Marrow Cross · 2026
The Old Forge farmhouse
A stone farmhouse with a long slate roof and a big oil bill. Two rows of panels and a 10 kWh battery now run most of the house from April to October.
- System size
- 7.4 kWp
- Generation
- 7,000 kWh a year
- Savings
- £1,180 in the first year
- Panels
- 18 × 410 W
- Battery
- 10 kWh
- Roof
- South slate, 35°
- Fitted in
- 2 days
The brief
A family of five, a farm office in the back room and an oil boiler they wanted to see the back of. They asked for the most their long south slope could give, without changing the look of an old farmhouse from the lane.
How we did it
Low and long
Two long rows set low on the slope, so the ridge line and the old chimneys still read from the lane.
Slates kept
Hooks fitted under the old slates; the three we cracked were replaced from our reclaimed stock.
Battery in the barn
The battery and inverter on the cool north wall of the barn, a short run from the house.
Ready for a heat pump
The consumer unit upgraded now, so a heat pump can follow without new wiring.
The Old Forge sits end-on to the lane, its long slate roof facing almost due south over the yard. The family had been quoted twice before, both times for panels to the ridge, both times turned down for the way it would look.
We set two rows low on the slope instead, and fitted the battery in the barn where it stays cool all year. From April to October the house now runs almost entirely on the roof, and the oil tank fills half as often as it did.
