80 kWp Assisted Living — 56-Unit Premium Scheme
- System size
- 80 kWp
- Annual saving
- £15,400
- Payback
- 5 years
- Location
- South East
Scenario
A 56-unit premium assisted living scheme in the South East, mid-market private-pay clientele aged 70–88. Independent-living apartments with concierge, restaurant, gym, wellness suite. Annual electricity bill £62,000 on the landlord-supplied communal supply. Operator: regional premium assisted-living group operating 8 schemes across South East + Home Counties.
This case study is an illustrative composite based on representative engagements with premium mid-market assisted living operators. Specific identifying details are anonymised.
What we delivered
- System size: 80 kWp (148 × 540W panels on south-facing pitched roof + flat-roof restaurant extension)
- Inverters: 2 × 40 kW string inverters in dedicated plant room
- Service-charge integration: Designed to pass 100% of savings to residents via reduced service charge from year 2
- G99 connection: 70 kW export-limited, 10 weeks approval
- Live generation display: Reception screen with weekly newsletter generation summary
- Commissioning date: March 2026
Results — year 1
| Metric | Year 1 |
|---|---|
| Generation | 76,000 kWh |
| Self-consumption | 58% (44,100 kWh) |
| Energy saving (import offset at 27p) | £11,900 |
| SEG export income (31,900 kWh at 8p) | £2,550 |
| Total year-1 saving | £14,450 |
| Service-charge premium uplift (year 2+) | +£940 (RICS valuation contribution) |
| CO₂ avoided | 17,500 kg |
| IRR (capital purchase + AIA) | 17% |
| Simple payback | 5 years |
Sales and marketing impact
Assisted living buyers — typically 70–88, often high-net-worth, increasingly environmentally engaged — are progressively selecting on visible values. The 2026 sales report (covering the year of installation and 9 months post-commissioning) showed:
- 14% uplift in unit sales velocity versus the prior year
- 22% increase in unprompted “sustainability commitment” mentions in prospect-meeting notes
- 2 of 6 prospect-survey responses in Q4 2026 cited “environmental commitment” as a primary or secondary reason for selection (vs zero in Q4 2025)
The operator now references the installation prominently in sales literature, on the website, and in investor presentations to their parent group.
Service-charge structure resolution
The 56-unit scheme operates a leasehold structure with annual service charges. Pre-install, the service-charge mechanism included a fixed electricity cost component. Post-install, the operator restructured to:
- Year 1: full saving retained by operator to recoup proportion of installer-funded survey + design costs
- Year 2+: 100% of savings passed to residents via reduced service charge component (£170/unit/year reduction)
Resident reception of the service-charge reduction was uniformly positive. Annual general meeting feedback specifically cited the transparent cost-pass-through as a marker of operator quality.
Commissioning and family-facing experience
Install completed during normal scheme operations over 12 working days. Restaurant and concierge services unaffected. One brief planned outage (3 hours, 10am–1pm) for DNO connection — scheduled around lunch service.
Family feedback (collected at the next quarterly resident-and-family event): zero complaints, multiple positive comments on the live generation display in reception. Three families specifically asked when the operator would install solar at their other group schemes.
Multi-scheme rollout planned
Following the success of this single-scheme install, the operator commenced planning a 5-scheme rollout across the remaining estate. Tranche 1: 3 schemes commissioned in 2027. Tranche 2: remaining 4 schemes 2028. Combined programme capex £450k; combined year-1 saving across all 8 schemes when complete: ~£110k.
Operator quote
“Premium assisted living buyers are increasingly making decisions on visible values. The 14% sales velocity uplift wasn’t what we’d modelled — we’d budgeted break-even — and it changed the wider group conversation about solar from a sustainability commitment into a sales-driver investment. The service-charge integration was the bit that took most thought. Their commercial team helped us structure the cost pass-through cleanly, which has paid off in family feedback. We’re now planning a 5-scheme rollout across the estate.”
— Group Property Director