Hotel Solar Glossary
70+ UK hotel solar PV terms, acronyms, and standards explained. Updated for 2026.
A
- AIA — Annual Investment Allowance
- UK tax relief providing 100% first-year capital allowance on qualifying plant up to £1m per company per year. Solar PV qualifies as general-pool plant.
- AONB — Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- UK landscape designation with additional planning considerations for commercial development including solar PV. Examples: Cotswolds, Chilterns, Norfolk Coast.
- ASHP — Air-Source Heat Pump
- Heat pump extracting heat from outside air. Typical hotel COP 3.5-4.2. Lower capex than ground-source but lower COP performance.
- Article 4 Direction
- Local planning authority direction removing permitted development rights in conservation areas. May require planning notification for rooftop solar installations.
B
- BMS — Building Management System
- Centralised hotel building control system integrating HVAC, lighting, security, fire systems, and increasingly solar and battery storage monitoring.
- BREEAM — Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method
- UK environmental assessment framework for buildings. BREEAM In-Use rating typically required by major UK corporate-events buyers.
- BS EN 62619
- UK/EU safety standard for secondary lithium cells and batteries for industrial applications. Mandatory for UK commercial battery storage installations.
C
- CDP — Carbon Disclosure Project
- Global environmental disclosure platform. UK hotel groups participating typically aim for A-list or Leadership-band scoring.
- Conservation Area
- Designated area of special architectural or historic interest. Solar PV applications may require additional planning notification or Listed Building Consent.
- COP — Coefficient of Performance
- Heat pump efficiency ratio — kWh of heat output per kWh of electricity input. Modern ASHP 3.5-4.2; modern GSHP 4.5-5.5.
D
- DNO — Distribution Network Operator
- Regional electricity network operator responsible for grid connections. UK DNOs: UKPN, Northern Powergrid, SP Energy Networks, SSEN, Western Power Distribution, NIE Networks (NI).
E
- EPC — Energy Performance Certificate
- UK building energy efficiency rating A-G. Commercial-property MEES is proposed to tighten toward EPC B (now proposed for 2031; the earlier interim EPC C 2027 step was dropped).
F
- FYA — First Year Allowance
- 50% UK tax relief on special-rate pool capex above the £1m AIA cap. Permanent from April 2026.
- FHL — Furnished Holiday Letting
- UK tax classification for accommodation businesses. Affects after-tax solar PV economics for B&B operators.
G
- G99
- UK Engineering Recommendation G99 — DNO connection process for solar PV installations above the G98 limit of 16 A per phase (3.68 kW per phase). Typical timescales 6-18 weeks.
- GHG Protocol — Greenhouse Gas Protocol
- Global standard for corporate Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions accounting. SECR reporting aligns with GHG Protocol methodology.
- GSHP — Ground-Source Heat Pump
- Heat pump using boreholes or horizontal slinkies for heat extraction. Higher capex than ASHP but materially better COP (4.5-5.5).
H
- HACCP — Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
- Food safety management system. Hotel restaurant kitchens operate under HACCP-aligned protocols.
I
- IEC 61215
- International Electrotechnical Commission standard for crystalline silicon terrestrial photovoltaic modules. Required by Tier-1 brand engineering specifications.
- IEC 62619
- International standard for safety requirements for secondary lithium cells and batteries. UK commercial battery storage compliance.
- IETF — Industrial Energy Transformation Fund
- UK government funding for industrial-scale electrification. Limited applicability to large hotel groups.
- IWA — Insurance-Backed Warranty
- Third-party insurance covering installer workmanship warranty for the warranty period (typically 10 years).
L
- LBC — Listed Building Consent
- UK statutory consent required for alterations to listed buildings. Solar PV installations on heritage hotel properties typically require LBC.
- LFP — Lithium Iron Phosphate
- Battery chemistry with thermal runaway onset ~270°C — materially safer than NMC for guest-occupancy hotel applications. UK hotel battery storage should specify LFP only.
- LightStay
- Hilton group property sustainability scoring platform. Required API monitoring integration for Hilton brand engineering technical approval.
M
- MCS — Microgeneration Certification Scheme
- UK certification scheme for solar PV and other small-scale renewables. MCS commercial certification required for hotel installations on trading premises.
- MEES — Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards
- UK regulations setting minimum EPC ratings for rented commercial property. The interim EPC C 2027 step was dropped; EPC B is now proposed for 2031 (privately rented, over 1,000 m2, where cost effective).
- MyEnergy
- Marriott group energy management platform. API-accessible monitoring data required for group Scope 2 reporting.
N
- NICEIC — National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting
- UK electrical contractor certification body. Required certification for commercial solar PV electrical work.
- NMC — Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt
- Battery chemistry common in EVs. Higher thermal runaway risk than LFP — not appropriate for guest-occupancy hotel applications without substantial fire-suppression infrastructure.
- NPA — National Park Authority
- Statutory planning authority for designated National Parks. Required notification for solar installations within National Park boundaries.
O
- OZEV — Office for Zero Emission Vehicles
- UK government department administering EV charging infrastructure grants applicable to hotel guest charging deployment.
P
- Planet 21
- Accor group sustainability programme. Aligned with Solar Energy UK installer accreditation requirements.
- PPA — Power Purchase Agreement
- Contract under which third-party developer funds, installs, and operates solar PV on hotel roof. Hotel buys generated electricity at fixed tariff. Zero capex for hotel.
- PVSyst
- Industry-standard solar PV generation modelling software. Used for accurate year-1 generation forecasting from site-specific shading, orientation, and demand data.
R
- RECC — Renewable Energy Consumer Code
- UK consumer protection code for renewable energy installers. Membership demonstrates commitment to recognised consumer code protections.
S
- SBTi — Science Based Targets initiative
- Global framework for validating corporate emissions reduction targets aligned with the 1.5°C climate pathway. Hilton, IHG, Marriott, Accor all SBTi-validated.
- Scope 1 emissions
- Direct GHG emissions from owned or controlled sources — primarily gas combustion (boilers, ranges, pool heating) for hotels.
- Scope 2 emissions
- Indirect GHG emissions from purchased electricity. Reduced directly by on-site solar PV.
- SECR — Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting
- UK mandatory disclosure for large companies. Reports energy use, Scope 1+2 emissions, intensity ratios.
- SEG — Smart Export Guarantee
- UK regulatory framework requiring large energy suppliers to pay generators for exported electricity. Typical tariffs roughly 4-12p/kWh as at June 2026.
- SHDF — Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund
- Salix-administered grant programme for housing-association decarbonisation. Limited applicability to commercial hotels but relevant for housing-association-owned serviced apartments.
T
- TCFD — Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
- Global framework for climate-related financial risk disclosure. Mandatory for UK premium-listed companies since 2022.
- Tier-1 panel
- Bloomberg NEF Tier-1 manufacturer classification — bankable solar panel manufacturers with strong financial covenants. Required by major hotel brand engineering specifications.
- TrustMark
- UK government-endorsed quality scheme for tradespeople. TrustMark licence required for RECC-affiliated solar PV installers.
- Travel with Purpose
- Hilton group sustainability programme. 2030 SBTi-validated targets flow into property-level brand engineering specifications.
U
- UKPN — UK Power Networks
- DNO covering London, East England, and South East England.
- UPS — Uninterruptible Power Supply
- Battery-backed power supply for critical AV and IT infrastructure. Requires careful coordination with solar inverter sync settings on conference hotel installations.
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