Rooftop solar on a busy business plaza with shops and a family clinic
SME solar

Cut generator costs. Protect trading hours.

Solar and battery systems engineered around your business load — reducing fuel and maintenance spend while keeping tills, fridges and computers running.

MBB Business
₦12.42m
Phase
Single & three phase
Business electricity expenditure

Where your energy money really goes.

Most SMEs underestimate their true cost of power because it is spread across fuel receipts, maintenance invoices, prepaid units and lost sales.

01

Fuel

Daily petrol or diesel purchases, often the single largest operating cost after rent and salaries.

02

Maintenance

Oil changes, filters, servicing and breakdown repairs — plus the cost of downtime while the generator is out.

03

Grid electricity

Prepaid units or postpaid bills that continue alongside generator spend.

04

Lost trading time

Closed tills, spoiled stock and idle staff whenever power fails and the generator is not running.

Generator and diesel costs

The generator is an expensive power station.

A small petrol generator commonly consumes around a litre of fuel per hour at moderate load; larger diesel sets consume several litres per hour. At current pump prices, every running hour is a direct operating cost — before servicing, repairs and replacement.

  • Example: 1.8 L/hr × 8 hrs × 26 days374 litres / month
  • At ₦950/litre petrol₦355,680 / month
  • Maintenance at ₦200 per running hour₦41,600 / month
  • Indicative annual cost₦4.77m / year

Worked example only. Use the calculator below with your own fuel use, hours and current prices.

Rooftop solar on a two-storey retail building with shops at street level
Generator vs solar calculator

Compare your current costs with solar.

Adjust fuel price, hours, maintenance and grid spend. The five-year view includes the system cost upfront and any battery replacement.

Calculator · Generator vs solar

Compare what you spend now with a solar system

Typical at average load; check your own usage.
Example value — update to today’s pump price.
Servicing, oil, filters and repairs, spread per hour run.
Share of today’s generator and grid spend the solar system is expected to replace.
Use the sizing calculator or a quotation; the default is an example only.
Adjust advanced assumptions
Preliminary comparison

Indicative — based entirely on the values you enter.

Annual generator cost—
Annual grid cost—
Annual potential savings—
Detailed results

Unlock your full breakdown and PDF assessment

Receive the detailed figures, a downloadable indicative assessment and a WhatsApp summary. An engineer can then review your inputs.

Assumptions and method
  • Annual generator cost = (litres/hour × fuel price + maintenance/hour) × hours/day × days/month × 12.
  • Solar operating cost = remaining generator & grid spend × (1 − solar contribution) + O&M.
  • Annual savings = current annual spend − solar operating cost. Payback = system cost ÷ annual savings.
  • Five-year view applies the annual cost increase to fuel and grid spend, includes the system cost upfront, and includes battery replacement only if it falls within five years.
  • Excludes financing costs, generator resale value and changes in your usage.
Configurations for SMEs

Systems built around business hours.

Business loads are concentrated in daylight hours — which is exactly when solar produces. That makes SMEs among the strongest cases for solar.

01

Daytime solar with storage

Sized to carry trading-hour loads on solar, with batteries covering outages and early evenings.

02

Generator fuel-saver hybrid

Solar and batteries run day-to-day; the generator starts automatically only when storage runs low.

03

Three-phase business systems

For premises with three-phase supply and larger motors, compressors or multiple AC units.

Wall-mounted hybrid inverter with battery module and distribution board
SMESingle phase

MBB Business

For shops, clinics, pharmacies, salons and offices that need dependable power through trading hours.

Inverter12 kVA
Solar8.8 kWp
Storage10.5 kWh

≈ 5.7 hours estimated battery backup at a 1,500 W average load (90% usable capacity, 90% efficiency, no solar input; heavier loads reduce backup time).

Supports, for example

  • Office lighting and fans
  • Computers, printers and POS
  • Display chillers and freezers
  • Inverter air conditioners
  • Network and CCTV
Two hybrid inverters with a lithium battery bank in a dedicated power room
CommercialThree phase

MBB Commercial

Three-phase hybrid system for offices, schools, hotels and healthcare facilities with critical loads.

Inverter20 kVA
Solar22 kWp
Storage20 kWh

≈ 5.4 hours estimated battery backup at a 3,000 W average load (90% usable capacity, 90% efficiency, no solar input; heavier loads reduce backup time).

Supports, for example

  • Multi-room air conditioning
  • Server room and networking
  • Kitchen and cold storage
  • Lifts, pumps and security
  • Medical and laboratory equipment
Use cases

Business-specific solutions.

Each sector has distinct critical loads. We design around the equipment that cannot stop.

Rooftop solar on a community clinic and pharmacy building
Rooftop solar on a two-storey retail building with shops at street level
Wall-mounted hybrid inverter with battery module and distribution board

Retail & supermarkets

Lighting, POS, chillers and freezers through trading hours.

Clinics & pharmacies

Vaccine fridges, diagnostic equipment and consultation rooms.

Offices & co-working

Computers, networking, ACs and lighting without generator noise.

Schools

Classrooms, ICT labs and administration with predictable daytime loads.

Hospitality & restaurants

Cold rooms, kitchen equipment and guest comfort.

Salons & services

Dryers, clippers, lighting and AC with staged high-draw loads.

Financing

Spread the investment across your cash flow.

A deposit-and-instalment plan can align repayments with the fuel savings the system delivers.

MBB FlexiPower: 40% deposit with the balance over 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Example repayments use an illustrative 18% annual reducing-balance rate.

Methodology

Installed with minimal disruption to your business

We schedule work around trading hours where possible, and plan changeover to keep critical loads running during installation.

MBB Energy engineers installing inverters, battery cabinets and solar modules
MBB Energy engineers commissioning a rooftop solar system at dusk
  1. 01

    Consultation

    We discuss your objectives, current power sources, outage pattern and budget, and review any preliminary calculator results.

    Output: Agreed scope
  2. 02

    Site assessment & load survey

    An engineer inspects the property, distribution board, earthing, roof or mounting area and records the loads to be supported.

    Output: Load schedule
  3. 03

    System design

    We size the inverter, PV array and storage, select protection devices and prepare a single-line diagram and layout.

    Output: Design & quotation
  4. 04

    Installation

    Mounting, PV, inverter, battery, cabling, isolation, surge protection and earthing are installed to the approved design.

    Output: Installed system
  5. 05

    Testing & commissioning

    We verify polarity, insulation, protection and settings, test changeover and charge behaviour, and configure monitoring where included.

    Output: Commissioning record
  6. 06

    Handover & support

    You receive an operating walkthrough, system documentation and warranty information, followed by agreed after-sales support.

    Output: Handover pack
FAQs

Common SME questions.

Can solar power air conditioners, pumps and heavy equipment?

Yes, when the system is designed for them. Inverter-type air conditioners are significantly more efficient than conventional units. Motors such as pumps and compressors draw a surge current at start-up, so the inverter must be sized for that surge. Very heavy loads such as electric cookers, water heaters and some industrial machines may be better served by the grid or generator, or by a larger engineered system.

How long does installation take?

Most residential systems are installed in one to three days after design approval and equipment delivery. SME systems commonly take several days, while commercial and industrial projects follow a project schedule agreed during design.

Business energy assessment

Book a business energy assessment.

We review your fuel records, bills and equipment, survey the premises and present a design with an indicative return on investment.

  • Energy spend review (fuel, maintenance, grid)
  • Load survey of critical equipment
  • Roof and electrical inspection
  • System design, quotation and payback estimate

Your SME adviser: Daniel Adeyemi

MBB Energy customer support specialist monitoring systems in the Lagos office
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