Kinlochard, The Trossachs
Solar, hydro and whole-home backup on one rural property
A ground-mounted solar array integrated with existing hydro, Sigenergy battery storage, automatic backup and V2H-capable DC EV charging—designed and installed close to our Kinlochard base.
8.1 kWp
Ground-mounted solar
8.76 kWh
Battery storage
10 kW
Hybrid inverter
Ground-Mounted Solar, Hydro Integration & Whole-Home Backup in Kinlochard, The Trossachs
At Kinlochard in The Trossachs, where we are based, we built what is probably the most capable home-energy system we have installed.
The property was fitted with an 8.1 kWp solar PV system using 18 × 450W JA Solar panels on a Solarport ground-mount frame, running into a Sigenergy SigenStor 10kW hybrid inverter with 8.76 kWh of Sigenergy battery storage.
A Sigenergy HomeMax backup gateway keeps the property supplied when the grid goes down. The property's existing hydro generation was tied into the same inverter, so the house runs on a genuine solar and hydro hybrid rather than solar alone.
A Sigenergy DC EV charger with vehicle-to-home capability completes it, meaning a compatible electric vehicle can act as a further store of energy for the house rather than only drawing from it.
Real installation. Real photos.
These photos were taken during the actual Kinlochard build by our team — not stock imagery. Mud and all.
8.1 kWp
Ground-mounted solar PV
18 × 450W
JA Solar panels
8.76 kWh
Sigenergy battery storage
10 kW
Sigenergy SigenStor hybrid inverter
Solar, hydro, battery and backup on one system
Most home-energy systems have one source of generation. This one has two. The existing hydro was brought into the same Sigenergy inverter as the solar array, so the property is generating from water when the weather is against the panels and from the panels when it is not — which, in a Scottish glen, is a genuinely complementary pair.
The Sigenergy HomeMax backup gateway sits between the property and the incoming supply. When the grid drops, it isolates the house and keeps it running on stored and generated electricity instead of going dark.
The DC EV charger adds vehicle-to-home capability on top. With a compatible vehicle plugged in, the car's battery becomes another reserve the house can draw on — which in a rural spot that can lose power for a long stretch is a meaningful amount of extra headroom.
Estimated to generate around 6,556 kWh per year
Based on the system design and performance modelling, the 8.1 kWp array was estimated to generate approximately 6,556 kWh of electricity per year — before the hydro contribution. That works out higher per kWp than a typical roof system on the same latitude, which is the ground-mount argument in a nutshell: the frame gets set where the sun is, not where the roof happens to point.
Estimated performance will vary depending on weather, shading, household energy use and other site conditions.
When the roof is not the answer
Plenty of rural properties around Loch Lomond and The Trossachs have the wrong roof for solar — facing the wrong way, shaded by the hill or the trees, slated in something nobody wants drilled, or simply due for work that a new array would get in the way of.
A ground array removes all of that from the equation. The frame is set where the sun actually is, the roof stays untouched, and the panels end up at a height where cleaning and maintenance do not involve a ladder.
The trade-off is that it is a groundworks job as much as an electrical one. This one needed the site levelled, foundations set, a trench dug and the cable run back to the building — which is why the photos have a digger in them.
Built in our own glen
Kinlochard is where we are based, so this one was on the doorstep. It is also inside the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, and ground-mounted arrays are exactly the sort of installation the National Park Authority will want to look at rather than wave through as permitted development. That conversation happens before anyone orders any kit.
If the backup side is what interests you, our emergency backup power page goes through how a battery keeps a house live during an outage. You can also see more of our recent projects, including a bespoke ground-mount build near Blair Drummond.
Got land but the wrong roof?
We design and install ground-mounted and roof-mounted solar, battery storage, backup power and EV charging across Kinlochard, Aberfoyle and the wider Loch Lomond & The Trossachs area. Tell us what you are working with and we'll tell you honestly whether a ground array is the better option.
Local service page
Solar across Loch Lomond & The Trossachs
See how we approach roofs, outbuildings, ground-mounted arrays, National Park planning checks and rural grid connections across the area.
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