown, just off the A30. The surveyor who visits your site and the installers who fit your system are part of one team.
Everyone on our team is DBS-checked, and we carry £2 million public liability insurance. We’re MCS certified for solar PV and battery storage (certificate NIC-601527), a member of the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) and TrustMark registered (licence 3428547).
Meet the team behind Solar Upgrades, from our Managing Directors to our solar surveyor and PV electrician.
After handover
What stays with your system after installation
Our support doesn’t end when the installation team leaves. Ongoing solar panel maintenance, including an annual health check, is part of it.
| What you have | What it means |
|---|---|
| Our 10-year workmanship warranty | Covers our installation work, kept separate from the warranties on the equipment itself. |
| Manufacturers’ product warranties | Panels, inverters and batteries carry their makers’ own warranties, on each maker’s terms. |
| A year of The Solar Owners Club | An annual system health check, a dedicated support line, discounted upgrade products and fixed, discounted rates for labour. |
| Membership after year one | Continues by system size, banded by inverter in kilowatts (kW), a measure of power: up to 20 kW, 20 to 50 kW, and over 50 kW. |
Reviews
In our customers’ words.
-
Excellent service. Polite and friendly while carrying out the work. Very knowledgeable about their trade. After care five star too. Very helpful for helping me set up the app. I can't recommend them enough. Thank you for stress free and a lovely service.
Andrew B. Customer -
Adam and Ellie are great to work with; they use sensible technology and are reasonably priced. Very pleased with everything they have done for me.
John K. Customer -
They fitted my panels, kept me informed about the process and Ellie and Adam are passionate about all that they do, great service at a great price.
Chris & Debbie G. Customer -
I couldn’t rate the quality and professionalism any higher.
Jon H. Google -
Finally, someone who responds, listens and helps in the solar world. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend.
M&J, Somerset Owners Club member -
Chuffed to bits with our upgraded system - working better than ever! Thanks guys.
P&M, Devon Owners Club member -
We've already saved the full membership cost in our battery upgrade alone! Great value for money.
I&N, Cornwall Owners Club member
Swipe, or use the arrows.
Where we work
Commercial solar near you
From our base at Lewdown, near Okehampton, we work in every part of Devon and Cornwall: Launceston, Tavistock, Okehampton, Bude, Plymouth, Exeter and Truro among them. Launceston, Plymouth and Exeter have their own pages below, as do both counties, and every town and county we cover is on one map.
From the blog
Read before you decide.
GuideWhat Is Solar PV?Solar PV turns daylight into electricity with photovoltaic cells. What it is, the parts of a system, kW vs kWh vs kWp, and how export payments work.
News2025: A Record Year for Solar in the UK — And What We Predict for 20262025 was the UK’s strongest year on record for solar installations and generation. What drove it, and our seven predictions for solar in 2026.
Yes, if your system is eligible. Export payments are what an electricity supplier pays you for the electricity your system sends to the grid, and the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) requires larger suppliers to offer them for systems up to 5 megawatts. Up to 50 kW, the installation and installer must be suitably certified, usually shown with an MCS certificate; for larger systems, the supplier decides what evidence it needs.
Our site survey includes a full assessment of your property, energy usage, roof space and goals. We’ll use this to design a solar PV system around you and provide a no-obligation quote.
Your system may need approval from the electricity network operator before we can connect it. This is called a G99 application. We handle the application for you and keep you updated while we wait for their response.
Yes, solar panels still generate electricity on cloudy days, though at reduced output. At night, they don’t produce power, but if you have battery storage, you can use stored energy generated during the day.
Yes. We add battery storage to existing systems as well as new ones, starting with a look at how your current system is set up. We’ll also look at when your business uses electricity, because that decides whether storage makes sense.
Next steps
Let’s talk about your project
Tell us how your business uses electricity, and send a recent bill if you have one. We’ll look at your operating hours, your roof and your daytime demand, then tell you honestly whether commercial solar panels make sense for your site, and what size of system would.
Call us07441 369 505
- Lines open
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
- Find us
- Allerford Farm, Lewdown, Okehampton, Devon EX20 4PU
Power your own.
Homes, Farms, Businesses