We’ve known about it for years, but for some reason people are still surprised when they see solar power panels. We’ve all heard relatives comment on a neighbors new solar cells. "Oh look at how green the Davidson’s are, they have solar panels on their roof, we could learn something from them." While it is a valiant effort at reducing green house gasses the most effective implementation of solar power is in commercial and retail installations, not single family residences. The more solar cells you have, the more energy you can save, and for that you need space. Companies with large physical spaces can benefit greatly from solar cells on their roof tops. If you have a large commercial structure for your business and you don’t have photovoltaic cells installed you are practically throwing away money. Don’t believe it? Well consider this: for every 6000 square feet of roof space, solar power cells can generate 50 Kilowatts of energy. That is why it makes the most sense for large commercial structures to invest in solar energy rather than letting their roof tops go to waste.

Financially solar power just makes sense. By installing photovoltaic cells on a commercial rooftop you are not as affected by the inflated costs of big energy due to logistics and overhead, expenses that you foot the bill for at the hands of big energy. Besides the financial motivation there are numerous other upsides to solar energy. There is the ethical gratification that comes with harnessing the raw awesome power of the son. It is truly a great feeling to know that your building is using minimal if any coal, oil or nuclear power to run.

There is another huge benefit to solar power: it is a great way to improve your company’s image. If your business has ever been called out for any type of polluting or environmentally irresponsible practices, switching to solar polar clearly communicates to the public that your company has turned over a new leaf. ‘Going green’ is one of the most popular buzz phrases in business right now. You can’t go into a work place without hearing someone talking about green energy, green offices, or best green practices. More often at not these attempts at being green are shallow and have little impact towards actually helping the environment. It’s a process called green-washing and today’s web-savvy and information hungry consumer can see right thought it.

If you want, you can undertake what will surely be a costly public relations campaign to get the press to report on your efforts of recycling paper and turning off the lights at night in hopes of improving your company’s environmental image. But if you want to take a direct and active role that consumers can’t ignore, install solar panels. Whenever consumers or clients look at your building they will be reassured that they are dealing with an environmentally sound and financially astute partner.

Solar power isn’t right for everyone. You need a lot of space and must be willing to allow for enough time to make a return on your investment, but if you have the resources it’s an opportunity to save money and improve your company’s environmental image like no other.