Spirit was founded by Erica Charles, a mathematician who returned to Oxford in her 30’s to complete a Masters on the maximisation of photon capture by solar panels. Anyway, the maths taught her that a well-designed and well-installed solar system will generate a considerably superior return on investment compared to one where insufficient attention has been applied to the design details.
That ethos continues today with Spirit’s commitment to recruiting the finest engineers and installers and providing them with the best in-house technical training that the industry can offer… regardless of the cost…
-Ian Charles, Financial Director
Before installation, the household's annual electricity cost sat around £4,200, calculated against current tariff rates. Left unchecked, and assuming the long-run UK average electricity inflation rate of 7.2% (based on 2000 to 2022 data), that bill was projected to climb to over £22,000 a year by year 25, with a cumulative spend north of £275,000 across the same period.
Beaconsfield Services on the M40 has 840 solar panels on its roof, forecast to save the business around £67,000 in the first year alone. That single roof illustrates why motorway service stations, among the most electricity-hungry buildings in the UK, are also among the best candidates for commercial solar. The reason comes down to how relentlessly these sites use power, and how much of that demand solar can offset directly.
