Commercial / California
Solar for New Grocery Stores and Supermarkets
Grocery stores carry one of the highest PV capacity factors in the Energy Code because they carry one of the highest loads: refrigeration runs every hour of the year. The same refrigeration fills the roof with condensers and the electrical room with switchgear, so the array and the battery have to be planned around equipment the store cannot live without.
Eventure's Role
Eventure designs solar and storage for grocery developers, chains, and the general contractors who build their stores, coordinating with the refrigeration contractor from the first roof plan.
We bring solar into the project at schematic design, size the Energy Code requirement, coordinate the roof, structure, electrical rooms, and battery location with your architect and engineers, and carry the system through permitting, utility interconnection, inspection, commissioning, and closeout.
Title 24 treatment
Grocery is a listed occupancy under Section 140.10, requiring PV and battery storage on newly constructed buildings. The 2025 Energy Code increased the grocery PV capacity factor in all climate zones.
Design Considerations
What is different about grocery & supermarkets.
- Refrigeration on the roofCondensers, exhaust, and HVAC units occupy grocery roofs in large clusters. We coordinate placement with the mechanical and refrigeration engineers so service clearances and Solar Access Roof Area both survive.
- Higher capacity factorsThe 2025 code increased the grocery PV capacity factor in all climate zones. The required system is still capped by the roof-area method, but the roof-area number is usually the larger one on a single-story store.
- Storage and demand chargesGrocery demand is flat and high. A battery sized beyond the code minimum can shave peaks and support refrigeration through short outages.
- Parking canopiesLarge grocery parking lots are well suited to carports, which add capacity, shade, and EV charging that shoppers use.
Keep Solar Off the Critical Path
Don't let solar be the last thing standing between your project and its Certificate of Occupancy.
On grocery & supermarkets projects, as on every California building, the Energy Code requirement, the fire authority's review of the battery, the utility's interconnection timeline, and the building's final inspection all depend on the solar scope being designed, permitted, installed, and documented in sequence. We treat it as a scheduled trade from day one.
Solar and the Certificate of Occupancy
Questions
Grocery & Supermarkets solar, answered.
Why does the Energy Code require more solar on grocery stores?
The capacity factors in Table 140.10-A reflect each occupancy's energy use, and grocery stores use far more electricity per square foot than most retail because of continuous refrigeration. The required system is still limited by the available Solar Access Roof Area.
Can solar interfere with rooftop refrigeration equipment?
Not when it is planned. The array must respect service clearances and airflow around condensers, and the refrigeration contractor needs access. We lay out both on the same roof plan during design.
Related
More commercial building types.
Discuss Your Project
Planning grocery & supermarkets in California?
Send us the drawings at any stage. We will size the Title 24 requirement, review the roof and electrical approach, and map the path to a Certificate of Occupancy that does not wait on solar.