Office: 01473 677293 [email protected] Mon–Fri 7:00–17:00 · Sat 9:00–14:00

Case study · School solar PV

Plume Academy, Maldon: solar on two school roofs.

Two roofs, two different builds: a ballasted array on a flat roof with inverters on the roof, and flush arrays on a metal roof wired down to inverter walls inside — set out, fixed, tested and handed over by our own team.

SitePlume Academy, Maldon

TypeSchool · commercial PV

Roof 1Flat roof · April 2026 · 32.4 kWp

Roof 2Metal roof · July 2026 · 30.9 kWp

Panels123 × 515 W all-black · 63.3 kWp

Completed flat roof array with the inverter stand and canopy on the Plume Academy roof

The challenge

A working school with two very different roofs — one flat membrane roof that could not be drilled, one profiled metal roof — and work to be done safely around the school day.

Our approach

A different build for each roof: ballasted frames and a roof-top inverter stand on the flat roof; rails clamped to the seams and inverters inside on the metal roof.

The result

Roof 1 handed over in April, roof 2 in July 2026 — neat arrays, labelled isolators and meters, and every string tested.

Rows of black solar panels on a flat school roof on a sunny day

Roof 1 · April 2026

Flat roof — ballasted frames, inverters on the roof

Set out on the membrane roof, ballasted frames laid without drilling a single hole, panels fitted row by row — and the inverters on a strut stand under a canopy, right on the roof. Every string tested before handover.

Lipame engineers setting out frames on the flat roof — 1 · Setting out

Frames laid out across the flat roof — 2 · Frames down

Strut stand for the inverters going up on the roof — 3 · Inverter stand

First rows of panels on the frames — 4 · Panels on

Inverter, isolators and canopy on the roof stand — 5 · Inverter under a canopy

Seaward PV tester showing string results — 6 · Every string tested

Large rectangular solar array on the metal school roof

Roof 2 · July 2026

Metal roof — flush arrays, inverters inside

On the second building the roof is profiled metal: rails clamped to the seams, cables run along the rails, a wide block and a long run beside the walkway — then wired down to inverter walls inside.

Rails and cable routes set out on the metal roof — Rails set out

DC cable ready to run along the rails — Cables along the rails

Finished array from another angle — Finished block

Long array beside the walkway — Long run by the walkway

Array at the end of the walkway — Along the walkway

Inside

Inverters, isolators and meters

Inverters fitted on unistrut frames with DC isolators, generation meter and AC isolator — level, labelled and easy to service.

Setting out the inverter wall with a laser level — Set out with a laser

Inverter with DC isolators and meter on strut frame — Inverter wall

Second inverter wall with isolators — Second inverter

Generation meter and AC connections — Meter & AC side

Watch

See how we work

Solar PV and battery installations across the UK — from roof to inverter to switch-on, by our own team.

Watch on YouTube →

Lipame installer on a roof — still from our solar video

Brightening Britain — Lipame Solar PV & battery installations

Contact

Solar for your school or business?

Send us your roof plan or electricity usage and we’ll size the system.

Office: 01473 677293 [email protected] Unit 19, Dales Road Business Centre, Dales Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 4JRGet directions → Mon–Fri 7:00–17:00 · Sat 9:00–14:00