£32,000
Saved per year
41
CO2 saved per year
Tonnes
136 kWp
System capacity
The Challenge
APP Wholesale was founded in 1969 by Allan Pierce and supplies independent plumbing and heating merchants with specialist products from its base in Dagenham. It runs a second site on the Lichfield Road Industrial Estate in Tamworth, and between the two, warehousing, distribution and offices create a steady electricity load through the working day.
APP also had a reason beyond the bills. Through its acquisition of Ultimate Renewables Supplies, it has expanded into the heat pump sector, so it now sells low-carbon heating to merchants across the country. Cutting the cost and carbon of its own operations was the obvious place to start.
The Solution
Eden Sustainable designed and installed rooftop solar PV at both sites. APP Wholesale funded the work as a capital investment, so it owns both systems outright and keeps every pound of saving they produce.
Each site was designed around its own building rather than as a single package. At Dagenham, a 60 kWp array feeds a Solis 50kW inverter and is set up as an export-limited system. At Tamworth, 152 JA Solar 500W panels make up a 76 kWp array on a Solis 60kW inverter. Eden managed the grid connection applications with UK Power Networks for Dagenham and National Grid Electricity Distribution for Tamworth, along with all compliance sign-off.
The Outcome
Together, the two systems save APP Wholesale around £32,000 a year on electricity and avoid 41 tonnes of CO₂ annually. Dagenham accounts for £19,214 of the saving and 10.8 tonnes of CO₂. Tamworth saves £12,971 a year.
Because APP paid for both systems, none of that saving goes to a funder. For any business running more than one site, it shows how the case can be made roof by roof, with each building judged on its own numbers.