Commercial energy bills are expensive and always rising. Smart solar is a great way to reduce these costs and protect against future rate increases.

It’s also an excellent strategic investment for small to medium sized businesses. In fact, business owners often see a significant return on their investment with solar.

SMART Incentives

SMART is an incentive program that replaced SREC in Massachusetts and pays owners of new solar electric systems for the energy they produce and send to the grid. It provides a fixed rate compensation payment that is automatically paid to system owners each month for the life of their system. This makes SMART much simpler to manage than the previous SREC market, which was subject to a volatile pricing environment.

Whether you qualify for the best SMART rates depends on your date of smart commercial solar application and the specific location and size of your solar energy system. Incentives are based on decreasing "capacity blocks." As capacity blocks fill up the compensation rate will drop, so the earlier you apply the better.

Adding a battery (Tesla Powerwall) to your solar energy system will also increase the value of your SMART incentive payment. You will receive an additional payment from your utility provider each month based on the production of your battery's solar meter.

SMART Savings

A solar energy system reduces a building’s electricity bills by producing its own clean, renewable power. When this power exceeds the building’s electricity demand, the excess electricity is sent to the utility grid through a device called a net meter.

Once your solar energy system is connected to the grid, SMART rewards you with monthly monetary payments. These payments are made based on the amount of electricity your solar panels produce, and they’re in addition to any net metering credits earned on your electric bill.

These monetary rewards can help you reach your solar investment payback and beyond in less time than ever before. Thanks to significant reductions in PV systems components costs, it’s common for a commercial solar installation project to be cost-neutral or even positive cash flow from day one. That’s a pretty good deal for your business and our planet.

SMART Maintenance

As technology improves, a proactive plan will help minimize system downtime and maximize energy efficiency. This includes predictive maintenance, which allows manufacturers to automate self-healing and proactively initiate work orders to save repair-associated time and costs.

A large-scale qualitative study with 110 experts reveals new perspectives on maintenance from strategy, organization and economics. Based on the results, this paper develops the first empirically grounded definition of Smart Maintenance. It defines four underlying dimensions, analyzes the interrelationship between them and formally models the concept structure. It achieves concept clarity, thereby guiding scholars and practitioners within the field of industrial maintenance management.

The cost of implementing a Smart Maintenance model may seem high, but it can be justified if the investment pays off in different ways: for example, reducing production failures helping meet order timelines; or decreasing downtime leading to higher customer satisfaction or brand loyalty. Ultimately, Smart Maintenance provides differentiated value to your customers and the market.

SMART Sustainability

Sustainable operations can reduce physical and transitional risk while bolstering stakeholder confidence. Companies that set SMART sustainability goals and implement them with scientifically defensible methods can increase credibility with regulatory authorities, stakeholders, and customers. Choosing the right measurement methods, reporting formats, and success criteria for sustainability initiatives is critical to creating long-term business value and avoiding legal, financial, or reputational liability.

Using smart technologies like solar power can create a competitive advantage for companies by demonstrating a commitment to efficient practices, responsible cost controls, and sustainability. Having a measurable and attainable sustainability goal can help businesses gain customer support, strengthen relationships with suppliers and buyers, and generate employee pride in a forward-thinking company. In addition, implementing sustainable practices can improve the value of a business’s real estate assets and its reputation in the community. However, it can be challenging to prioritize and align sustainability goals with other strategic business objectives. The definitions of a smart city presented in this literature show that the integration of environmental as well as digital goals into urban governance is a complex process.