How Much Electricity Does a Factory Need for Solar to Make Sense?

Check electricity use in kWh, not just the bill in RM

A minimum monthly bill would be a convenient screening rule, but ringgit expenditure does not tell the whole story. Tariff changes, billing days and demand charges can raise the amount paid without increasing the electricity the factory could replace with solar. Consumption in kilowatt-hours is the more useful starting quantity, reviewed alongside when that consumption occurs.

Compare bills covering normal production, quieter months and shutdowns. Ask the provider to identify energy consumption and demand charges separately. Using only the highest bill can overstate the electricity available to be replaced by solar throughout the year.

If the business has more than one account, keep the records separate. The electricity used by one operation should not automatically be counted as demand available to another installation. The application and metering arrangement must support the proposed allocation.

Measure demand during solar hours

Two factories using the same monthly quantity can have different solar opportunities because their machinery runs at different times. One may operate steadily from morning to late afternoon; another may draw heavily at shift start, pause for several hours and resume in the evening. The second pattern gives solar a different share of demand to serve, even if both businesses describe themselves as daytime operations.

Ask for a chart comparing factory demand and expected solar output at the same times of day. Use meter records that cover normal production days, quieter days and weekends so the chart does not depend on one busy weekday.

For the initial discussion, explain which equipment runs during daylight hours. Before finalising system size, ask how the provider has checked that information against meter records. A large monthly total does not show how much solar electricity you can use during a particular hour.

Understand the daytime base load

The quieter hours can tell you as much about suitable capacity as the busiest ones. Refrigeration, ventilation, pumps or equipment between batches may keep drawing electricity when production slows; this continuing demand is often called the base load. Understanding it helps estimate how much solar output the factory can regularly use before additional generation becomes surplus.

Check the lowest electricity demand during normal daylight hours, not just the peak. If solar output exceeds demand at those times, the system may export surplus electricity or limit generation, depending on the approved arrangement.

Do not assume every labelled appliance runs continuously at its rated power. The equipment nameplate is not a consumption record. Actual cycling, loading and operating practice affect what the site uses. Where the difference matters to system size, obtain better measurements.

Why weekends and shutdowns belong in the model

The same reasoning applies across the week. Panels can generate on a Sunday even if the factory is closed, so a system that fits weekday demand may produce surplus during quieter periods. Those hours need their own treatment in the forecast rather than being valued as though production continued unchanged.

Under an applicable export programme, some surplus may receive value subject to programme conditions. Under a non-export arrangement, generation may need to be limited when demand is low. Neither case should be modelled as if the factory consumed every unit directly.

Include public holidays, annual maintenance and regular low-order periods in the calculation. These are times when the factory may use less electricity while the panels continue generating. Leaving them out can overstate annual savings.

Use a simple demand-matching example

Consider a purely illustrative hour in which the system produces 100 kWh and the factory uses 80 kWh. Up to 80 kWh can serve that simultaneous load, with the remaining 20 kWh subject to the approved export or generation-control arrangement.

If the factory instead uses 140 kWh during that hour, it can use the 100 kWh of solar and still purchase the remaining electricity from the grid.

The example separates electricity generated from electricity used directly. Apply the same comparison across the recorded weekdays, weekends and shutdowns to estimate annual direct use. One midday reading cannot show what happens throughout the year.

Compare total savings as well as cost per kW

Demand determines how much solar the factory can use, but project cost determines whether serving that demand is worthwhile. Smaller installations may carry higher costs per kilowatt because applications, coordination and electrical work do not shrink in proportion to panel count. This explains why the assessment needs the actual price as well as electricity records, without making a larger system automatically the better purchase.

A smaller system can still be a good investment if the factory uses most of its output. A larger system may cost less per kilowatt but produce more surplus. Compare the extra savings from the larger option with its extra cost.

Ask for at least one alternative size when the recommendation is close to a demand constraint. The comparison should show the extra investment, extra generation and extra usable benefit of the larger option.

Account for efficiency improvements and expansion

The amount of electricity worth sizing for can change before installation. A new production line may increase daytime demand, while replacing inefficient equipment can reduce it. Both plans belong in the assessment because a system chosen for today’s machinery may not fit the operation you expect to have when it starts generating.

Tell the provider about both expansion and efficiency plans. Ask for savings based on current consumption first, with a separate calculation for approved future changes. If new machinery is not yet ordered or funded, make that uncertainty explicit.

Give any planned production increase an expected start date and shift schedule. Also tell the provider about equipment upgrades that could reduce demand. Moving a necessary task into daylight hours may help, but running equipment unnecessarily to use more solar electricity increases consumption without improving production.

What to ask Verdant Solar to calculate

There is therefore no reliable bill threshold to substitute for a project calculation. Verdant Solar’s commercial proposal includes financial projections for different consumption levels, which can show whether the recommended capacity still meets your investment requirements when daytime demand is lower. Those projections need to use your factory’s records, not another site’s results.

Ask Verdant Solar to list expected generation, electricity used directly, surplus and operating costs separately. Check the bills, shift hours and meter records used. Your factory’s result should not depend on the reported savings of another customer.

The recommendation should state how much electricity the system is expected to generate, how much your factory can use directly and what happens to the rest. Ask for these quantities alongside the savings estimate, not just a percentage reduction in the bill.

Check whether the data represents normal production

A recent surge in orders can make solar look attractive while leaving a question about how long that demand will last. Comparing the newer records with the longer production history helps separate confirmed growth from a temporary campaign. The distinction matters when equipment is being bought for years of operation rather than a few busy months.

Ask for one calculation based on current production and another for any confirmed expansion. If the project depends on higher demand, identify when that demand is expected to begin. Management should know whether savings still justify the investment if the additional shift or order does not continue.