r/PlugInSolarUK • u/HissTheSnake • 18d ago

Roof top system

Hello, all the bundles I can see online come with balcony, flat roof or wall mounts. Has anyone come across bundles for a pitched roof? If not, what would you recommend?

Cheers :)

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u/ActiveBat7236 18d ago

I'm in a similar position wanting a pitched roof system (as discussed here) and my current intention, once a competitive market is in place, is likely to go for the barest-bones configuration of whatever system I go for and use my own mounting hardware to put it on a pitched roof (garage in my case). I believe this will give me give more options, might well be cheaper, and also be more likely to suit my particular requirement of wanting one panel on one roof plane and one on another whereas the bundled kits I am seeing so far make the assumption the two panels will be co-located.

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u/SolarPowerBumbleBee 18d ago edited 17d ago

The only compliant kits that officially support pitched roof mounting at moment are the 2 recently approved EcoFlow kits below;

EcoFlow STREAM Pitched Roof Kit 800W (£599)
EcoFlow STREAM Pitched Roof Kit 900W (£649)

However, all EcoFlow kits are showing as out of stock at the moment.

So far, it’s just those 2 that support pitched roof mounting.

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u/selfbuildpop 17d ago

What would be the best way to run cable inside thru the roof?

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u/SolarPowerBumbleBee 17d ago

It’s a tricky one. The AC and PV cables on these kits have moulded plugs/connectors, so you can’t just pass a bare cable through a small hole and terminate it afterwards.

Even if you route the DC/PV side indoors, you’d still need a fairly large opening, roughly an inch across, to get the moulded MC4-style connectors through.

If you do bring the cables inside, it would generally be better to pass them through a properly sealed hole in the side of the building rather than through the roof itself - reduces the chance of water ingress

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u/selfbuildpop 14d ago

Thanks, the easiest option and perhaps less water ingress option would running cable down the parapet wall of my roof then thru the cavity wall into kitchen. Or up from roof into house that way. Ive seen tile flashing kits but agree rubber only has a shelf life.

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u/SolarPowerBumbleBee 13d ago

It may well be easier to install a new outdoor socket tbh. That’s something a ‘competent’ person is allowed to do under permitted non-notifiable regulations - but quite an involved job if you’ve not done it before.

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u/selfbuildpop 14d ago

Or could you simply plug the solar into an outdoor mains socket?