100% FREE Solar PV with Battery Storage

Delta Surveys has secured 100% funding to deliver Solar PV with Battery Storage for No Outlay, providing tenants with lower energy costs and enabling EPC upgrades to C or B band instead of needing to pay for costly WH-SHF measures to upgrade to Band C.

How does this work?

We fund, install, own and maintain rooftop solar and battery storage across your stock — no capital outlay, nothing on your balance sheet, and not a penny from your works budget.

Delivered by an MCS, PAS 2035, NICEIC, Gas Safe, TrustMark installer under an Ofgem licence exemption.

Key Benefits

  • Your tenants — are provided with the cheapest power on the market: solar at a guaranteed 5%+ below the Ofgem cap, no standing charge, no lock-in, automatic debt protection.
  • Your stock — the Solar PV + Battery Storage uplift upgrades homes to EPC B or C band on its own, negating the need for costly heating, ventilation & insulation measures.
  • Your budget — untouched.
  • Zero capital outlay.
  • Zero balance-sheet impact.
  • Zero impact on your works budget.

Fire Safety

With flats we will site a communal storage battery for the panels which, by using SolShare, will share the power to individual flats.

Under the programme the batteries are sited outside the block rather than inside the flats.

For houses and bungalows all batteries are also sited outside the property.

Recent UK updates concerning solar PV and battery fire safety involve tighter alignment between the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), the dedicated battery standard MIS 3012, and the overarching electrical/fire framework BS 7671 (including Amendment 4 introducing Chapter 57) alongside PAS 63100.

Siting and Location Restrictions

Loft and Roof Voids Banned

Storage batteries are strictly prohibited from being placed in lofts, roof spaces, or upper floors due to emergency access and thermal runaway containment difficulties.

Escape Routes and Bedrooms

Batteries cannot be installed in bedrooms, corridors, staircases, or any unprotected escape routes/firefighting lobbies.

Separation Distances

Outdoor or enclosure installations must maintain safe clearance zones away from doors, windows, escape paths, and flammable storage.

Component and Mounting Standards

Certified Combinations

In-roof solar systems require strict testing documentation (via standards like MCS 012) proving panels and mounting kits perform safely together against external fire spread.

Warning Labels

Systems must feature clear, standardized hazard warning signage indicating the presence of a battery energy storage system (BESS) or combined PV/BESS setup for emergency responders.

External Ground Mounts

Placing batteries in secure, weatherproof, fire-rated outdoor enclosures against an external brick wall, clear of windows and doors.

For social housing providers in the UK, the combined rules of MCS (via MIS 3012), PAS 63100:2024, and BS 7671 Amendment 4 (enforceable from 15 October 2026) significantly impact retrofit deployment strategies. Because social housing portfolios often feature smaller, uniform floor plans, these safety mandates heavily restrict where hardware can be legally and safely placed.

Here is what social housing providers must evaluate for domestic solar PV and battery rollouts:

1. The Space Crisis: Location Hard Bans

The strict ban on specific indoor areas impacts typical social housing layouts:

  • The Loft Ban: Providers can no longer use roof spaces or lofts for battery placement to save floor space.
  • Habitable Rooms & Routes: Systems are entirely barred from bedrooms, living spaces, and any primary hallways or stairwells that serve as the tenant’s sole exit path.

2. Indoor Installation Contingencies

If a property does have a compliant indoor space (like an integrated ground-floor garage or large under-stair utility cupboard), it must meet rigorous containment thresholds:

  • Fire Separation: The battery room must feature structural fire compartmentation providing at least 60 minutes of fire resistance separating it from the rest of the dwelling.
  • Interlinked Alarms: Dedicated fire or thermal detection must be installed in the battery enclosure and hardwired into the property’s primary interlinked smoke alarm network common in social housing.
  • Ventilation: Adequate natural or mechanical ventilation must be present to prevent any potential build-up of off-gasses during a fault condition.

3. Asset and Procurement Risks

  • Specification Risk: Designs or procurement specifications written under old rules must be actively revised now.
  • Any installations built after 15 October 2026 that do not fully conform to Chapter 57 of Amendment 4 will fail compliance, resulting in costly retrofits or uninsurable assets.
  • Vendor Compatibility (MCS Classes): Under MCS MIS 3012, systems are graded from Class 1 to Class 4 based on component integration.
  • Providers should lean toward Class 1 or Class 2 systems (where the inverter and battery are bundled by a single manufacturer) to streamline asset management, maintenance tracking, and safety sign-off.

4. Emergence of Alternative Frameworks

To circumvent spatial restrictions in individual homes, many local authorities and housing associations are pivoting toward alternative deployment models:

  • External Ground Mounts: Placing batteries in secure, weatherproof, fire-rated outdoor enclosures against an external brick wall, clear of windows and doors.
  • Community & Block Batteries: Rather than putting a battery in every flat, we provide shared, centralized community battery energy storage systems located in separate, external plant rooms to supply a block of units collectively.