The challenge
Cambrian Place is a 32-flat marina-side residential block in the heart of Swansea Marina. Two constraints drove the entire specification. First, the marina setting and the visual sensitivity of the roofscape ruled out on-roof mounted panels — any solar system here had to sit flush with the roof plane to satisfy both the managing agent and the planning context of the SA1 marina district. Second, a conventional string inverter architecture would have been poorly matched to a roof with mixed orientations, shading from adjacent marina-side massing, and the expectation of long-term per-flat accountability for the shared supply benefit. A partial-shade event on a single panel could otherwise drag the whole string down.
Our solution
FLD specified a 76-panel Viridian in-roof (inlay) system integrated flush with the roof plane. Viridian's inlay framing replaces tiles rather than sitting above them, delivering the low-profile aesthetic the marina context demanded. At 33 kW total, the system sits on Enphase microinverter architecture — one microinverter per panel — which gives per-module MPPT tracking so any localised shade or soiling event affects only that panel, not the wider array. The Enphase platform also gave the development managing agent panel-level monitoring data, supporting long-term maintenance visibility and per-panel fault-finding across the 20-year+ asset life. The output feeds the shared development supply that benefits the 32 flats.
The result
A 33 kW renewable energy source quietly integrated into the Swansea Marina roofscape, supplying 32 residential flats, meaningfully reducing shared-services energy costs and delivering long-term carbon-footprint reduction for the development. The Viridian in-roof finish has been well-received by residents and the managing agent, and FLD has since been contacted on similar multi-occupancy marina-district schemes.
FLD understood the aesthetic brief immediately. The Viridian in-roof finish is invisible from the marina — exactly what the managing agent wanted — and the Enphase monitoring gives us per-flat accountability for the first time.
MCS certified domestic solar with SolarEdge optimiser inverters and tier-1 Trina or JA Solar panels, sized 3 to 8 kWp, with optional battery and EV charger integration.
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