Reading, Berkshire
A 9.5kWp slate-roof array in Reading, Berkshire
Twenty black 475W panels worked across an existing slate roof, with the FOX EVO equipment and all its protection kept out of the house in the garage.
- Solar PV
- 9.5 kWp — 20 x 475W black panels
- FOX EVO 5/10
- Garage inverter location
Photographs from the installation
Every photograph below is from this installation in Reading.
The finished array, set out around the chimney and worked to the edges of the usable slate. 
Rails and fixing points set out first. On slate this is the slow part of the job and the part that decides whether the roof stays watertight. 
The FOX EVO 5/10 in the garage — protected, accessible, and away from the living areas. 
Gateway and protection equipment installed alongside, including the 63A MCB. 
PV DC isolation, labelled, with the cabling routed and clipped rather than left loose.
The brief
The property had a decent run of slate roof and a garage that could take the electrical equipment. The aim was to use as much of the roof as was genuinely usable, keep the finished array discreet against the dark slate, and put nothing in the house that did not need to be there.
The roof and mounting
The mounting system went on first. Rails and fixing points were positioned across the slate before any panel was lifted, worked around the chimney stack and the roof edges.
Slate is less forgiving than tile. Each fixing has to be placed rather than approximated, which is why the mounting stage takes longer here than it would on concrete interlocking tile.
The array
Twenty 475W black panels were installed, giving 9.5 kWp of generation capacity. The all-black finish sits quietly against the dark slate — on a roof this colour, the alternative silver-framed module would have been the thing you noticed from the road.
The FOX energy system
The FOX EVO 5/10 was installed in the garage and workshop area, which gave a protected, dry location with easy access for anyone who needs to get to it later.
Gateway, isolation and protection equipment went in alongside it, with the cabling routed neatly through the garage rather than run at the shortest distance. The main supply sits under the stairs, and the connection was made with 4mm cable clipped direct over roughly 1.5 metres.
Electrical arrangement
The installation runs on a TT earthing arrangement with 63A MCB protection, and PV DC isolation equipment fitted and labelled at the equipment position.
The result
A 9.5 kWp array on a roof that looks much as it did before, with the working parts of the system consolidated in one place in the garage. The system was commissioned on 7 April 2026 and the certification completed as part of the installation.
We work across this area regularly. What we install in Reading.
Related services
- Solar panel installationSurvey, design, roof works, electrical works and commissioning for a domestic solar PV system.
- Solar and battery systemsPanels, hybrid inverter and storage designed as one system, on one scaffold, with one commissioning.
- System monitoring and optimisationGetting proper data out of a system, then changing its settings so it earns more from the same hardware.
The technology behind it
- All-black panelsFull-black modules: what the finish costs in output and money, and where it is worth paying for.
- Hybrid invertersA single unit managing array, battery and house demand, and when fitting one is worth the extra cost.
- Mounting systemsHooks, rails, clamps and fixings — the part of the installation that decides whether the roof stays watertight.
Property and roof guides
Further reading
- How many solar panels do I need?Sizing an array from consumption, roof area and orientation rather than from a round number of panels.
- Smart Export Guarantee explainedHow export payments work, which tariffs pay best, and what you need fitted to claim them.
- What is MCS certification?What the MCS scheme covers, why it applies to both products and installers, and what it means for your paperwork.
Where we work
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