Energy Feasibility Study: What It Is and When Your Business Needs One
Most businesses know they should do something about energy. The hard part is knowing what. Solar? A battery? EV chargers for the fleet? A better power contract? A switchboard upgrade first? Each one comes with a salesperson who says theirs is the answer.
A feasibility study is how you find out which of these actually stacks up for your site, in what order, and whether any of them are worth doing at all, before you spend.
What is an energy feasibility study?
An energy feasibility study is a written assessment of your site's energy options, built on your real usage data. It models each option, alone and combined, then puts the costs, savings estimates, payback and risks side by side so you can make a decision.
A quote tells you what one system costs. A feasibility study tells you which system, if any, you should be getting quotes for.
When do you need one?
Not every site does. If you're a small business with a simple roof and a single meter, a well-designed quote built on your bills is usually enough.
A feasibility study makes sense when:
- The project is large - solar above about 100 kW, batteries, or several technologies together.
- Someone else has to approve it - a board, an owners corporation, a council committee or a bank needs a written case.
- The grid might limit you - your site has export limits, a tight connection or an older switchboard.
- You're planning to electrify - EV fleets, electric forklifts or swapping gas equipment for electric, which change how much power the site needs.
- You have more than one site - and need to know where to start.
- You're not sure where to start - which is the most common reason of all.
What's in a good feasibility study
1. Load analysis - your 15- or 30-minute interval data broken down by time of day, weekday versus weekend, season and peak demand. This is what everything else is built on. Monthly bills alone hide most of the detail that decides whether solar or a battery pays back.
2. Options modelled on your data - solar, batteries, EV charging and electrification, alone and in combination. A good study includes the "do nothing" and "just fix the contract" options too, because sometimes they win.
3. Site and grid checks - how much spare capacity your connection has, whether the network will limit exports, what the switchboard can take, and whether the roof is suitable.
4. Costs, savings and payback - indicative capital costs, yearly savings estimates, simple payback and cash flow over the life of the system, with the assumptions shown so you can test them.
5. Funding options - buying outright compared with finance and $0 upfront arrangements, and which eligible rebates may apply.
6. A clear recommendation - a plain-English summary of what to do, in what order, that you can take to a board, committee or bank.
Why the obvious answer isn't always the right one
AP Bakery's site only had around 128 A from the grid, well short of what the business needed to grow. The obvious fix was a transformer upgrade. Looking at the site's actual load showed a 96 kWh battery with a 110 kVA inverter could top up the grid supply instead, lifting usable capacity to around 290 A with no transformer upgrade. A power contract matched to the bakery's early-morning load then cut the bill, for estimated savings of around $35,000 a year.
That answer only shows up when someone models the options on real data instead of selling one product.
What you'll need to provide
- 12 months of electricity bills (and gas, if you're looking at electrifying).
- Interval data from your smart meter. Your retailer or network can provide it, or we can request it for you with a signed letter of authority.
- Site details - roof plans or access, photos of the main switchboard and meter, and any building or lease constraints.
- Your plans - growth, new equipment, fleet changes or a move in the next few years.
- Your hurdle - the payback or return your business needs before it will invest.
How long does it take?
Usually one to three weeks once we have your data, depending on the size of the site and whether a visit is needed. Council, strata and multi-site studies can take longer because of the extra stakeholders.
Feasibility study or quote?
| Quote | Feasibility study | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | One system, one option | Several options, compared |
| Data | Bills | Interval data, site and grid checks |
| Output | A price and estimate | A written report and recommendation |
| Best for | Straightforward sites | Large, complex or committee decisions |
Questions to ask whoever does your study
- Who pays you? If the person doing the study earns commission on one product, the study will tend to recommend that product.
- Is it built on interval data? If not, the savings figures are guesses.
- Are the assumptions shown? Power prices, export rates, degradation and costs should all be written down so you can check them.
- Does it include grid and switchboard checks? A system that can't be connected isn't an option.
- Can they deliver it? A study from someone who designs and project-manages installs is grounded in what jobs really cost.
Where we've done this
We've prepared feasibility studies for councils electrifying their fleets, logistics providers moving to electric vans and trucks, and strata and mixed-use buildings looking at solar and batteries. Every study is done by an engineer, and we're paid by you, not by retailers or manufacturers.
Next step
If you're not sure where to start, send us a bill. We'll tell you whether a feasibility study is worth it for your site, or whether a straight quote will do.
Get a free savings check, read more about our feasibility studies, or call us on 0433 679 324.
Director, Omni Energy Solutions. UNSW photovoltaic engineer, formerly Head of Service at Smart Commercial Solar and Head of Engineering Services at EVSE.
