Rescuing a Doctors' Surgery Solar System in Market Deeping

The Problem: A Previous Installer's Legacy

When Kieran sat down with the surgery's directors, the picture was a familiar one. The existing solar system on site had given them non-stop issues. There was no monitoring in place — meaning no visibility on generation, no early warning when something failed, and no way to evidence the asset's performance to the board. The previous installer had left them without support.

For a healthcare site, that matters more than for most buildings. A doctors' surgery cannot afford unexplained downtime on a system that's supposed to be cutting energy costs and supporting resilience. The directors needed a partner who would still be a phone call away years after commissioning — not a contractor who disappeared at handover.

The Board Meeting: Listening Before Designing

Rather than arriving with a pre-baked quote, KMM presented to the full board of directors. That session surfaced two non-negotiable design requirements:

• Backup capability — the system had to protect key parts of the doctors' surgery in the event of a grid outage. Continuity for a clinical environment, not just bill savings.
• Panel-level optimisation — every panel needed to perform independently, because shading patterns across six different roofs meant string-level inverters alone would leave generation on the table.

Both requirements were written into the specification before a single panel was ordered.

The Install: 100kW Solar, 100kW Battery, Six Roofs

The finished system delivers 100kW of solar generation paired with a 100kW battery, spread across six separate roof planes on the surgery's buildings. Every panel carries a Tigo optimiser — visible as a sticker on each module — so when sun moves around the site and shading hits different sections through the day, each panel is managed individually rather than dragging its whole string down.

The strings themselves are isolated from the existing legacy system. Given the trouble the surgery had previously experienced, KMM kept the new array fully independent — no cross-contamination of faults, clean fault-finding if anything ever does need attention.

The battery provides the backup the directors asked for, ringfencing critical circuits within the surgery so the building stays operational through a grid event.

Built to Last: Bird Netting and Aftercare

Bird netting was fitted as standard across every panel — KMM specifies this on every install. Over a 25-year asset life, bird nesting under solar panels causes two predictable problems: nest debris that's a fire risk, and droppings that corrode panel wiring and roof flashings. The netting eliminates both at install rather than leaving them as future maintenance bills.

The aftercare package was structured to address the surgery's biggest historical pain point: being unreachable. The directors now have a direct line to KMM for any system question — the opposite of the experience that left them stranded.

Why Healthcare Sites Choose KMM

Surgeries, clinics and other healthcare buildings have specific demands: resilience, low-disruption installation, predictable long-term costs, and a contractor who will still be there in year ten. This project hit all four. The board's two key requirements — backup protection and panel-level optimisation — were designed in from day one. The legacy system was isolated rather than ripped out. And the aftercare model means the surgery is never left guessing about its asset again.

If you operate a healthcare facility and your existing solar installer has gone quiet — or you're specifying a new system and want it engineered properly for a clinical environment — KMM will sit down with your board, listen to what matters, and design around it.

Book a fully funded survey and we'll assess your roof, energy profile and resilience needs at no cost.