Offices are among the best-matched loads for solar in India. Consumption runs Monday to Friday, roughly nine to six, which is almost exactly when a rooftop system generates. That alignment does most of the economic work before any other factor is considered.
What this segment needs
Because office load coincides with generation, a high share of solar output is consumed directly rather than exported. Direct consumption offsets the full retail tariff, whereas export is credited at a lower rate, so self-consumption is what drives office project returns. The main structural question is weekends, when the building is largely idle and output goes to export.
Engineering considerations
Commercial tariffs are usually higher than residential and often include a demand charge based on peak load. Solar reduces energy charges reliably; whether it reduces demand charges depends on how well generation coincides with your peak. Where the office runs a DG set or a large UPS, the interaction between solar, DG, and the changeover scheme needs to be designed rather than assumed.
Karnataka context
Commercial connections in Karnataka sit on different tariff slabs than residential, and the relevant number for evaluating a project is your effective per-unit cost including demand charges, not the headline rate. Many Bengaluru offices are leased rather than owned, which makes the lease term and the landlord's consent the first thing to resolve.
Common mistakes to avoid
Office projects usually fail on commercial rather than technical grounds:
- Starting work in a leased building without written landlord consent and a lease term that outlasts payback
- Modelling savings on the headline tariff rather than the effective rate including demand charges
- Assuming solar will reduce demand charges without checking when the peak actually occurs
- Overlooking how solar will interact with an existing DG set or UPS
- Ignoring that weekend generation is exported at a lower value than weekday self-consumption
What we recommend
Begin with the lease position and the landlord conversation if the building is not owned, because everything else depends on it. Then model against your effective per-unit cost rather than the headline tariff, and check your load curve to see whether the peak genuinely coincides with generation.
Common questions
- Is solar worth it if we lease our office?
- It can be, but the lease term needs to comfortably exceed the payback period and the landlord must consent in writing. Some landlords prefer to own the system themselves and pass through the benefit.
- What happens to generation at weekends?
- With the office closed, most output is exported and credited under net metering, usually at a lower value than avoided consumption. This is normal and factored into the model.
- Will solar reduce our demand charges?
- Only if generation coincides with your peak demand period. It reliably reduces energy charges; demand charge reduction has to be checked against your actual load curve.
- How does solar work alongside our DG set?
- They can coexist, but the changeover logic has to be designed deliberately. Uncontrolled interaction between solar inverters and a DG set can cause instability.
- Can we claim accelerated depreciation?
- Commercial installations are generally eligible under the prevailing rules, but the applicable rate and your specific position should be confirmed with your finance team.
Talk to our engineering team for a solar assessment.
We will review your consumption, roof, and site constraints before recommending any capacity.