Powering Change
Installing since 2010 · 0118 951 4490 · info@spiritenergy.co.uk
A small UK care home (up to approximately 30 beds) spends between £14,400 and £27,600 per year on energy. Medium homes pay £31,200 to £71,400. Large nursing or dementia facilities can spend up to £156,000 per year. These figures include both electricity and gas, with electricity typically accounting for 55–70% of the total bill. Energy is one of the largest controllable costs in the care sector, and commercial electricity prices in the UK are currently 118% above the European median.
Yes, and by a material amount. Solar panels on a care home typically offset 30–50% of daytime electricity consumption. Spirit Energy's installation at Osbourne Court (B&M Care Homes) produced a year-one saving of £9,266 on a 52.65 kWp system. St Luke's Care Home, on a 132.9 kWp system, saved over £21,000 in year one. Care homes achieve stronger results than most commercial buildings because they run 24 hours a day, consuming far more of their own solar generation rather than exporting it at the lower export rate.
System size depends on roof area, roof orientation, and the home's consumption profile, but most care homes Spirit Energy surveys can support between 30 kWp and 150 kWp. Spirit Energy's completed care home installs range from 28.35 kWp at Wentworth Lodge to 132.9 kWp at St Luke's Care Home. A 50 kWp system requires approximately 250–300 square metres of usable south-facing roof space. Spirit Energy assesses every site before recommending a size, and will advise plainly if the roof does not support a financially viable installation.
Spirit Energy care home solar installations have achieved payback periods of 3–6 years. St Michael's Hospice paid back its 60.2 kWp system in 4 years with an IRR of 30%. Osbourne Court (B&M Care Homes) achieved payback in 5 years with an IRR of 24%. Wentworth Lodge paid back in 6–7 years with an IRR of 19%. After payback, the system continues to generate electricity for a further 20 or more years, with minimal maintenance costs.
Yes, through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Under a PPA, Spirit Energy's finance partner funds, owns, and installs the solar system on your building. Your care home buys the electricity generated at a rate 20–30% below your current grid tariff, producing an immediate saving with no capital outlay. Alternatively, hire purchase allows you to own the system at the end of a 3–7 year term, with monthly repayments typically offset by monthly energy savings. For a full comparison of all three funding routes, including direct capex, see our solar funding for care homes page.
A typical Spirit Energy care home installation takes one to two weeks from scaffolding to commissioning. Scaffolding is erected on external elevations only and does not affect occupied areas of the building. Internal electrical work is planned around occupied rooms and communal spaces, and Spirit Energy works outside regular hours where needed to avoid disruption to residents. We have completed installations at working hospices and fully occupied care homes, including across multiple sites in the B&M Care Homes portfolio, without requiring any resident moves or temporary room closures.
The Care Quality Commission does not score energy use directly, but solar supports compliance in two practical ways. First, care homes required to report on Scope 2 emissions (purchased electricity) under SECR or their own ESG frameworks can reduce those emissions materially through on-site generation. Second, providers tendering for NHS or local authority contracts in England increasingly face sustainability scoring criteria where demonstrable energy measures carry weight. Beyond formal compliance, care homes that can show measurable energy cost reduction and carbon reduction have a genuine differentiator in a competitive market for both commissioners and families.
Yes. Spirit Energy installs solar and battery storage for care homes across England. Our base is in the south, and our strongest concentration of completed care home installs is in the southern counties, but we routinely survey and install at sites further north. Solar irradiance does reduce moving north, but the difference in generation between a southern and northern English site is approximately 10–15%, not the material gap many people assume. Spirit Energy will model your specific location accurately as part of the free site survey.
Spirit Energy visits your care home, assesses the roof, reviews 12 months of energy bills, and produces a site-specific financial model showing projected savings, payback period, and IRR for your specific building and consumption profile. There is no cost and no obligation. From survey to a written proposal typically takes 7–10 working days. To arrange a survey, contact Spirit Energy directly via phone or request a quote with us online.
