30 kWp Solar PV systems installed at the historic British Museum in London

Ecolution installed a 30kWp flat roof self-ballast Solar PV system at the historistic British Museum in Bloomsbury, Central London.

This well-known building is a focal point in the heart of central London, for lovers of history and antiquities. Although many know it as the British Museum also has a World Conservation and Exhibition Centre (WCEC), where it houses artefacts and information form almost every nation and civilisation both ancient and modern. The centre reinforces the British Museum’s reputation as a world leader in the exhibition, conservation, examination and analysis of cultural objects from across the globe. Almost 4 years in the making, the MCEC has enabled the Museum to build on current successes, to store, conserve, study and display the collection for the future.

This unique project was Ecolution’s first Solar PV installation on a Grade 1 listed building. The installation took place across 3 cores of the building, which are opposite the iconic ‘Great Court’, best known for the glass domed roof, designed by Sir Norman Foster. The 3 cores house the Museums laboratories, in which all artefacts entering the building come through for examination and preservation.

As the increasing concern for the global environment grew The British Museum looked to renewable technologies to reduce their carbon footprint. Ecolution installed their 30kWp Solar PV system, which is predicted to have 13,632kg CO₂ savings per year.

Due to the uniqueness of the building, Ecolution had to design and install a bespoke system that met all of the building’s strict criteria. We installed all 3 arrays on custom ballast trays made in Germany, which were mounted on Brocken red brick which not only helped to ballast the system but is also designed as an insect habitat.