132 kWp Solar on a 130-Bed Group Nursing Home
- System size
- 132.9 kWp
- Annual saving
- £21,000
- Payback
- 6 years
- Location
- North West
Scenario
A 130-bed nursing home with a 30-bed dementia unit, operated by a national care home group as part of a 23-site portfolio rollout programme. Annual electricity bill £108,000 (24/7 medical equipment, secure-unit lighting, commercial laundry). Large flat-roof footprint over central building. Group-level sustainability strategy required SECR Scope 2 reduction evidence for the upcoming annual Directors’ Report.
This case study is an illustrative composite derived from published industry data (notably B&M Care’s St Luke’s install) and our own engagement profile in similar settings. Specific identifying details are anonymised.
What we delivered
- System size: 132.9 kWp (245 × 545W panels on flat roof with ballasted mounting)
- Inverters: 4 × 25 kW + 1 × 33 kW three-phase string inverters
- Three-phase G99 application: 14 weeks via local DNO
- Battery storage: 60 kWh LFP for critical-load resilience (call systems, emergency lighting, medication fridges, dementia-unit door access)
- Group monitoring integration: Live data feed to the group’s central sustainability dashboard
- Commissioning date: February 2025
Results
| Metric | Year 1 |
|---|---|
| Generation | 124,000 kWh |
| Self-consumption (with battery) | 62% (76,800 kWh) |
| Energy saving (import offset at 27p) | £20,740 |
| SEG export income (47,200 kWh at 7p) | £3,300 |
| Total year-1 saving | £24,040 |
| CO₂ avoided | 28,500 kg |
| IRR | 20% |
| Simple payback | 6 years |
SECR Scope 2 reduction
The install reduced the home’s Scope 2 emissions by 28.5 tonnes CO₂e in its first full year — a 21% reduction against the home’s pre-install baseline. Across the group’s 23-site rollout programme (planned completion end-2026), expected total Scope 2 reduction is approximately 600 tCO₂e/year, equivalent to a 14% reduction in group-wide Scope 2 emissions.
The SECR documentation we provided was incorporated directly into the group’s annual Directors’ Report. The carbon intensity ratio (tCO₂e / £m revenue) improved year-on-year, contributing to a measurable improvement in the group’s GRESB infrastructure benchmark scoring.
CQC and ESG outcomes
The home retained its Outstanding rating at the next inspection (Q3 2025), with the inspector citing the live generation display and the group’s coordinated decarbonisation programme as Well-led evidence. The group’s institutional investors (private equity sponsors with two pension fund LPs in the cap stack) flagged the SECR improvement as a material ESG positive at the half-year reporting cycle.
Battery storage rationale
For this home — combining nursing care with a secure dementia unit — battery storage was specified for resilience as well as economics. The critical-load backup circuits cover:
- Nurse call and resident alarm systems (8 kW continuous)
- Dementia-unit door access controls (2 kW continuous)
- Emergency lighting beyond the 3-hour standard
- Medication refrigeration (4 fridges)
- One passenger lift (essential for evacuation)
- Fire alarm and emergency communications
Total critical load: 12 kW continuous, peak 22 kW. The 60 kWh LFP battery provides 5–8 hours of continuous critical-load operation during outage — comfortably bridging typical UK outage durations. LFP chemistry was non-negotiable for the vulnerable-occupant setting.
Group rollout
This was site 6 of 23 in the group’s coordinated rollout programme. We delivered the full programme over 14 months from first site to final commissioning, with standardised technical specification, volume panel/inverter procurement (typically 18% below single-site list pricing), and coordinated DNO applications across three distribution network operators.
Group Estates Director quote
“We needed someone who could plan a portfolio rollout without disrupting residents. They modelled each home from half-hourly data, sequenced the G99 applications, and delivered 23 sites in 14 months. The SECR Scope 2 reduction shows in our annual report; our institutional investors have flagged it positively. The standardised technical spec means our facilities teams don’t have a different system at every site to learn.”
— Group Estates Director