Solar, battery and an EV charger in Welwyn Garden City

Higher-output panels to make the most of one good roof, and a long cable run to reach the far side of the house.

A Fox ESS hybrid inverter and battery installed on the side wall of a house in Welwyn Garden City

Quick facts

System size: 8.64 kWp
Panels: 16 × Aiko A540-MAH60Dw, 540 W
Mounting: On-roof, Fastensol FTH01 pantile rack
Inverter: Fox ESS KH7, 7 kW hybrid
Battery: Fox ESS EP12 Plus on the side wall — 11.52 kWh nominal, 10.4 kWh usable
Backup: No whole-home backup
EV charger: myenergi Zappi Glo, 7 kW
Roof: Concrete tiles, south-east at 35°, single face
Grid connection: G99, about two weeks
Installed: September 2026
MCS estimated generation: 7,868 kWh a year
Estimated savings: £1,539 a year
Estimated payback: 6 years

Estimated at quote stage based on the customer’s usage and tariff at the time. Actual savings vary.

Why they got in touch

A homeowner in Welwyn Garden City came through the solar calculator on the website. They run one hybrid car, charging it from a three-pin plug, and were expecting a second vehicle.

What we recommended and why

One roof face, south-east at 35°, and a household that would be charging cars. With only one usable face the way to get a worthwhile system is higher-output panels rather than more of them — so we specified 540 W Aiko panels, in the version carrying the 25-year product warranty.

Sixteen of those is 8.64 kWp from a single roof. Fox was chosen over Sigenergy here purely on cost-effectiveness; the house did not need what the more expensive platform adds. A Zappi went on so the cars charge from the solar rather than a three-pin plug.

The install

Two wrinkles. The original design had 18 panels, and whether the top four would physically fit could not be settled from the ground — on the roof it became clear they would not, so the array was finished at 16 rather than forced.

The inverter and battery also had to go on the far side of the house from the array, which meant a longer DC run than usual.

The result

8.64 kWp from one roof face, 11.52 kWh of storage and a 7 kW charger. The MCS certificate puts estimated generation at 7,868 kWh a year.

Photos from the job

Solar panels on a south-east facing roof with scaffolding still in place — Sixteen 540 W panels on the single south-east face. The top row was only confirmed once the team was on the roof.

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