What we've found
Every building uses energy differently, and so do the answers. Here's what our free analysis turned up for three congregations. We've kept them anonymous, and every figure is an estimate from the congregation's own meter data and bills.
Congregations' meter data often finds solar that isn't delivering its full value and opportunities for backup power.
Case 1 · Stored sunshine
“Our solar goes to waste.”
Building
Small church, Bay Area
Energy
Rooftop solar, not yet grid-connected
Savings found
About half the electric bill
Backup found
About half a day of full coverage
Where it stands
Moving ahead with Rain Barrel
The challenge
The building uses most of its power early in the morning and in the evening. The panels produce at midday, when the building is quiet, so much of the surplus had nowhere to go.
What we found
- Timing is where the value is. The utility pays next to nothing for midday power in spring, and many times more on a summer evening.
- Connecting the panels and adding one battery to store the afternoon sun could roughly halve the building's electric bill.
- The battery also qualifies the church for a cheaper rate that's only open to buildings with storage.
What happened next
The congregation's leadership chose Rain Barrel's no-money-down option. We'll own and operate the battery, and the church shares in the savings from day one. We're finalizing installer proposals now.
Case 2 · Sunday peaks
“Our peaks are costing us.”
Building
Mid-sized congregation, Southern California
Energy
Solar, on a commercial demand-charge rate
Savings found
Thousands a year
Backup found
About a day of essentials
Where it stands
Analysis in progress
The challenge
Most of the bill is fixed fees and demand charges, not the power itself. A single busy 15 minutes each month sets a big share of the cost.
What we found
- In three out of four months, the peak came on a Sunday morning, always in the same two-hour window. Peaks that predictable are easy for a battery to trim.
- Trimming them lowers the bill by thousands a year. Keeping peaks low enough would also open a cheaper small-business rate with no demand charges.
- In an outage, the same battery could run essentials like fridges, lights and internet for about a day.
Where it stands
New activity since the summer has changed the building's profile, and we're working with the congregation to size the battery around it.
Case 3 · Planning ahead
“Our solar credits are about to change.”
Building
Large campus, Bay Area
Energy
Solar for nearly two decades, gas heat
Savings found
$10,000+ in credits otherwise lost, then thousands a year
Backup found
Hours for the whole campus; overnight for the basics
Where it stands
Plan in hand, first step underway
The challenge
The panels make more power than the campus uses, and under the church's utility structure the surplus is written off each year. That structure ends in a few years, and the congregation also wants to move off gas.
What we found
- The order of the work matters more than the budget. A heat pump installed now uses solar credit that is currently written off, worth over $10,000 before the agreement ends.
- A battery earns very little until the agreement ends, then thousands a year. Waiting costs nothing.
- More solar only pays once the buildings are fully electric, so it goes last.
The plan
Heat pump first, battery after the agreement ends, solar last. Once the campus is electric, the battery also keeps the cold-morning start-up under the rate limit and carries the building through outages.