For many New Zealand businesses, solar is a better financial fit than it is for the average home, and the reason is simple timing. Most businesses use the bulk of their power during daylight hours, which is exactly when solar generates. Here's what commercial solar looks like in NZ and how to work out whether it stacks up for your operation.
Why Commercial Solar Economics Are Strong
Solar is most valuable when you consume the power yourself rather than exporting it. A household might self-consume a third of its generation; a business running machinery, refrigeration, computers and air conditioning from 8am to 5pm can often self-consume most of it. Every kilowatt-hour you generate and use is a kilowatt-hour you don't buy at commercial rates.
Typical Commercial System Sizes
- 10–30kW: Offices, cafés, retail and small workshops, often on three-phase supply with plenty of roof to spare.
- 30–100kW: Warehouses, manufacturers, cool stores and supermarkets with large steel roofs and heavy daytime loads.
- 100kW+: Large industrial sites and multi-building operations, designed around your network connection and load profile.
Commercial roofs are frequently ideal for solar: large, uncluttered steel spans with good orientation and easy access.
What About Batteries?
Commercial batteries can shift surplus generation into the evening, protect critical equipment through outages, and help manage demand. Whether storage makes sense depends on your tariff structure and load profile, our battery guide covers the fundamentals, and we model the commercial case site by site.
How the Numbers Are Worked Out
A credible commercial proposal starts with your interval data (your retailer can supply it), your roof, and your connection. From there we model generation against your actual usage pattern, expected self-consumption, and export value under your retailer's buy-back terms. Depreciation and financing treatment vary by business, that part is a conversation for your accountant.
Getting Started
EFS Solar designs commercial systems from an on-site assessment and your real usage data, no template quotes. Installation is carried out by licensed electrical workers using Tier 1 hardware backed by long warranties. Learn more about our commercial solar service or request a tailored proposal for your site.
Sizing a home system instead? Start with our solar system size guide.