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Solar Laundromat Calculator

Enter your machine count and operating hours — get solar system size, ITC + MACRS incentives, annual savings, and payback period. Dryers dominate — see the heat pump comparison.

Laundromat details
machines
machines
hrs/day
$/kWh
sq ft
Solar system for your laundromat
36.0 kW system — 90 × 400W panels
Total peak load55.0 kW
Washers load5.0 kW
Dryers load (91% of total)50.0 kW
Annual electricity use196,735 kWh/yr
Annual electricity cost$25,576/yr
System needed (full offset)124.8 kW (312 panels)
Roof limits to90 panels (29% offset)
Gross system cost$100,800
30% ITC federal credit-$30,240
MACRS depreciation benefit-$21,168
Net cost after incentives$49,392
Annual energy savings$7,378/yr
Est. demand charge savings$1,555/yr
Total annual savings$8,933/yr
Simple payback5.5 yrs
Dryers dominate your bill (91% of load). Switching to heat pump dryers could save an additional $14,880/yr — often more than solar alone. Consider heat pump dryers first, then solar on the reduced load.
Demand charge note: Commercial laundromats often pay $10-20/kW/month in demand charges. Solar reduces peak demand and can add $1,555/yr in additional savings not reflected in your kWh rate.
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How to Use This Calculator

Enter your machine count and operating hours

Start with your exact washer and dryer counts. This matters because dryers are the real electricity driver — a single electric tumble dryer draws 4-5kW, roughly 10x more than a washer. A laundromat with 20 washers and 20 electric dryers has about 85% of its electric load coming from the dryers alone. If you have gas dryers, enable the gas toggle — gas dryers only use ~300W for the motor, which dramatically changes your solar calculation.

Check your roof area constraint

Commercial laundromats often have smaller roofs than the solar system their load requires. Enter your usable south-facing roof area — each 400W panel needs about 22 sq ft. If your roof can't fit enough panels for a full offset, the calculator shows what percentage you can realistically offset and adjusts the financials accordingly.

Review the full financial picture

Commercial solar has two major financial advantages residential doesn't: the 30% ITC (Investment Tax Credit) applies directly to your tax bill, and MACRS 5-year accelerated depreciation adds another ~21% in tax savings. Together, nearly half the system cost comes back in tax benefits, making commercial solar paybacks of 3-6 years common for high-consumption businesses like laundromats.

The Formula

Peak Load kW = (Washers × 0.5kW) + (Dryers × dryer kW) Daily kWh = Peak Load kW × Operating Hours × 0.70 duty cycle Annual kWh = Daily kWh × 365 System kW = Daily kWh ÷ Peak Sun Hours ÷ 0.80 efficiency Annual Savings = Annual kWh × Electricity Rate × Offset % Net Cost = System Cost × (1 − 0.30 ITC − 0.21 MACRS) Payback = Net Cost ÷ (Annual Savings + Demand Savings)

The 70% duty cycle accounts for machines not running continuously during operating hours — customers load, unload, and there's always some downtime between cycles. Demand charge savings are estimated at 30% of the system's peak output capacity, based on commercial rates of $10-20/kW/month — check your bill for the exact demand charge line item.

Example

Maria's Coin Laundry — Medium 40-machine laundromat in California

Maria runs a laundromat with 20 washers and 20 electric dryers in California, open 16 hours/day. She pays $0.15/kWh and has 4,000 sq ft of roof.

Machines20 washers + 20 electric dryers
Hours16 hrs/day
LocationCalifornia (5.6 PSH)
Rate$0.15/kWh

Result

Peak load110 kW (dryers = 91%)
Annual electricity~433,000 kWh/yr
Annual cost~$65,000/yr
System size~212 kW (530 panels)
Gross cost~$594,000
After ITC + MACRS~$298,000 net
Annual savings~$65,000 + demand charges
Payback~4.2 years

A full-offset system is too large for most laundromat roofs — Maria's 4,000 sq ft roof fits about 181 panels (72 kW), offsetting 34% of her electricity. That still saves $22,000/year after a $178,000 net investment — a 4-5 year payback with 20+ years of savings ahead. Carport solar over the parking lot could add another 100kW.

FAQ

Electric tumble dryers use a resistance heating element that draws 4,000-5,500 watts — roughly the same as 8-11 washing machines combined. In a typical laundromat, washers draw about 500W each while dryers draw 4,500-5,500W. With equal numbers of each machine, dryers account for 75-85% of total electricity consumption. This is why switching to heat pump dryers (which draw only 1,800W and achieve the same drying through a heat pump cycle) can reduce your electricity bill by 50-60% on the dryer portion — often more impactful than solar.
MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System) allows businesses to depreciate solar assets over 5 years instead of the normal 20-39 years. For a 5-year MACRS schedule, you can depreciate 20% + 32% + 19.2% + 11.52% + 11.52% + 5.76% of the adjusted basis. Since you must reduce the depreciable basis by 50% of the ITC, the net tax benefit is approximately 21% of system cost (at a 21% federal corporate tax rate). Combined with the 30% ITC, businesses typically recover 51% of system cost through tax benefits alone.
Demand charges are based on your peak power draw (in kW) during a billing period — typically your highest 15-minute average. Commercial utilities charge $10-20/kW/month for this peak demand. A laundromat with 110 kW peak load could pay $1,100-2,200/month in demand charges — $13,000-26,000/year. Solar reduces peak demand by producing power during your busiest daytime hours, but cannot eliminate demand charges entirely since laundromats also operate evenings. Battery storage paired with solar can more aggressively shave demand peaks.
Yes — this is often the correct order of operations. Heat pump dryers use 60-65% less electricity than electric resistance dryers. For a 20-dryer laundromat, switching saves approximately 65,000-80,000 kWh/year — worth $10,000-15,000/year at commercial rates. The machines cost $1,500-2,500 each ($30,000-50,000 for 20 dryers), with paybacks of 3-5 years. After switching to heat pump dryers, your solar system size drops significantly (lower load = fewer panels = lower cost), making both investments more efficient. Do load reduction first, then right-size your solar.
Rarely, with electric dryers. A typical 2,000 sq ft laundromat roof fits 90 panels (36kW), which produces about 57,000-76,000 kWh/year. A 20-washer/20-electric-dryer operation uses 400,000+ kWh/year — about 5-7x more than the roof can offset. Options to expand: (1) Solar carport over parking lot — often doubles available area. (2) Heat pump dryers reduce load to achievable offset range. (3) Community solar subscription for the remainder. Many laundromats opt for partial offset (30-50%) with the available roof area, which still produces an excellent ROI given high electricity consumption.

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