Solar Basics: Solar Parking Canopy

A solar parking canopy, sometimes called a solar carport, not only can protect your employees’ and customers’ vehicles from the elements but also generate emissions-free energy that increases your sustainability and saves you money on your energy bills. Read on to learn how solar parking canopies benefit your business.

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What Is a Solar Parking Canopy?

In addition to acting as a roof over a car, a solar parking canopy also produces energy thanks to photovoltaic solar panels that are integrated directly into its structure. Canopies come in various dimensions and configurations. Different types include single-column (one support column every other parking spot), two-column (two support columns every other parking spot), and Louvered (a shuttered panel style). Resembling garages with open sides, commercial canopy projects can accommodate many rows of vehicles within a solar parking lot.

Advantages of a Solar Parking Canopy

Energy Savings

Solar parking canopies are dual-purpose; they safeguard cars from bad weather and also provide power and renewable energy savings for your business. The electricity generated during the day can be used to run your facility’s machinery, technology, and environmental systems. In states with net metering programs, any excess energy produced but not used on site can also be sent to the grid for credit on the customer’s electricity bill . Similar to ground-mounted or rooftop solar, the panels on a solar canopy can be positioned to achieve an ideal angle with the sun to ensure maximum energy production.

Space Efficiency

Where a solar carport differs from ground-mounted solar panels and rooftop solar arrays, however, is that it works with the parking space you already have as opposed to needing more property (or roof space) to be installed. This is especially advantageous to businesses in urban areas where real estate is at a premium, but large-scale parking areas are already present, as it eliminates the time and cost spent on trying to accommodate equipment. While solar parking canopies are capable of functioning on their own, they can also make a substantial addition to an existing solar energy system or can even be combined with electric vehicle chargers too.

Employee Benefits

A solar parking canopy also offers a unique employee perk of keeping the temperature down in their vehicles through covered parking, leading them to use less air conditioning during the summer months. This helps maintain fuel efficiency and saves them money on gas. Solar carport systems can also protect cars from damage caused by sunlight and other types of weather that can cause wear and tear.

(Related: EV Charging Solutions for Parking Facilities)

Environment and PR Benefits

By installing a solar parking canopy, your business actively promotes clean energy, reducing your carbon footprint and helping you meet emission reduction goals. What’s more, a solar parking canopy is a highly visible way for a company to show its commitment to sustainability, which can improve its reputation in the eyes of employees and customers.

Types of Solar Parking Canopies

PowerFlex can help you choose the right solar parking canopy for your context or the right combination of solar parking canopy types for your unique business location.

T-canopy

A T-canopy refers to the shape of the carport, where a main mounting structure forms the middle part of the T, and the solar panel surface is mounted on it in a centered way. This allows T-canopy structures to effectively be added to existing parking lots, as well as to new projects, and it can be a very cost-effective solution when it fits your project site. 

Long-Span

A solar parking design that allows columns to be spaced further apart than a T-canopy or other designs, covering entire parking lots with more solar panels than might otherwise fit over an area. These structures are helpful if you need more distance between supports due to the maneuvering that cars, buses, or other vehicles need to be able to do on your property. PowerFlex uses this solution to help you keep maximum mobility within your existing or new parking area.

Garage Top

Garage Top solar parking canopies are designed specifically to be installed atop parking garages while continuing the needed mobility for cars navigating the parking deck. This type of solar canopy can generate power to power the garage's various needs, like lighting, and due to increased height, these panels often have less shade than panels mounted closer to the ground. 

Cost Factors of Solar Canopies

Every solar canopy project is going to have a unique price estimate since we customize our commercial solar panel proposals to the needs of the project. However, the main cost factors will involve the terrain where you want to install your solar parking canopies or carports, as well as other installation costs if any aspect of the project is harder or easier to access. If a solar canopy is routinely exposed to debris or weather, that may affect ongoing operations and maintenance costs for the solar canopies. 

Finally, the tax credits and incentives procured for the project will have a major impact on the final costs of a solar canopy project. Optimizing in each of these cost factor areas yields the best possible return on investment as your solar canopies effectively gather energy that can be used on-site, sold back on the grid, or used to generate revenue with renewable energy certificates, depending on whether these are offered in your state.

PowerFlex wants to help you find the right combination of cost-effective choices and total value for your project, which is why we customize and optimize solar panel parking canopy projects.

How to Install a Solar Parking Canopy in Your Parking Lot With PowerFlex

When you choose PowerFlex, you're choosing a partner for the entire solar parking canopy journey. You'll work together with our team from ideation through final management of your canopy's power output. Here's what the process typically looks like:

1. Get in touch with PowerFlex and discuss the site and scope you're interested in using for the project. 
2. While system design begins using your unique location, our incentive specialists will help you apply for any relevant credits, rebates, or other incentives, helping you optimize applications to fund your project and defray costs.
3. Once funding is solidified and the system design is ready, we'll proceed to installation, using our multi-talented team to install the solar canopies you've chosen as well as any other clean energy solutions you've incorporated, like energy storage, EV charging ports, and more. 
4. Finally, using PowerFlex X™, we'll help you optimize the output of the solar panels in your solar canopy, ensuring that your panels are operating efficiently and helping you generate the maximum return on your investment.

We're not a short-term partner; PowerFlex recognizes that you're on a clean energy journey, and your solar canopy project is likely part of a larger commitment to sustainability that we want to help you pursue. 

Partner With PowerGlex on Your Solar Parking Canopy Project

PowerFlex specializes in turnkey cleantech solutions, and can manage all aspects of your solar parking project from system design and development to installation and asset management. Contact us today for a free solar assessment, and to learn how carports can chop down your organization’s energy costs.