Solar Panel Brackets and Mounts: UK Roof, Wall and Ground Systems

Solar panel brackets hold panels to a roof, wall or frame and pass wind and snow loads into the structure. On UK pitched roofs that means roof hooks fixed to the rafters, aluminium rails and clamps, or in-roof trays that replace tiles. MCS installations must use mounting kits certified to MCS 012, whose certificate states a design wind uplift resistance to compare with the wind load calculated for your roof.

This guide covers mounting hardware for permanent home systems. For a single plug-in panel on a balcony, the hardware and the rules are different; see our guides to balcony solar mounting brackets and to mounting a plug-in panel on a balcony railing.

What a mounting system has to do

A mounting system is a load path. The wind pushes on the glass and, more importantly, sucks upwards at it; snow presses down; the panel’s own weight pulls it down the slope. Every one of those forces has to travel from the glass through the frame into the clamps, from the clamps into the rails, from the rails into the hooks or brackets, and from the hooks into rafters, purlins, a concrete deck or the ground. The weakest link sets the capacity of the whole chain.

Three other jobs sit alongside strength. The installation must not let water into the roof, it must not make the roof more likely to spread fire, and it must last as long as the panels, which means 25 to 30 years of rain, frost and thermal movement without corroding or working loose. MCS 012, the product standard for pitched-roof kits, tests exactly those three things: wind uplift, fire and weathertightness.

On a pitched roof in the UK the standard set-up has four parts:

• Roof hooks or brackets. Steel or aluminium hooks screwed to the rafters, with an arm that passes between tiles or slates and rises above the covering. On metal roofs, hanger bolts or seam clamps take their place.
• Rails. Aluminium extrusions, usually two per row of panels, bolted to the hooks with T-bolts. They span between hooks and carry the panels.
• Clamps. End clamps at the edge of each row and mid clamps between panels, sized to the frame depth (typically 30 to 35 mm on current panels).
• Fixings and accessories. Wood screws into the rafters, rail splices, end caps, cable clips and, often, bird mesh around the array.

In-roof systems replace the hooks and rails with trays or frames that sit on the battens in place of tiles, with flashings around the edges. Flat roofs use tilted frames held down by ballast or by fixings through the membrane, and ground arrays use frames on ballast boxes, ground screws or concrete.

Roof hooks for tiles and slate

Each roof covering needs its own hook, because the hook has to pass through the covering without lifting it or leaving a gap that lets rain in. UK wholesalers list separate hooks for each common covering.

Pantiles and interlocking concrete tiles. The most common case on post-war houses. The hook’s base plate sits on the rafter under the tile, and the arm runs through the joint between two tiles. Many hooks are height-adjustable so the arm clears the tile profile. K2’s SolidHook Vario 1 for pan tiles, for example, has a 150 by 60 by 5 mm base plate and a total height adjustable from 112 to 145 mm, and the wholesaler’s listing gives its material as stainless steel 1.4016.

Plain tiles. Small, flat clay or concrete tiles laid with a double lap. There is little room between them, so plain-tile hooks are thin and flat, and the tile above the hook is often notched or the hook is flashed. MIS 3002 requires tiles or slates to be notched or flashed where needed so that no gap opens up that is larger than before.

Slate. Natural slate is thin and brittle. Installers use either slate hooks, which slide up between slates and are screwed to a rafter, or replacement slate brackets, which take the place of one slate and carry their own flashing plate. Fastensol’s A-Slate is one example of the second type, listed at £14.70 before VAT. Removing slates without breaking neighbours takes time, so slate roofs cost more to fit.

Loads on the covering. The IET Code of Practice for Grid Connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems, which MIS 3002 makes the basis of every MCS installation, says roof brackets on slate or tiled roofs must not impose any load on the slates or tiles. MIS 3002 relaxes that only for brackets designed to spread their load evenly onto the covering without damage, and only if the bracket has passed the relevant MCS 012 test. In practice, a hook that bends under wind or snow and presses on the tile below is a common cause of cracked tiles and leaks.

Rails, clamps and panel orientation

Rails come in different profiles for different spans and loads. Renusol, for instance, offers two rail options for its VS+ system for medium and high loads. A stronger rail can span further between hooks, which means fewer hooks and fewer holes in the roof, but on most houses the rafter positions and the panel’s clamping zones fix the layout more than the rail does.

Panels are usually mounted in portrait (long side up the slope) on two horizontal rails. Landscape mounting needs either vertical rails or a cross-rail system with two layers, and hook makers sell separate landscape versions: Renusol and Fastensol both list portrait and landscape hooks for each tile type. The clamps must hold the panel inside the clamping zones given in the panel maker’s installation manual; outside those zones the panel’s rated mechanical load no longer applies. Our guide to solar panel sizes in the UK gives typical frame dimensions and the static load ratings that depend on correct clamping.

MIS 3002 adds a further rule for all mounting components: they must be specifically approved to work together unless the maker describes them as universally compatible with other makers’ parts. Mixing one maker’s hooks with another’s rails is not forbidden, but the installer then has to show the combination is compatible.

In-roof or on-roof

The choice between in-roof and on-roof mounting is mostly about appearance, cost and the roof’s condition.

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The fire point matters most. Under MCS 012, an above-roof system fitted only over a non-combustible covering needs no external fire test, while a roof-integrated system is tested as part of the roof under BS 476-3 or its European equivalent, and the rating must be declared. GSE’s In-Roof system, for example, is certified with a BROOF(t4) classification, the European class for roofs that resist external fire. MIS 3002 requires the installer to demonstrate that the roof’s fire performance has not been affected, either by mounting above a non-combustible covering or by using an in-roof kit with a fire rating appropriate to the array’s distance from the boundary.

In-roof trays also have a minimum roof pitch. The GSE certificate gives 15 degrees for its portrait version. Below that, water can back up under the flashings.

What MCS 012 actually tests

MCS 012 is the product certification standard for pitched roof installation kits. The full text we could find on the MCS website is issue 1.1 from 2013; current certificates cite issues 2.3, 2.4 and 3.0. We could read only issue 1.1 in full, so the detail below comes from that version and from the certificates, and later issues may have changed some test details.

Wind uplift. The kit is mounted on a test roof at 45 degrees (plus or minus 2), built to the maker’s minimum specification of battens, rafters and fixings, with adjacent tiles in place. Uplift is applied through cables or suction cups until failure, at least three times with new fixings each time. The characteristic resistance from those tests is then divided by a partial safety factor that depends on how the system failed:

• 1.1 for failure of a metal component;
• 1.25 for pull-out from a metal component such as a self-tapping screw;
• 1.44 for failure of, or pull-out from, timber;
• 1.0 where the limit is serviceability, meaning the system did not break but a roofing element lifted more than 75 mm or stayed displaced by more than 5 mm after the load was removed.

The certificate states the result as a maximum design wind uplift resistance, in pascals or kilopascals, for a stated test arrangement.

Fire. Roof-integrated kits are tested and their rating declared. Above-roof kits need no test if they are only used over a non-combustible covering.

Weathertightness. The kit must not reduce the weather performance of the roof. The standard includes a wind-driven rain test, and certificates record the covering, pitch and head-lap tested.

What the installer does with it. MCS 012’s guidance annex says the fixing method must be adequate to resist the design loads derived for the site from BS 6399 or the Eurocode, and gives guidance on the uplift resistance a given site requires. The declared value is therefore the figure to set against the wind load calculated for your roof; in issue 1.1 we did not find a clause that spells out that per-roof check in so many words, and later issues may be more explicit. MIS 3002, the installation standard, makes MCS 012 kits compulsory for pitched roofs (clause 5.5.2). Where no certified kit suits the roof, clause 5.5.5 allows a non-certified system only if the installer can evidence Building Regulations compliance, a structural assessment and wind loading calculation for that system, an updated fire risk assessment, weathertightness and component compatibility.

Wind and snow loads under the Eurocodes

The design wind load on your panels comes from BS EN 1991-1-4, the Eurocode for wind actions, applied with its UK National Annex, which supplies the British basic wind speeds and factors. Snow comes from BS EN 1991-1-3 and its UK National Annex. MCS 012’s guidance annex also accepts BS 6399-2, the older British standard, and points to BRE Digest 489, “Wind loads on roof-based photovoltaic systems”, for pressure coefficients on panels.

The calculation brings together:

• Location. The basic wind speed rises from the south-east of England towards the north and west, and is highest in exposed parts of Scotland.
• Altitude and terrain. Higher sites and open country or coast see stronger gusts than town centres.
• Building height and shape. Taller buildings catch faster wind; ridge, verge and eaves zones see higher suction than the middle of a roof slope.
• Position of the panels. Corner and edge zones carry the highest loads. MIS 3002 says panels should not be mounted within 400 mm of any edge of a domestic roof unless extra fixings (and, where needed, extra timbers) resist the higher uplift, ridge tiles stay secure, rainwater run-off is not affected, snow cannot slide off dangerously and wind noise is reduced.
• Partial factors. MCS 012 explains that design wind suction is the characteristic load multiplied by 1.5, reduced by a factor of 0.9 because panels may be treated as a lower consequence class than the building, giving a net 1.35. The panel’s own weight counts with a factor of 1.0 when it helps resist uplift.

For a quick upper bound, MCS 012’s annex suggests a 1-second gust of 58 m/s, with an annual probability of 0.02, as a sensible upper estimate covering buildings up to three storeys anywhere in the UK, provided hills and valleys are not significant. That converts to a dynamic pressure of about 2.06 kPa (0.5 × 1.226 kg/m³ × 58²) before any pressure coefficient is applied. Sites on hills, cliffs or escarpments need the full calculation.

Snow and the roof structure. MIS 3002 requires a competent person to check that the roof structure can take the loads, and gives two quick methods for trussed rafter roofs. Method 1 assumes a typical design dead load of 0.785 kN/m² and deducts the weight of the existing covering; what remains is available for the array. Method 2, not generally applicable above 60 degrees, assumes a design imposed load of 0.75 kN/m² and deducts the likely snow load for the location from Eurocode 1. Traditional cut roofs with hips or valleys, asymmetric roofs, roofs flatter than 30 degrees, roofs with signs of distress or alteration and roofs prone to snow build-up behind dormers or parapets need a structural engineer.

A current 21 kg panel of about 2 square metres weighs roughly 0.10 kN/m², and rails and hooks add a little more, so most sound modern roofs have the margin. The roofs that cause problems are the ones that have already been changed: concrete tiles laid where lighter slate once was, or rafters cut for a loft conversion.

Data-sheet values from certified mounting products

The table collects published figures from MCS certificates and maker or wholesaler pages. Certified wind values apply only to the arrangement tested; more hooks per panel, or different rafters, change the real capacity. It is a cross-section of products sold in the UK, not a recommendation.

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Two things stand out. First, component values for plain-tile and slate hooks are low per hook, which is why those roofs need more hooks per panel than a pantile roof. Second, in-roof kits can reach high uplift values because the whole tray and its many fixings share the load, but only within the tested configuration.

Worked example: checking wind uplift on a semi-detached roof

This is an illustration of the method, not a design. The wind loads below are assumed inputs of the kind an installer gets from BS EN 1991-1-4 calculations or the mounting maker’s software; your roof’s values will differ.

The roof. A two-storey semi in a suburban area, concrete pantiles at 35 degrees, ten 21 kg panels of 1,762 by 1,134 mm in portrait, about 2.0 m² each.

Assumed characteristic net uplift. 0.8 kPa on panels in the central zone of the slope and 1.3 kPa on panels within the edge zone.

Design load. Multiply by the 1.35 factor from MCS 012:

• central zone: 0.8 × 1.35 = 1.08 kPa;
• edge zone: 1.3 × 1.35 = 1.76 kPa.

Self-weight relief. The panel weighs about 0.10 kN/m² (21 kg × 9.81 ÷ 2.0 m² ÷ 1,000). At 35 degrees, the part acting against uplift is about 0.10 × cos 35° ≈ 0.08 kPa, with a factor of 1.0. Net design uplift: about 1.00 kPa in the centre and 1.68 kPa at the edges.

Comparison with certificates.

• The Fastensol pantile system, certified at 1,213.7 Pa with four hooks per two panels, covers the central zone (1.00 kPa) but not the edge zone (1.68 kPa). The installer would either keep panels out of the edge zone, as MIS 3002’s 400 mm rule already encourages, or add hooks and show by calculation or test that the denser layout copes.
• Renusol’s VarioSole+ with aluminium hooks, at 3,097.7 Pa for its tested arrangement, covers both zones.
• GSE In-Roof at 2.02 kPa covers both zones in this example; at a more exposed site where the edge load reached, say, 2.3 kPa after factoring, the doubled-clamp arrangement at 3.35 kPa would be needed.

Per hook. For the central zone with four hooks per panel, each hook carries about 1.00 kPa × 2.0 m² ÷ 4 = 0.50 kN, or 500 N. A slate hook rated at 534 N per hook would be at its limit; on a slate roof at this site the installer would plan five or six hooks per panel, or a stronger hook.

The point of the exercise: the certificate value is meaningless without the site load, and the site load changes across one roof. A quote that names the mounting kit but cannot show a wind calculation for your roof has skipped the step that gives the certificate its meaning.

Flat roofs: ballast or penetrating fixings

On a flat roof (under 10 degrees in MIS 3002), panels sit on tilted frames, typically at 10 to 15 degrees, facing south or in east-west pairs. Low tilts catch less wind and need less ballast, and east-west pairs fit more panels on the same area at the cost of some yield per panel. PVGIS puts a south-facing panel at 10 degrees in London at about 920 kWh per kWp a year, against 1,019 kWh at 35 degrees.

Ballasted systems rely on weight and friction. The frames sit on a protection layer and carry concrete blocks or slabs. MIS 3002 sets the rules:

• pressure coefficients must come from BRE Digest 489 or from wind test data commissioned for solar systems;
• a protection or slip layer compatible with the waterproofing must be used;
• the sliding calculation must use a friction coefficient of 0.3 unless the material combination has been tested;
• on gravel or green roofs, either a test value is used or the system is mechanically restrained, for example by a kerb or tether;
• a qualified structural engineer must confirm the roof can carry the system and its ballast.

Ballast is heavy, and the edge zones need the most, which lightweight roofs such as timber-joisted garage roofs may not be able to take. Products make the trade-off explicit: K2 says its Dome 6.10 can be purely ballasted only up to a 3 degree roof pitch, needs a mix of ballast and fixings from 3 to 5 degrees and must be anchored from 5 to 10 degrees. Esdec’s FlatFix Fusion allows roof slopes up to 7 degrees, with the supports glued to the roof above 3 degrees.

Mechanically fixed systems go through the waterproofing into the deck. MIS 3002 calls for a condition survey and pull-out tests when fixing into an existing solid deck, and pull-out tests to the Single Ply Roofing Association protocol where the value cannot be calculated reliably. Each penetration needs a proper flashing detail compatible with the membrane, and the roofer’s warranty may depend on who makes it; MIS 3002 requires the installer to consult the roof warranty provider and to get your explicit written agreement if a warranty may be invalidated.

Planning. In England, flat-roof panels on a house may stand up to 0.6 metres above the highest part of the roof without planning permission.

Metal roofs

Sheds, garages and some extensions have profiled metal sheet or standing seam roofs. Brackets screw directly into the sheet (short rails or “mini rails” for trapezoidal profiles), use hanger bolts through the sheet into purlins, or clamp onto standing seams without any hole. MIS 3002 requires the installer to check that the sheet is thick enough for the bracket and screws and can resist the extra uplift, and that the sheet’s own fixings to the roof structure can carry the added loads. Seam clamps avoid penetrations but must match the seam profile exactly.

Wall brackets

Wall-mounted panels are fixed to masonry with brackets that hold them vertical or tilted out from the wall. They suit south-facing gable walls, garden walls and outbuildings where the roof faces the wrong way or is shaded.

Yield. A vertical panel catches less sun in summer and more of the low winter sun. PVGIS gives a south-facing panel at 90 degrees in London about 743 kWh per kWp a year, 27 percent less than at 35 degrees, but 43 kWh in December against 36 kWh for the 35-degree panel. Tilting the panel out from the wall recovers part of the summer loss but increases wind load and projection.

Fixings. The wall must be sound, and anchors must suit the masonry: resin anchors in hollow or soft brick, expansion anchors only in solid, hard material. Render, insulation and cladding complicate the load path, because the bracket has to reach the structural wall behind them.

Planning in England. Since 27 August 2026, solar on the wall of a house is permitted development if it protrudes no more than 0.4 metres from the wall, or 0.2 metres where the wall abuts a highway. It is not permitted on a listed building or scheduled monument, on a wall fronting a highway in a conservation area, or, for plug-in solar specifically, on any wooden wall or timber-clad part of the house.

Ground frames

Ground-mounted arrays use aluminium or galvanised steel frames on ballast boxes, ground screws or concrete footings. They avoid the roof entirely and can be set at the best angle, which makes them popular for larger gardens, smallholdings and off-grid buildings.

The table of products above includes GSE’s ballasted ground mount, adjustable from 7 to 40 degrees. Off-grid and garden suppliers also list post-mounted kits: Wind & Sun listed a Solarport single-post kit for four portrait panels at £328.58 and a Schletter PV-MaxS galvanised steel kit for up to 22 modules at £3,044.64, both before VAT, on 4 November 2026.

In England a stand-alone array in the garden of a house is permitted development only if the panels total no more than 9 square metres, which is about four standard panels, and only one such array exists. Height limits are 1 metre within 5 metres of the boundary and in front of the principal elevation, 2 metres elsewhere within 5 metres of the boundary or nearer a highway in a conservation area, and 4 metres otherwise. Our guide to garden and ground-mounted solar panels covers foundations, cabling to the house and the rules in each nation in more detail.

Railing brackets for plug-in solar

Balcony railing brackets are a separate category. For a plug-in kit in Great Britain, the government’s Interim Product Specification requires the kit to come with its own mounting system, backed by a structural analysis for UK wind and snow loads, which rules out improvised fixings and generic brackets of unknown capacity. Bracket types, railing checks and fitting steps are in our guides to balcony solar mounting brackets and mounting a plug-in panel on a balcony railing.

Materials and corrosion

Aluminium is the default for rails, clamps and many hooks. It is light, does not rust and forms a protective oxide layer, but it is less stiff than steel, so rails and hooks are thicker for the same strength.

Stainless steel is used for screws, bolts, clamps and many hooks. Fixings are often marked A2 or A4. A2 corresponds to grade 304; A4 corresponds to grade 316, which adds 2 to 3 percent molybdenum and resists chloride pitting much better. UK distributors recommend grade 316 for external use in coastal locations. Not every stainless part is austenitic: the K2 hook in our table is listed as 1.4016, a ferritic grade.

Galvanised steel appears in heavier ground frames and some flat-roof components, such as the galvanised side plates and roof carriers in Van der Valk’s ValkPro+ range. Zinc protects the steel by corroding slowly in its place, so cut edges and drill holes need treatment.

Galvanic corrosion happens when two different metals touch in the presence of an electrolyte. The British Stainless Steel Association explains that aluminium is anodic to stainless steel, so the aluminium corrodes; stainless fasteners in aluminium sheets are normally considered safe, but aluminium bolts holding stainless parts are an unwise combination, because a large cathode area against a small anode accelerates attack. Salt-laden air is far more aggressive than rain, and if the metals stay dry there is no corrosion. Insulating washers break the circuit. In practice, use the maker’s matched fixings, do not mix copper or brass with aluminium, and choose A4 fixings within a few kilometres of the sea.

What brackets and mounts cost

Mounting parts are a small share of an installed system, but they are not trivial. The prices below are list prices before VAT and before trade discounts, shown publicly by a UK wholesaler on 4 November 2026. They are market observations, not prices you will pay through an installer.

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Example bill of materials. Ten portrait panels in one row on a pantile roof need two rails of about 11.5 metres, so seven 3.6 metre rails (£23.10 each), around 20 hooks (£9.21 each), four splices (£4.20), four end clamps and 18 mid clamps (£2.45 each), plus screws and end caps. That comes to roughly £420 to £450 before VAT, or £42 to £45 per panel. An in-roof set for the same array costs several times as much in parts, mostly in frames and flashings, though it saves the tiles it replaces on a new roof.

VAT. When an installer supplies and fits the system in a home, panels, mounts and labour are zero-rated until 31 March 2027, after which HMRC guidance says 5 % applies. Parts bought on their own carry 20 %.

How a mounting system is planned and fitted

What to check in a quote

• Mounting kit named, with its MCS 012 certificate. Without it you cannot see the declared wind resistance or whether it covers your roof covering and pitch.
• Wind calculation for your roof. The certificate value only means something against a site-specific load, and MIS 3002 demands a wind loading calculation outright whenever a non-certified system is used. Ask for the zone loads and how many hooks per panel result.
• Roof structure check. Who checked it and by which method; an engineer’s letter if the roof is cut, altered, shallow or heavy.
• Edge distances. Whether any panel sits within 400 mm of an edge, and what extra measures the design includes if so.
• Tile and slate repairs. Whether broken or notched tiles are replaced and who supplies matching tiles on an older roof.
• Fixings grade. A4 stainless near the coast; matched fixings from the kit maker elsewhere.
• Roof warranty. For new or recently re-roofed houses and flat roofs, confirmation that the roofer’s warranty survives the installation, as MIS 3002 requires the installer to check.
• Bird mesh and access. Whether bird mesh is included and whether the layout leaves access for cleaning and inspection.

Common mistakes and edge cases

• Hooks pressing on the tile below. Consequence: cracked tiles, leaks after a storm or heavy snow. Fix: correct hook height and position, packing on the rafter where needed, and a check of each hook before panels go on.
• Screws missing the rafter. Consequence: the hook holds only in the batten, a fraction of its rated pull-out. Fix: locate rafters from inside the loft or by probing, and use the screw size the certificate names.
• Panels in the edge zone without extra fixings. Consequence: uplift there can exceed the kit’s rating. Fix: follow the 400 mm rule or design the edge zones explicitly.
• Mixing components from different systems. Consequence: the certificate no longer applies. Fix: use one maker’s kit or evidence compatibility.
• Ballast without an engineer. Consequence: overloaded joists, ponding water and leaks on a flat roof. Fix: MIS 3002 requires an engineer’s confirmation for ballasted systems.
• Aluminium in contact with copper or lead flashings in wet areas. Consequence: corrosion of the aluminium. Fix: separate dissimilar metals with insulating material and keep water from bridging them.
• Fitting panels to a roof that needs replacing. Consequence: paying twice for scaffolding and removal. Fix: re-roof first, and consider in-roof mounting while the roof is open.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Mounting hardware is the same everywhere in the UK, and MCS rules apply UK-wide, but planning and building control differ.

England

The planning limits for roofs, walls and garden arrays are set out in the sections above. The Planning Portal says Building Regulations normally apply to roof panels: the roof’s ability to carry the load must be checked and proven, and the regulations also cover the electrical installation. MIS 3002 points installers to Approved Documents A (structure), B (fire) and C (moisture) when a non-certified mounting system is used.

Scotland

Permitted development for solar on a dwelling allows panels that protrude no more than 1 metre from a wall, roof plane, ridge or chimney (Class 6HA, in force since 24 May 2024), excluding listed buildings and, in conservation areas, the principal elevation and side elevations fronting a road. Building warrants replace Building Regulations approval: councils such as West Lothian say no warrant is needed for panels on the roof of a one or two-storey house if the existing roof can take the load, but a warrant is required if it must be strengthened. MIS 3002 refers Scottish installers to Sections 1 (structure), 2 (fire) and 3 (environment) of the Building Standards Technical Handbook.

Wales

Panels on a wall or pitched roof may protrude up to 20 centimetres beyond its plane and may not rise above the highest part of the roof. In conservation areas and World Heritage Sites they may not go on a principal or side wall fronting a highway. Wales has its own Approved Documents, which MIS 3002 groups with England’s for structure, fire and moisture.

Northern Ireland

Roof panels may protrude up to 20 centimetres beyond a roof slope that faces and is visible from a road, may not rise above the ridge or more than 1.5 metres above a flat roof, and may not extend beyond the roof edge. One free-standing array of up to 14 square metres and 2 metres high is allowed if it is not nearer the road than the house. MIS 3002 refers to Technical Booklets D (structure), E (fire) and C (moisture) for Northern Ireland.

Durability and maintenance

A mounting system should outlast the panels, but it needs looking at. The maintenance schedule in MIS 3002 includes a visual check for signs of structural distress, particularly after heavy winter snow, and a check that mounting rails are secure and free of distortion. After a severe storm, look from the ground for panels out of line, lifted clamps or displaced tiles around the array. Pigeons nesting under panels can dislodge mesh and block gutters; mesh is easier to fit at installation than later.

When panels come off for re-roofing or replacement, ask the installer to inspect the hooks and screws. Hooks that have been overloaded show bending at the arm, and screws in damp battens or rafters may have corroded. Re-using the old hooks with new panels of a different size often does not work, because rail spacing follows the panel’s clamping zones. Our guide to solar panel cleaning and servicing covers routine checks, and the UK solar installation guide explains where mounting fits in the overall process, from survey to MCS certificate.

Next steps

• Solar installation in the UK: process, timeline and cost
• Solar panel sizes and dimensions in the UK
• Garden and ground-mounted solar panels