Care home solar case studies
Six representative installations across the UK social care estate — residential care, nursing, dementia, hospice, extra-care, and retirement village. System sizes, savings, payback, and the lessons we'd carry forward.
Note on case study composition. Several of the case studies below are illustrative composites — combining published industry data (notably published case studies from Spirit Energy installations at B&M Care, St Michael's Hospice, and Sue Ryder-style operators) with our own engagement profile. Specific identifying details are anonymised. This approach allows us to share concrete numbers and lessons without breaching commercial confidentiality.
1.1 MW Solar + Battery — Yorkshire Land-Based College, Blended Salix + PSDS + DEFRA Stack
- Vertical
- land based colleges
- Location
- Yorkshire, North of England
- System size
- 1,100 kW
- Annual saving
- £262,000
- Payback
- 4.6 years
95 kW Solar + 80 kWh Battery — Cardiff Sixth Form, Welsh Government Energy Service + Salix Cymru
- Vertical
- sixth form colleges
- Location
- Cardiff, Wales
- System size
- 95 kW
- Annual saving
- £22,500
- Payback
- 5.4 years
220 kW Solar + Air-Source Heat Pump Bundle — Bristol FE College, 100% PSDS Phase 4
- Vertical
- fe colleges
- Location
- Bristol, South West
- System size
- 220 kW
- Annual saving
- £56,000
- Payback
- 4.2 years
640 kW Multi-Campus Solar — London FE Group Corporation, GLA + Salix Stack
- Vertical
- fe colleges
- Location
- Greater London
- System size
- 640 kW
- Annual saving
- £158,000
- Payback
- 4.9 years
180 kW Sixth Form College Solar — Cambridge / East of England, Salix-Funded
- Vertical
- sixth form colleges
- Location
- Cambridge, East of England
- System size
- 180 kW
- Annual saving
- £39,000
- Payback
- 6 years
850 kW Programme Across a Yorkshire Land-Based College — Teaching, Dairy, Equestrian
- Vertical
- land based colleges
- Location
- Yorkshire
- System size
- 850 kW + 200 kWh battery + 8× EV chargers + tractor charging
- Annual saving
- £186,000
- Payback
- 5.4 years
1.6 MW Portfolio Programme Across an 8-Campus FE Group Corporation
- Vertical
- group colleges
- Location
- North West & Yorkshire
- System size
- 1,610 kW + 500 kWh battery across multiple sites
- Annual saving
- £305,000
- Payback
- 5.2 years
240 kW PV + Air-Source Heat Pump PSDS Phase 4 Bundle on a Yorkshire FE College
- Vertical
- fe colleges
- Location
- Yorkshire
- System size
- 240 kW PV + 180 kW air-source heat pump bundle
- Annual saving
- £71,000 combined (PV + heat pump operational savings vs gas)
- Payback
- Zero capex (PPA)
420 kW Multi-Site Solar Programme — East Midlands FE Group Corp
- Vertical
- fe colleges
- Location
- East Midlands
- System size
- 420 kW
- Annual saving
- £92,000
- Payback
- 5.8 years
180 kW + Battery Install — South Coast Sixth Form College
- Vertical
- sixth form colleges
- Location
- South Coast
- System size
- 180 kW + 80 kWh battery
- Annual saving
- £39,000
- Payback
- 6.2 years
140 kW Hybrid Install on a Grade II Listed Specialist Designated Institution
- Vertical
- specialist designated institutions
- Location
- South of England
- System size
- 140 kW + 100 kWh battery
- Annual saving
- £30,000
- Payback
- 6.8 years
75 kW + 100 kWh Battery — Manchester Adult Community Education Centre
- Vertical
- adult community education
- Location
- Manchester
- System size
- 75 kW + 100 kWh battery
- Annual saving
- £19,200
- Payback
- 7.5 years