If you are at the stage of building a new home, you have a huge advantage:
You can design your home to accommodate a solar PV system without future alterations, digging or additional costs.
You can design your home to accommodate a solar PV system without future alterations, digging or additional costs.
Even if you are not planning to install solar panels right away, proper preparation now can save you thousands of euros in the future.
Below is a practical guide to everything you need to plan for.
1. Proper orientation & roof design
Architectural design is the first and most important step.
✔ Ideal orientation
- South-facing = maximum output
- Southeast / Southwest = very good output
- East–West = a solution for greater self-consumption
✔ Roof pitch
In Greece, the ideal pitch is: 20°–30° for optimal annual production.
✔ Avoid:
- Chimneys in the center of the south-facing side
- Satellite dishes & solar water heaters that take up space
- Shading from pergolas, trees or neighboring buildings
- If the roof is not ideal, plan for an unobstructed flat roof.
2. Structural adequacy
A solar PV system adds approximately:
- 12–20 kg/m² to the roof
During the design phase, ask your civil engineer to plan for:
- Load capacity for a future installation
- Anchoring points if the roof is tiled
Planning for this now costs almost nothing. Reinforcing the structure later costs many times more.
3. Electrical planning (the most critical point)
This is where most mistakes happen.
✔ Plan for conduits (cable ducts)
From the roof to:
- The electrical panel
- The HEDNO meter area
- The space where the inverter & battery will be installed
These conduits cost very little to install now. Later, they require digging and repair work.
✔ Plan space for the inverter & battery
Ideally:
- Near the main panel
- In a shaded, ventilated area
- Protected from moisture
If you are also planning for future energy storage (a battery), you will need:
- Additional wall space
- A suitable electrical supply
4. Electrical supply capacity
If you are building a new home, discuss the following with your electrician:
- Single-phase or three-phase supply?
- Future electric vehicle charging?
- A heat pump?
A three-phase supply is recommended for most new homes because it:
- Supports larger solar PV systems
- Allows better load management
- Offers greater flexibility in the future
5. Pre-installation for an electric vehicle charger
Even if you do not have an EV today, you will probably get one within the next decade.
Plan for:
- A separate circuit
- Space in the panel
- Wiring to the parking space
That way, your home can function as an energy hub.
6. Preparing for an energy upgrade
If the home is being built today, it makes sense to plan everything as a whole:
- Solar PV
- Heat pump
- Solar water heater
- Smart energy management
Good energy planning reduces the required size of the solar PV system and increases the return on investment.
7. Estimating future energy consumption
Think about 10–15 years ahead:
- Will air conditioning be installed?
- Will a pool be installed?
- Will an electric car be added?
- Will your family grow?
A home of 140m² with a heat pump & EV may need a 8–12 kW solar panel system.
Planning ahead now determines:
- Space
- Power supply
- Infrastructure
The biggest mistake we see in new builds
Building a modern home worth 300.000€–500.000€
without planning a conduit from the roof to the electrical panel.
without planning a conduit from the roof to the electrical panel.
The future installation then becomes:
- More expensive
- More difficult
- Less attractive
Would you like us to review your plans?
At Solar Home, we can:
- Review your home design
- Recommend the right provisions
- Calculate the system capacity you’ll need in the future
- Design the ideal energy plan now
Contact us before finalizing your electrical plans.
