Solar Panels and Battery, Cricklewood NW2

Solar panels and a battery on a new-build roof in Cricklewood

We installed solar panels on the flat roof of a new-build house in Cricklewood NW2, with a Fox ESS hybrid inverter and a Fox ESS CQ7 battery on the roof terrace. The panels stand on frames held down by weight, so the roof's waterproofing was never drilled, and the battery stands outdoors because its modules are rated for it. The panels run the house through the day, the battery keeps what the house is not using for the evening, and the inverter manages both from one box on the wall.

A new-build flat roof has a waterproof membrane under the pebbles and a warranty that assumes nobody drills through it. So the panels are on low-tilt aluminium frames that stand on the roof and are held down by ballast. There is no fixing through the membrane anywhere on this roof. Most home batteries go in a garage or a cupboard, and this house had neither to spare. The battery went on the roof terrace instead, on its own paving base, clear of the planted roof around it.

The hybrid inverter is on the wall directly above the battery, with the isolator beside it and the cables dropped in one enclosed run rather than clipped across the brickwork. The panels are on a different part of the roof from the terrace, and the battery sits tight against the wall line, so the rooflights stay clear and the terrace is still a usable outdoor space.

Solar panels →

The job in short

• Where: Cricklewood NW2, London Borough of Brent
• Property: New-build house with a flat roof and a roof terrace
• Installed: Solar panels, a Fox ESS hybrid inverter and a Fox ESS CQ7 battery
• Battery: LFP (lithium iron phosphate) modules, IP65 rated
• Holes in the roof: None. The frames are held down by weight
• Finished: September 2026

Photos from the job