For your business
Commercial solar PV
Large roofs are usually a business's most underused asset. We turn them into a long-term hedge against electricity prices — designed and phased around your operations, not ours.
- Up to €162,600 grant
- Systems to 1 MW
- Minimal operational disruption
Accredited & registeredIn business 13 years
SEAI Registered
Safe Electric
Solar Ireland Member- Athlone Chamber Member
- Based in AthloneTrading since 2013
Why it works on commercial roofs
Your demand curve already matches solar's
Most businesses draw their heaviest load during the working day. That is precisely when a solar array produces.
It is the single biggest advantage commercial solar has over domestic. A house is often empty when generation peaks; a factory, warehouse, workshop or office is not. Refrigeration, compressed air, ventilation, lighting and machinery all run through the middle of the day, so a high proportion of what the system generates is consumed on site rather than exported.
Self-consumption is what determines the return. Units you use displace electricity you would have bought at your full commercial unit rate. Units you export earn considerably less. Designing to maximise the former is the whole job.
- Large, uninterrupted roof planes suit big arrays and simple mounting
- Single-storey industrial roofs are usually straightforward to work on safely
- Existing three-phase supply and board capacity often already suit a sizeable system
- Daytime load means high self-consumption without needing storage
Grant support
The Non-Domestic Microgen Scheme
SEAI supports non-domestic solar up to 1000 kWp, with a maximum grant of €162,600. Support is tiered — the rate per kWp steps down as the system gets larger.
Maximum grant
€162,600
Maximum system size
1000 kWp
1 MW
Rate structure
Tiered
Per-kWp rate reduces as size increases
Who can apply
Broad
Business, farm, school, public body, non-profit
On the per-kWp band table
We deliberately do not publish a band table here. The bands are revised periodically and an out-of-date table is worse than none — it sets an expectation we then have to walk back. We work out your actual entitlement against the current SEAI scheme rules as part of the quotation, and show you the calculation. As a sense of scale: support runs from the low thousands for a small rooftop system into six figures for the largest, with the €162,600 maximum applying at 1000 kWp.
Capital allowances are worth modelling too
For a trading company the grant is often not the only relevant support — the capital allowances treatment of the investment can matter as much to the overall position. We are solar engineers rather than tax advisers, so we will set out the specification clearly and leave that assessment to your accountant, who can model it properly against your circumstances.
Planning is rarely the obstacle people expect
Since October 2022, rooftop solar on industrial, commercial and agricultural buildings is exempt from planning permission without an area cap, outside a small number of Solar Safeguarding Zones near airports. Protected structures and ground-mounted arrays have separate rules. We confirm the planning position for your specific site as part of the survey — in most cases the answer is that no application is needed.
How a commercial project runs
Phased around your operations
The concern we hear most often is disruption. A commercial installation is largely roof work, and on a single-storey industrial building most of it happens well away from your floor. The parts that do touch your operation — the electrical connection and commissioning — are short, planned in advance and scheduled around you.
- Structural and roof condition assessment before anything is committed
- Load profile analysis from your half-hourly data where available
- System design and yield modelling for your specific roof geometry
- Grid application — sizeable systems need network agreement, and lead times matter
- Grant application guided, with the supporting documentation prepared by us
- Installation phased to avoid your peak periods
- Commissioning, monitoring setup and staff handover
- Ongoing servicing under a maintenance agreement
Larger projects are where we are strongest
We work across the full range, but complex commercial and industrial installations — multi-roof sites, phased rollouts, systems that need careful grid coordination — are where our engineering background earns its keep.
Track record
Organisations we have worked with
If capital is the obstacle
You do not have to fund it yourself
Where the business case works but the capital budget does not, a Power Purchase Agreement is worth looking at. We fund, install, own and maintain the system, and you buy the electricity it produces.
It is not automatically the better option — owning the asset outright is usually stronger over the full life if you can fund it. But for organisations that cannot commit capital, or would rather deploy it elsewhere, it turns a capital decision into an operating one.
Good to know
Commercial solar PV installation: common questions
Do you handle the grant paperwork?
We guide you through it. For the home solar grant, you apply to SEAI yourself — it is a short online application — and we give you every detail it asks for, then handle the installer declarations, the ESB Networks notification and the completion documents that release the payment. Whichever scheme applies, no work should start before your grant approval is issued — the SEAI letter of offer, or TAMS approval from the Department of Agriculture for farm projects. We make sure that sequencing is right.
What grant support is available for a business?
The SEAI Non-Domestic Microgen Scheme supports non-domestic solar installations up to 1000 kWp, with a maximum grant of €162,600. Support is tiered by system size, so the rate per kWp reduces as the system gets larger. Businesses, farms, schools, public sector bodies, community groups and non-profits can all apply.
Do I need planning permission for solar panels?
Most domestic rooftop installations in Ireland fall under planning exemptions, and exemptions for rooftop solar have been broadened considerably in recent years. Exemptions carry conditions, and some buildings — protected structures and certain locations in particular — are treated differently. We confirm the position for your specific property at survey stage and tell you plainly if permission is needed.
How long does an installation take?
A typical domestic installation is completed in a small number of days on site once the system is designed, the grant offer is in place and materials are scheduled. Commercial and farm projects run longer and are phased around your operations. We give you a specific timeline in your quotation rather than a generic estimate.
How much is the SEAI solar grant for a home?
The SEAI Solar PV Grant is worth up to €1,800. It is paid at €700 per kWp for the first 2 kWp installed, then €200 for each additional kWp up to 4 kWp. So a 2 kWp system attracts €1,400 and a 4 kWp or larger system attracts the full €1,800.
Is my home eligible for the SEAI grant?
Your home needs to be in Ireland and to have been built and occupied before 1 January 2021, you need a BER assessment on file (there is no minimum rating), and the work has to be carried out by an SEAI-registered installer. Lumen Solar is an SEAI-registered Solar PV company, so your installation qualifies.
What does home solar actually cost?
It depends on the roof and the equipment, which is why we quote from a survey rather than a price list. Domestic solar is zero-rated for VAT, and the €1,800 SEAI grant comes off what you pay. Your quotation names the exact equipment and the exact price, with the payback calculation and its assumptions written down.
Is the grant deducted from the price, or paid to me?
For the domestic SEAI grant, the money is normally paid to you by SEAI after the installation is completed and the post-works documentation — including the BER assessment — has been submitted. Your quotation from us shows the full price and the grant separately, so there is no ambiguity about what you pay and what comes back.
Explore
Other things we do
Most systems we install combine more than one of these. We design them together rather than bolting them on afterwards.
Farm Solar
Sheds, parlours and pumps run on daytime power — exactly when solar produces. Supported by TAMS 3.
Learn more
Solar PPA
Zero upfront cost. We fund, install, own and maintain the system — you buy the power it produces.
Learn more
Battery Storage
Keep the electricity you generate instead of exporting it, and hold power in reserve for outages.
Learn more
Solar Maintenance & Support
Inspections, monitoring and repairs that keep an array earning across its warranted life.
Learn more
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Let's look at your roof and your load profile
Send us a recent electricity bill and we will come back with an assessment of what your building could support and what it would realistically displace.