Industrial buildings span the largest commercial roof estate in the UK and the highest daytime electrical baseload. Process loads run 12-24 hours/day at high power factor. Self-consumption ratios of 85-95% are routine. This guide covers industrial solar across automotive Tier-1, food production, pharmaceutical, chemicals, electronics, plastics, ceramics, and metals operations.
Industrial building characteristics
Typical UK industrial building: 50,000-500,000 sqft single-span steel-portal structure with profiled steel or membrane roof. Modern post-2010 stock is PV-ready; pre-2000 stock often has asbestos cement requiring re-roof. Electrical infrastructure typically 800A or 1200A three-phase supplies suitable for 1-3 MW PV without major upgrade.
Process load profile drives economics
Continuous process operations (food production, pharma, plastics, electronics, chemicals): 90-95% self-consumption. Shift-pattern operations (automotive component, engineering): 80-90%. Daytime-only operations (light assembly, packaging): 70-80%. Power factor correction is sometimes needed where existing motors have poor PF.
Common questions about industrial buildings
What size solar system suits a typical UK factory?
Typical UK factory (50,000-200,000 sqft): 500 kW – 2 MW PV. Larger flagship plants (200,000-500,000 sqft): 1.5-4 MW. Sized to 100-130% of metered daytime baseload — process loads absorb essentially all generation.
Will solar work on an old factory roof?
Modern profiled steel: yes, ballasted or mechanical mounting. Older asbestos cement roofs: cannot be retrofitted; combined re-roof + PV is the right path. Listed buildings and conservation areas may require Listed Building Consent.