47.08 kWp rooftop solar for a new-build care home in Clifton, York

The challenge

The care home was a new build, so the solar went on while the main build programme was still running, working for main contractor Carbon Synergy alongside the builder, Hobson & Porter. The roof is a flat membrane roof with a slight pitch, about 8 m up, and it had to carry the array without any structural strengthening. That meant keeping the loading below 32 kg/m².

The roof membrane also came with a warranty to protect, and parts of the roof are visible from the road, so the finished array had to look neat from street level.

Our solution

• A lighter ballasted system. The original design used a different ballasted mounting system, but the slight roof pitch and its weight ruled it out. We worked with Van der Valk on a ballasted design that keeps the roof loading low. To stay under 32 kg/m², we used ballast wings in place of the side deflectors and mass carriers.
• Protecting the roof warranty. Partway through the install, the roof warranty required a protective membrane pad under each of the system’s 250-plus rubber feet. We lifted the sections already in place, fitted the pads and re-ballasted them.
• A tidy finish from the road. Once every panel was on, we fitted side deflectors and integral ballast carriers along the visible edges so the ballast is hidden from view.
• The system. 88 JA Solar 535 W panels (47.08 kWp) feed a single Solis 40 kW three-phase inverter, with cabling run across the roof in cable tray.

The results

The installation was physically complete in March 2026, with testing and commissioning following once the new building had power. The care home now has a 47.08 kWp rooftop system, estimated to generate around 32,440 kWh a year (est.), on a roof that needed no strengthening and keeps its membrane warranty.

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