When the roof is not an option
Loading limits, a listed building, a landlord restriction, or an array already at capacity. Parking is often the next place to put solar.
Solar City services
Solar car ports
Turn unused parking into on-site generation, for workplaces, councils and commercial sites that cannot use a typical rooftop array.
Keep the bays in use
A modular canopy over existing parking. Panels form the roof, the bays stay in use, and the system can be built out in phases.
You still deal with us
Solar City quotes and installs the solar and electrical work. The steel structure is UK-designed and manufactured and installed by a specialist partner.
Solar over the car park you already have
Many organisations want solar but cannot use the roof: loading limits, a listed building, a landlord restriction, no spare land, or an array that is already at capacity. What they often do have is parking.
A solar car port is a modular canopy over existing bays. Panels form the roof, the bays stay in use, and the system can be built out in phases. EV chargers can sit under the canopy so generation and charging are planned together.
Solar City is a family-run MCS installer in Tyseley, Birmingham. We quote and install the solar and electrical work. The steel structure is UK-designed and manufactured and installed by a specialist structural partner. You still deal with us.
What we offer
Gull-wing (back-to-back bays)
For larger car parks with parking on both sides of a row. Ground-screw foundations, modular so you can add bays later, and suitable for retail parks, industrial estates, leisure sites, public-sector and fleet yards. EV charging can be included.
Single-row / mixed layouts
For one row of bays, overflow parking, or an awkward car park. Also on ground screws, with the same modular approach and optional EV charging. Typical of hospitality, smaller commercial sites and mixed layouts.
Rooftop and multi-storey parking
A lighter, bolted system for concrete decks (rooftop parking and multi-storey car parks) where you cannot use ground screws. Still modular, still meant to keep the car park open during install.
EV charging
Chargers can be designed into the canopy rather than as a separate pillar run. Solar City already fits EV charging with solar on homes and workplaces; on a car port we plan cable routes, supply and commissioning with the structure.
Who it is for
Workplaces, councils and public-sector sites, retail and industrial parks, hospitality and leisure, fleet and logistics, and car parks where the building roof is not an option.
Benefits
- Uses parking you already have. No extra field, no fighting the roof
- UK-designed and manufactured modular structures
- Ground-screw install where the ground allows. Less excavation than a traditional canopy
- Concrete-bolted option for decks and multi-storey parking
- Gull-wing option for back-to-back commercial layouts
- Built to keep the car park working; phased programmes possible
- Scales from a small commercial site to a large multi-bay run
- EV charging can be integrated
- A visible sustainability measure at the entrance, not only on the roof
We will not put a kWh figure, a price per bay, or a payback year on this page until we have sized your site.
How it works
Enquiry
Site address, rough number of bays, and any aerials or plans you already have. Call 0121 707 9991 or use the contact form and say it is a car port.
Concept
A top-level layout, an indicative structural arrangement, budget pricing on standard ground assumptions, and a PV layout for the panels we would use.
Survey
We check access, ground or deck, electrics and grid before anything is ordered. Standard early assumptions include ground screws (where used) and normal site access; unusual ground is priced after survey.
Install
Specialist partner installs the structure; Solar City installs and commissions the solar and electrical side, including EV chargers if they are in the quote.
Common questions
Can I use the instant design tool?
No. That tool is for rooftop solar on a house or similar building. For a car port, contact the office with the address and bay count.
Do you manufacture the canopy?
No. We specify and install the solar and electrical system. The structure is a UK-designed modular product, supplied and installed with a specialist partner.
Is this MCS-certified?
Solar City is MCS-accredited for the solar install and associated electrical work. That is not an MCS certificate for the steel canopy itself.
Will the car park have to close?
The systems are meant to go in with the car park still in use, and larger sites can be done in phases. We will be honest about access once we have seen the site.
Planning?
We will advise from the address. Listed buildings and conservation areas need extra care. That is one of the reasons sites look at car ports instead of the roof.
Solar City designs and installs the solar and electrical work as an MCS-accredited installer (TrustMark and RECC as on the rest of this site). Car-port structures are UK-designed and manufactured and installed with a specialist structural partner. Example photographs show typical systems, not necessarily Solar City sites. Indicative layouts assume standard ground and access unless the survey shows otherwise. See also commercial solar panels in Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Talk to us about a solar car port
Send the site address and an approximate bay count. We will come back with a concept layout and a budget. No obligation.
Open instant design tool · 0121 707 9991 · All services
Instant Design is for rooftop solar; a car port still needs Contact for a concept/budget.