25 kW PV on a 9-Room Yorkshire Dales Boutique B&B

The hotel

A 9-room family-owned 4-star Gold boutique B&B in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, with a 40-cover destination restaurant, in-house laundry, and substantial year-round occupancy (88% annual average). Grade II listed Georgian conversion with later Victorian extension and unlisted stable block. Annual electricity spend £33,000.

The brief

Reduce the property’s largest controllable cost line, deploy a venue sustainability narrative for the wedding micro-segment (12-15 weddings/year), and navigate the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority planning notification.

What we delivered

25 kW rooftop array distributed across the unlisted stable-block roof (18 kW) and the unlisted Victorian extension (7 kW). Grade II main house untouched. Yorkshire Dales NPA notified at planning stage, conservation officer pre-application meeting secured at Richmondshire DC. MCS domestic certification (single combined meter). Capital purchase with AIA shield through the trading limited company.

The numbers at year one

• Annual generation: 23,000 kWh (104% of PVSyst forecast)
• Self-consumption: 85%
• Year-1 saving: £6,000
• Capex: £30,000; £22,500 after AIA shield
• Effective payback: 3.7 years
• Booking.com Travel Sustainable Level 2 status secured 4 months after commissioning

What the client said

“We’re a small business and capital is tight, so the AIA tax shield mattered. They modelled it correctly with our accountant. The Travel Sustainable badge on Booking.com lifted our occupancy two percentage points within four months.”