Alectrona
Commercial solar financeA plain account of how VAT sits on a commercial solar system, and why the cost most VAT-registered businesses actually carry is the net figure, not the headline one.
These are representative example reviews, not yet-collected customer feedback. They are written to illustrate the kind of feedback Alectrona aims to earn and are shown as design placeholders while we gather and verify reviews from our first commercial clients. Alectrona is the commercial solar trading brand of RVTC LTD.
What set Alectrona apart was the documented design pack. We had quotes from three installers, but only Alectrona handed us a full set of drawings, a single-line diagram and a design referencing BS 7671 and the G99 connection process. The whole thing read like an engineering submission rather than a sales brochure. Our M&E consultant reviewed it and signed it off without a single query. That gave the board the confidence to release the capital.
Other firms priced our roof off a satellite image and a desktop guess. Alectrona flew an in-house drone survey, fully insured and flown by a qualified commercial drone pilot, and built a 3D model of the actual roof. It picked up plant, vents and a parapet line that a flat aerial photo had completely missed, which changed the panel layout. I would rather find that out at design stage than on the day the scaffold goes up. The accuracy of that survey is the reason I trusted everything that followed.
As a finance director I was wary of being oversold a system bigger than we could use. Alectrona modelled the array against our actual half-hourly consumption data rather than an annual total, so it is sized to what we genuinely draw on site during the day. They were honest that exporting surplus is worth far less than self-consumption, and built the design around that. The capital case stacked up because the engineering was honest, not because the numbers were inflated.
We were undecided between buying outright, leasing and a PPA. Alectrona laid out all three side by side with the pros and cons of each against our balance sheet, instead of pushing the one that pays them best. They were clear about where a PPA makes sense and where capex wins, and pointed us at our own accountant for the tax treatment. The survey and design took a little longer than I expected, but the thoroughness was worth the wait. Genuinely consultative.
The install crew were tidy and well run, and worked to a clear CDM 2015 plan with a proper site induction and RAMS. What impressed me most was the handover. We received a full commissioning pack with the IEC 62446-1 test results, certification, O&M documentation and an as-built record for our maintenance team. As the people who have to live with this asset for the next twenty years, having that paperwork in order matters enormously. Nothing was left loose.
I expected the usual hard sell and got the opposite. After surveying our site Alectrona told us one roof section was not worth covering because of shading, and that a smaller, well-sited array was the better investment than filling every square metre. There was no commission-driven upselling and no pressure. For a six-figure capital project, that straight talk is exactly what you want from the people advising you. We will be using them again on our second site.
VAT is not a funding route in its own right. It is the tax that sits on top of the price, and on a commercial system it is usually recoverable, so it changes the real cost of going capex rather than the decision to go capex. We set it out here because it is one of the questions a finance director rightly asks early, and because the answer for a commercial buyer is different from the one people have heard for homes.
The short version: the zero-rate that applies to solar on a domestic property does not apply to a commercial installation, so VAT is charged at the standard rate on a commercial system. For a VAT-registered business that input VAT is generally recoverable, subject to its own VAT position, which means the figure that matters to the business case is the net cost after recovery. Buying outright still keeps the most of the return; VAT simply affects the cash you lay out and the cash you reclaim, not the merit of owning the asset.
On a commercial solar installation, VAT is charged at the standard rate. The residential zero-rate for the installation of energy-saving materials is a domestic relief and does not extend to a commercial system over 50 kWp, so a commercial buyer should not expect a zero-rated invoice. Where your business is VAT-registered and the system serves taxable business activity, the VAT charged on the installation is input tax that is generally recoverable through your normal VAT return, subject to your own position, your partial-exemption status if any, and the use to which the electricity is put. The practical effect is that the cash cost of the asset is laid out up front and the VAT element comes back through the return, so the business ultimately carries the net cost rather than the gross.
One point worth stating plainly: Alectrona is VAT-registered, so VAT is charged at the standard rate on our work, and for a VAT-registered business that input VAT is generally recoverable through your normal VAT return, subject to your own position. The VAT on the equipment and any subcontracted labour in the supply chain runs through the same recovery. We do not reclaim or account for VAT on your behalf. Reverse-charge rules for construction services and your registration status are matters for your accountant, and the recoverable position should be confirmed before you commit rather than assumed from this page.
VAT recovery is not automatic and it is not universal. It turns on your registration status, whether the electricity feeds taxable business activity, and any partial-exemption position your business carries, so a business that is not VAT-registered, or is only partly taxable, may not recover all of it, or any of it. That is precisely why this belongs with your accountant rather than your installer: we can state how VAT applies, but only a qualified adviser can confirm what your specific business recovers and when. None of this changes the underlying recommendation. Capex remains the route that keeps the most of the return, because you own a 25-year asset and keep the saving; VAT and capital allowances govern the cost you carry to get there.
Treat VAT as a cash-flow and net-cost question, not a reason to choose one funding route over another. It sits alongside capital allowances as the tax detail that shapes the real outlay on a bought system, and it should be modelled into your numbers from your own figures, confirmed with your adviser, before any decision.
Indicative, not financial or tax advice. Confirm the position with a qualified accountant or tax adviser. Your figure comes from a survey-led PV*SOL model.
We model your half-hourly load against a system sized from an on-site drone survey, then set it against the funding route that suits you. Capex first, because it keeps the most of the return, with leasing and PPA there if the cash flow needs them.