Build a business case
How do I get a financial output for a location?
Open the location and build the business case for the intervention. Each step starts already filled in with a sensible default value.
- 01LocationWhich location, and where it is
- 02Energy useAnnual total, or your interval data
- 03SolarSystem size and layout
- 04Battery storageSkipped for a solar-only case
- 05Financial assumptionsCosts, rates and project life
- 06Tax credits and incentivesWhat the location qualifies for
- 07Advanced settingsFiner control of the modelProfessional
- 08ResultsCost, NPV, payback and savings
You are not stuck with what we fill in. Adjusting it is the point. Change the size of the system and you change the size of the investment, the payback period, and the annual savings. We get you to a first answer. You refine it from there.
What will it suggest I do?
Today there are two interventions available: solar, or solar with battery storage. Whichever fits the location better is shown first.
More are on the way, and you can already see them named in the product: standalone storage, energy efficiency, and others.
What is interval data, and do I need it?
It is your meter readings every 15 minutes or every hour, instead of one total for the year.
You do not need it.
Without it, we estimate the location's energy use from its building type and size. With it, we build a real energy profile for that location: how much power it uses, and when.
That makes both sides of the case sharper, the solar as well as the battery. Solar lands on the middle of the day. A battery only earns its keep when there is a peak worth shaving. Neither of those is visible in a single annual total.
What does the result tell me?
The financial picture for that intervention at that location: what it costs to build, what it is worth in today's dollars, how long it takes to pay back, and what it saves you each year and over the life of the project. Alongside that, your expected generation and the carbon it avoids.
Net present value (NPV) is the shorthand for what the project is worth in today's dollars. Above zero means it earns more than it costs.
Payback is the year the running total crosses zero.
Alongside the numbers you will find charts for how the project is financed, generation by year, cash flow, and your electricity bill before and after. You can export the whole thing to take into a conversation.
Screenshot the results panel for a solar-plus-storage case, then add callout labels to: cost to build, NPV, payback period, annual saving, lifetime saving, expected generation, carbon avoided. The labels are the point; a bare screenshot does not teach anything. Use brand teal for the callout lines.
static/img/energy/results-annotated.pngMy installer quoted something different. Who is right?
You are answering two different questions, and the order matters.
| SpatiaFi | Your installer | |
|---|---|---|
| The question | Which locations are worth my time and capital? | What will this specific job cost? |
| How many locations | All of them, scored the same way | One |
| How precise | Consistent and independent | Real equipment, real site |
| What you do with it | Decide where to look | Sign it |
Build your own case first. Then talk to a vendor.
Can I change an intervention after I have built it?
Yes. Open it, change the numbers, run it again.
Every intervention keeps a record of what changed: the field, the old value, the new one, and when. So you can see how the case developed and explain it to someone who asks.
Save an intervention to come back to later, or push it straight into your pipeline once you are happy with it.
Where to go next
Ready to commit to something? Read Track your projects.