Energy Transition at an Abuja Law Firm

A mid-sized law firm in Abuja provides professional legal services, operating in a multi-storey standalone building of approximately 650 square meters. The firm employs 42 staff members, including senior partners and administrative personnel, supporting a range of corporate and litigation work. Operating in a city with relatively high commercial electricity costs and the need for reliable power, the firm prioritizes cost efficiency, operational continuity, and long-term return on investment when planning infrastructure upgrades.

The firm employs 42 staff members, including senior partners and legal and administrative personnel, supporting a wide range of corporate and litigation services. With annual revenue of approximately ₦250 million (~USD 50,000), the firm places strong emphasis on cost efficiency, operational reliability, and long-term return on investment when making decisions about infrastructure and energy solutions.

Key Operational and Energy Challenges

1. High Electricity Expenses
   Before implementation, the law firm’s monthly electricity bill averaged approximately ₦461,000 (~$920), totaling roughly ₦5,535,000 (~$11,070) annually, which accounted for about 12–15% of operating costs. This estimate aligns with typical commercial electricity rates in Abuja, which are commonly around ₦225 per kWh for Band A customers with substantial grid supply.
2. Voltage Instability Affecting Equipment
   Sensitive office technology, including computers, servers, and printers, suffered from frequent voltage fluctuations. These instabilities increased maintenance costs due to more frequent equipment failures.
3. Occasional Power Outages Disturb Workflow
   Although grid supply in Abuja CBD is generally reliable, short outages occurred 1–2 times per week. These interruptions disrupted critical tasks such as file processing and trial preparation, affecting daily operations.

Product Core Advantages & Real-World Application

This project demonstrates how a properly designed, battery-free solar PV system can deliver both economic and operational benefits when matched precisely to local conditions and usage patterns, without unnecessary system complexity.

The system uses a PowMr 6000W battery-free solar inverter with dual MPPT inputs and dual AC output, enabling flexible PV configuration and intelligent load prioritization without battery storage.

This configuration is easy to install and cost-effective, making it suitable for systems that focus on daytime solar energy utilization.

Abuja Sunlight and Solar Production

Abuja benefits from strong and consistent solar irradiation, averaging 5 to 6 peak sun hours per day throughout most of the year. The system takes direct advantage of this condition by pairing 5.4kW of installed PV capacity with an inverter that supports up to 9kW of PV input, equivalent to 1.5 times PV oversizing.

This design improves energy yield by extending solar production into early morning and late afternoon hours, stabilizing output during cloud cover, and maintaining strong performance during the rainy season. Because office activity is concentrated between 8:00 and 18:00, solar generation aligns closely with actual energy demand, resulting in a self-consumption rate of approximately 89 percent.

Geography and Roof Installation

The law firm operates from a three-storey standalone building with a flat concrete roof, a structure well suited for distributed PV installation. The inverter’s dual MPPT architecture allows the PV array to be divided into two independent strings, enabling flexible string design and reducing mismatch losses caused by partial shading or different module orientations.

The wide MPPT voltage range from 60 to 450V provides strong operational flexibility, while the 500V open circuit limit offers an additional safety margin under varying solar conditions. This ensures stable and reliable system performance throughout different seasonal operating conditions.

Daily Work Energy Usage Patterns

The law firm’s daily energy consumption follows a predictable office schedule, with most critical activities occurring during daytime working hours. Office equipment is given priority within the system’s power supply.

The inverter’s main output primarily supplies commonly used office equipment, with the total load about half of the inverter’s rated capacity, ensuring uninterrupted operation of critical office functions such as document processing, networking, and internal communication.

The secondary output supplies non-critical loads such as water dispensers, printers and copiers (light duty), and the conference AV system. These loads are grid-first with solar supplement when available, and do not impact the priority circuits.

Surge power on this output mainly originates from the water dispensers and printers, which can generate a combined inrush of approximately 8,400–10,800W during startup. Additionally, the conference room has a single 1kW air conditioner connected to this output.

Other air conditioning units in the office are supplied directly from the grid to avoid high startup surge affecting the inverter. This ensures that the inverter operates safely within its continuous and surge limits while maintaining office comfort and reliability.

Battery-Free Operation

The system was intentionally designed to operate without battery storage, relying instead on strong daytime solar production and relatively stable grid availability. This approach significantly reduces upfront investment, cuts installation time, and eliminates long-term battery replacement and thermal management concerns.

Compared with traditional solar plus battery solutions, the battery-free configuration reduced initial system cost by more than 40 percent and shortened the payback period. For a professional office with predictable daytime energy demand, this design delivered the best balance between cost efficiency, reliability, and return on investment.

Results and Client Takeaways

After six months, electricity costs were reduced by ~50–55%, lowering the monthly bill from ~₦461,000 (~$920) to ~₦50,600 and achieving annual savings of ~₦4,927,500 (~$9,855). Critical office equipment remains protected from voltage fluctuations and brief outages, while non-critical loads operate safely on the secondary output. The battery-free solar solution delivered cost savings, reliability, and operational resilience with minimal complexity.

This case illustrates that a well-designed, battery-free hybrid solar system can deliver substantial financial savings and reliable power in commercial offices while keeping installation simple and cost-effective.