Read before you decide
Energy guides & resources.
Practical reading for commercial energy decisions. Explore our garden-centre guides, consider CHP and wind where appropriate, or discuss the questions that matter to your site.
Garden-centre energy
Four decisions to explore.
Our guides explain the information, assumptions and checks that help garden-centre owners and managers compare their options.
How can a garden centre reduce its energy bills?
A practical starting point for garden-centre energy costs: bills, meter data, controls, equipment, solar and a fair way to measure results.
Read the guide Practical guide · 5 min readAre solar panels suitable for a garden centre?
What to check before specifying garden-centre solar: electricity demand, roof condition, seasonal use, permissions, leases and the grid connection.
Read the guide Practical guide · 5 min readShould a garden centre buy solar or use a PPA?
Compare buying solar with an onsite power purchase agreement: ownership, ongoing payments, maintenance, roof rights and end-of-term obligations.
Read the guide Practical guide · 5 min readDoes a garden centre need battery storage?
Assess garden-centre batteries against a clear purpose: solar use, tariffs, demand, backup requirements, losses, costs and operating responsibilities.
Read the guideEngineering before selection
Start with the whole site.
Bring operating demand, buildings, equipment and commercial priorities into the same discussion.
Combined heat and power
Match heat and power to the operation.
CHP produces electricity and useful heat from the same process. Suitability depends on matching heat and electricity demand to the system’s operation, alongside fuel costs, maintenance and the commercial case. It needs assessment against the way your site actually works.
Our earlier article, “Expanded Interest in CHP”, published on , has been retired. The government resources above provide a starting point for current enquiries.
Wind generation
Assess the wind resource and the site together.
Wind generation needs a suitable wind resource and location. Available land, neighbouring uses, planning requirements and grid connection must be assessed alongside demand and the project’s commercial case.
Your site. Your priorities.
Bring your questions to the conversation.
Tell us about your business, site and energy priorities to request an Energy Opportunity Review.
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