50 kW Install on a 30-Room Devon Boutique Hotel

System size
50 kW
Annual saving
£11,200
Payback
5 years
Location
Devon

Modelled worked example — the figures below are built from sourced 2026 UK cost and generation benchmarks for a property of this profile, not a claimed client project.

The hotel

A 30-room family-owned boutique hotel in South Devon with a substantial wedding-business segment (45 weddings/year), full F&B, and in-house laundry. Non-listed Victorian conversion with later extensions. Annual electricity spend £63,000.

The brief

Reduce operating cost, deploy a lobby sustainability display for wedding-business marketing, and complete the install in time for the spring/summer wedding season opening.

The modelled system

50 kW rooftop array across the main building roof and a small subsidiary roof on the function-suite extension. Tier-1 LONGi 540W panels, Fronius inverter, lobby live-generation display. Capital purchase with AIA tax shield.

The numbers at year one

  • Annual generation: 47,000 kWh
  • Self-consumption: 89%
  • Year-1 saving: £11,200
  • Capex: £55,000 gross; £41,250 after AIA
  • Effective payback: 3.7 years
  • Wedding-business close rate up 11% in 6 months following lobby display deployment

Why hotel operators use this site

  • Independent specialist guidance
  • Sourced 2026 rates & grant data — last reviewed July 2026
  • Free matched quotes from MCS-certified installers
  • No installer agenda, no commission bias

Commercial Solar Across the UK

For commercial solar across every property type, our UK commercial solar hub.

Hospitality businesses sit within the broader commercial market — see commercial solar for UK businesses.

For hotel restaurants and F&B-led properties, our adjacent restaurant and hospitality solar specialists.

Explore PPA, lease, and asset finance for your hotel via commercial solar finance routes.

For deeper PPA contract structuring detail, see our zero-capex Power Purchase Agreement guidance.

For grants beyond AIA and 50% FYA, browse UK solar grants for businesses.

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