Case Study

444 Social Apartments – Chicago Metro

500 kW
System Size
$72,000/yr
Annual Savings
30%
Energy Offset
$1.8M
25-Year Savings

The Situation

A 444-unit luxury apartment complex in the Chicago metro was paying over $120,000 annually in common area electricity — parking structure lighting, amenity spaces, hallways, and building mechanicals. Property management was exploring operating cost reduction without affecting resident experience.

Our Approach

Solar One Illinois designed a 500 kW rooftop array sized to offset the entire common area electricity load over a typical year. The project was financed using the property's federal tax liability through the ESP model. Illinois Shines SREC enrollment added approximately $8,500 per year in additional income over a 15-year contract.

The Outcome

Annual electricity savings of $72,000 plus $8,500 in SREC income generate $80,500 in total annual benefit. The ESP payment of $56,000 per year produces $24,500 in net first-year benefit. The solar installation was featured in the property's marketing materials and sustainability report, supporting occupancy and premium positioning.

Client name changed for privacy. Results vary. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Questions About This Project

Can multifamily apartment buildings use commercial solar?
Yes. Multifamily properties install solar to offset common area electricity for lobbies, hallways, parking structures, amenities, and exterior lighting. The property LLC claims the ITC and depreciation, and electricity savings reduce operating costs, improving NOI and property value.
Does solar affect individual unit electricity bills?
Solar for common area loads doesn't directly affect submetered resident bills. Some operators deploy virtual net metering in states where available, which credits a share of solar production to individual resident bills. This is a separate program not available in all utility territories.
How does solar increase apartment property value?
A $72,000 annual NOI improvement, capitalized at a 5% multifamily cap rate, adds approximately $1.44 million to appraised value. This value addition often exceeds the effective system cost after incentives, making solar financially accretive for most qualifying multifamily properties.

Your Facility Could Achieve Similar Results.

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