Solar PV Size
7.2 kWp
Recent Bespoke PV installation
7.2 kWp Solar & Battery Installation in Cowplain, Waterlooville
Completed May 2025
A carefully engineered solar and battery installation for a chalet-style property in Cowplain, designed around limited suitable roof space, structural requirements and the surprising performance of a north-facing array.
7.2 kWp Solar PV
EP11 battery Battery
16 x Trina 450W solar panels, Fox ESS 10kW inverter, Fox ESS EP11 battery, Fastensol flat roof trays
Cowplain, Waterlooville, Hampshire Installation
Installation Specification
Key details from this Bespoke PV installation.
Battery Storage
EP11 battery
Equipment
16 x Trina 450W solar panels, Fox ESS 10kW inverter, Fox ESS EP11 battery, Fastensol flat roof trays
Location
Cowplain, Waterlooville, Hampshire
Project Overview
This installation in Cowplain, Waterlooville was designed for a chalet-style property with limited suitable roof faces for solar PV.
Bespoke PV designed and installed a 7.2 kWp solar PV system paired with a Fox ESS 10kW inverter and an EP11 battery.
The roof layout presented an interesting design challenge. Due to the chalet-style construction of the property, there were no large conventional south-facing roof areas available for panels, so the system had to make the best possible use of the roof faces that were suitable.
The final design used 16 Trina 450W panels across three separate areas: five panels on the east-facing roof, four panels on the garage roof using Fastensol flat roof trays, and seven panels on the north-facing roof.
Although the north-facing array might appear less obvious on paper, it has become one of the most important parts of the system, with the majority of the generated energy actually coming from that section of the installation.
System at a Glance
Key details from the Cowplain solar and battery installation.
7.2 kWp
Solar PV system size
16
Trina 450W panels
10 kW
Fox ESS inverter
EP11
Initial battery storage
3
Separate roof areas used
Making the Most of a Difficult Roof Layout
This was not a property with a simple open roof ready for a standard south-facing array. The available roof geometry meant that every usable area had to be considered carefully.
Five panels were installed on the east-facing roof, four were installed on the garage roof using a flat roof tray system, and seven were installed on the north-facing roof. The design was led by what would work in practice for this specific property rather than by a standard template.
The customer has been very engaged with the system design and remains keen to explore whether any manufacturer may eventually offer triangular solar panels that could make use of some of the otherwise awkward roof geometry.
Solar Array Layout
The 16-panel system was distributed across the most suitable available roof areas.
East-facing roof
5 x Trina 450W panels installed on the east face of the property.
Garage flat roof
4 x Trina 450W panels installed using Fastensol flat roof trays.
North-facing roof
7 x Trina 450W panels installed on the north face of the property.
Combined system
Together, the three array areas provide 7.2 kWp of solar PV capacity.
The North-Facing Array Has Been the Standout Performer
North-facing panels are often dismissed too quickly, but this project is a strong example of why each property should be assessed on its own merits.
Despite the presence of east-facing and flat roof arrays, the majority of the energy generated by this installation actually comes from the seven-panel north-facing array. That makes it a key contributor to the performance of the whole system.
For homes with unusual roof layouts, this shows that worthwhile solar generation is still possible even where a classic south-facing installation is not available.
Structural Survey and Garage Roof Strengthening
All proposed roof areas were surveyed by a structural engineer before installation.
Because the panels were being installed across multiple roof areas, structural suitability was confirmed before the work went ahead.
The structural engineer identified that the garage roof would need strengthening before the panels could be installed. This was achieved by installing a new sistered joist from underneath, giving the garage roof the additional support required for the four-panel flat roof array.
This preparation allowed the garage roof to be used confidently as part of the overall design, rather than losing valuable panel capacity from the system.
Battery and Inverter Installation
The Fox ESS inverter was installed internally, while the EP11 battery was mounted externally on the garage wall.
The system was paired with a Fox ESS 10kW inverter and an EP11 battery. The inverter was positioned inside, while the battery was installed externally on the garage wall.
Because the garage was of single-skin construction, Bespoke PV used a fixing method designed to spread the load safely. The battery was bolted through the garage wall to Unistrut fixed on the inside face, helping distribute the weight rather than relying only on the single-skin wall construction.
This created a practical and robust battery mounting arrangement while keeping the system layout suitable for the available garage space.
What Bespoke PV Delivered
This project combined careful design, structural preparation and flexible installation methods.
7.2 kWp solar PV system
16 Trina 450W panels installed across east, north and flat roof areas.
Fox ESS battery storage
A Fox ESS EP11 battery paired with a 10kW inverter.
Flat roof solar solution
4 panels installed on the garage roof using Fastensol flat roof trays.
Structural strengthening works
Garage roof strengthened with a new sistered joist before installation.
External battery mounting solution
Battery fixed through a single-skin garage wall onto internal Unistrut to spread the load.
Performance-led design
A layout that proves non-standard roof orientations can still perform strongly.
Project Gallery
Images from the Cowplain solar and battery installation.
The Result
This Cowplain installation shows the value of careful, property-specific design. Rather than dismissing the site because it lacked conventional roof orientations, the final system was built around the surfaces that were genuinely available.
The result is a 7.2 kWp solar PV installation with battery storage, spread across east, north and flat roof areas and supported by structural preparation where required. Most notably, the north-facing array has proven to be the strongest generating element of the system, underlining the importance of real-world design over assumptions.
Together with the Fox ESS inverter and EP11 battery, the customer has a flexible energy system that makes good use of the property’s available roof space and provides meaningful solar generation and storage.
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