Recommendation For The Best Solar Panel For Campus Buildings

Factors Considered for Solar Panel Recommendation

Questions:

Recommend the best Solar Panel to Purchase for Implementation on the Campuses Buildings.

This report aims at providing the results obtained from the analysis of solar panels and therefore provide a recommendation of the best solar panel to be implemented in the campuses buildings. The report will narrow down to answering specific questions such as: the solar panel that would be the most recommended if the overall score was based on greenhouse gas reduction only, based on gross return only, and the most recommended if the greenhouse weight was changed during calculations.

This analysis is worthwhile because it helps in settling for the best of all solar panels not based on preference, but based on the logical factors which are highly significant. Through this analysis, the best, durable and most efficient solar panel will be obtained which will serve to the utmost, the purpose that it was meant to achieve. Besides, it is also worthwhile because it will provide the university with reasons why they are settling for a specific product, and not the other hence ruling out the act of bias in selecting the product to purchase.

This analysis will also ensure that future risks and losses that could have occurred if the analysis wasn’t done, are avoided. For instance, the University could purchase a solar panel based on the affordability in terms of cost, therefore preferring the less costly solar panel. However, after the purchase, there may be higher maintenance costs resulting from the low quality product initially purchased (O'Farrell, 2017). With the analysis and report in place, all the unnecessary risks and losses can be avoided.

This is very significant in today’s society because it takes into consideration the environmental status of the state. The research and analysis ensures that the recommended solar panel is environmental friendly hence lowering the dangers of environmental pollution by ensuring that the solar panel has a high rate of greenhouse gas reduction. Conducting the solar panel analysis is also relevant in today’s world in that it ensures that the management has invested in a product that they are sure of gaining a predictable amount of returns in the near future.

The management, subordinates, and people in the community indeed care about this. Before the management choses to provide their full support in a project, they need to be perfectly convinced that they are investing in something that is important. They need to be given a valid and backed up documentation explaining all the analysis and the return that the product will bring or the cost that it will save the company from.

Chart Showing Variation of Price and Gross Return Per Year

Calculations were conducted on the given data, an interpretation done and finally an analysis was conducted, leading to specific recommendations (Microsoft, 2017).

Below is a chart generated from the data provided. The chart shows the variation of price and the gross return per year:

Just as solar panels differ in variety, make, and design, so do they in their prices, performance and the amount of returns they bring in. This affirms that there are solar panels that are significantly better than others. The chart outlines how that is true. The different solar panels have different rates of gross return per year. The difference in the rates of return result from other factors considered to get the gross income. The factors include: output capacity, length, width, price, area, electricity generated, value of electricity generated, efficiency, and greenhouse gas reductions.

Given the scoring criteria based on the graph, I would recommend Mr Solar EKS and SolarLife AB200 because they have the highest gross incomes compared to the rest. They also have low prices which would make them affordable.  However, if the scoring criteria was changed, then the recommended solar panel will also be different.

Below is the calculated data based on the constant and the variables provided

For instance, if the overall score was calculated based on greenhouse gas reductions alone, the recommended solar panel would be Fusion Catcha. This is because it has the maximum rate of greenhouse gas reduction. This is essential as it will contribute to keeping the environment clean by reducing the greenhouse gases as opposed to the rest which have lower rates of greenhouse gas reduction. Using solar power energy replaces the electricity currently in use, which emits greenhouse gases. The solar panel with the highest greenhouse gas reduction rate will therefore be very significant and hence the most preferable one. It will help in reducing the carbon footprint and the amount of pollution missions released into the atmosphere at a faster rate (hudsonenergysolar, 2017).

Suppose the overall score was calculated on based on gross return (%) alone, the recommended solar panels would be Mr Solar EKS and SolarLife because they have the highest gross return percentages. Having the highest gross returns will be beneficial to the company. Although the gross return rates are not the final word when it comes to calculating the company’s profits, in this case, because there are no other expenses given, it would be wise to get along with the solar panel that will yield great gross returns. The returns will be beneficial to the University (Investopedia, 2017).

Recommendations Based on Scoring Criteria

If the greenhouse gas reductions were weighted twice as high as the other factors to calculate the overall score, the recommended solar panel would be Fusion Catcha. This is because it will have an overall score of 32% making it the highest compared to the rest. This means that it will be the best putting all factors into consideration including the greenhouse gas reduction. Having the greatest overall score proves the respective solar panel to be the most efficient, convenient and preferable. The spreadsheet below outlines the overall score based on the greenhouse gas reductions weighted twice as high as the other factors:

The recommended solar panel would be Fusion Catcha if the greenhouse gas reductions was weighted three times as high as the other factors. This is so because Fusion Catcha will still retain the highest overall score of 42% compared to the rest which have low percentages. This clearly shows that Fusion Catcha would be the one to implement. It will capture the greenhouse gases with practically no impact on the environment (Anon., 2017).  The excel sheet below show the overall score based on the greenhouse gas reductions weighted three time as high as the other factors:

The gross return of the best solar panel (Fusion Catcha), is realistic. It is realistic because the solar panel is very good, and highly efficient all round. There are other costs that have not been taken into account such as the installation cost, maintenance and repair cost throughout the year. In addition, it is realistic because the gross returns don’t reflect the overall profit that is acquired, instead, it only sums up everything and wraps it up. It will be worth mentioning that gross returns can be very misleading at times (Super life, 2017). 

The CQUniversity should definitely invest in this solar power because it is highly efficient and the amount of energy produced is also high. Using the solar power helps in reducing the electricity demand on the grid. The initial cost is the only thing that will be high but afterwards it will be a swift ride in maintaining the solar power.

The CQUniversity should establish partnerships with the companies providing the solar panels (Anon., 2017). This will help them reduce the costs of solar installations and make solar power more attractive. They should also create other projects that will act as a source of the funds for solar energy investment.

Benefits of Investing in Solar Power and Partnerships

The University should also try and find out the incentives being offered by the solar companies to their customers. For instance, the following types of solar power incentives exist: investment tax credit for solar, solar renewable energy certificates, state tax credits, cash rebates, and performance based incentives.  For the investment tax credit, the government provides a solar tax credit that allows the consumers to deduct a portion of their solar expenses from their taxes.

Cash rebates refers to instances where the University can receive cash from the state or any other organization that wants to promote solar energy (Anon., 2017). Rebates are available for a certain period of time and once the solar has been installed. They can help reduce the cost of solar implementation by 10 to 20 percent.

In addition, the University can sign up for the performance-based incentives when they identify one. The state or the solar panel manufacturing company pays the solar energy system owners a kilo watt per hour credit of the amount of electricity produced. By identifying and taking charge of such opportunities, the University will be able to reduce the cost of solar installation hence making it an interesting investments venture.

Conclusions

If a company needs to set a strong foundation in a new venture of investment, then they should do their homework impeccably. In line with the above statement, after analyzing the given data on the various solar panels, rest assured that the company can confidently place the Fusion Catcha solar panel in the campuses buildings. Based on the findings, the Fusion Catcha solar panel has the highest overall score, making it the best adoptable panel.

The overall score is a calculation based on the initially stated factors. It has the highest output capacity of 1600, a length and width of 1600 and 2900 respectively, generates electricity of 4088(KW/Year), $613.20 per year value of electricity, 34% efficiency, 3.47% (Ton/Year) greenhouse gas reductions, and a gross return per year of 12%. This would be the best solar panel to deploy in the campuses buildings. It is worth noting that sometimes cheap is expensive. Therefore, when choosing a product to invest in all factors need to be put into consideration alongside cost

References

Anon., 2017. Solar panel incentives, rebates & tax breaks. [Online]
Available at: https://www.energysage.com/solar/cost-benefit/solar-incentives-and-rebates/

Anon., 2017. Solar Power. [Online]
Available at: https://www.solarresourceguide.org/solar-environmental-benefits/

hudsonenergysolar, 2017. Benefits to the Environment. [Online]
Available at: https://hudsonenergysolar.com/benefitstotheenvironment.html

Investopedia, 2017. Gross Sales. [Online]
Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/grosssales.asp

Microsoft, 2017. Create a chart from start to finish. [Online]
Available at: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Create-a-chart-from-start-to-finish-0baf399e-dd61-4e18-8a73-b3fd5d5680c2

O'Farrell, R., 2017. Advertising & Marketing» Analysis» Advantages & Disadvantages of Cost Benefit Analysis. [Online]
Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-cost-benefit-analysis-10676.html

Super life, 2017. Gross returns can be very misleading. [Online]
Available at: https://superlife.co.nz/gross-returns-can-be-very-misleading-news