Solar panels in the UK: plan your installation
Generate electricity for your home and buy less from the grid. Compare costs, equipment, export tariffs and the rules in your nation before you ask installers to quote.
Solar panels for your home
Solar panels turn daylight into electricity for your home. Every unit you use as it is generated is a unit you don’t buy from your supplier, and the spare electricity can earn an export payment. What a system is worth depends on your electricity use, your roof and your tariff.
- Find your yearly electricity use in kWh on your bill or smart meter app.
- Look at the roof space you have, which way it faces and what shades it.
- Ask MCS-certified installers for quotes that list the equipment, the work and the warranties.
From first idea to switch-on
Five steps to plan an installation that fits your home and compare quotes on the same basis.
Is your roof suitable?
Check which way it faces, its pitch, shading, space and condition. A realistic layout leaves room around vents, windows and the roof edge.
Estimate generation and savings
Start from your yearly use in kWh and when you use it. A system’s kWp describes the panels under test conditions; real output depends on your roof and location.
Estimate my savingsPrepare for the survey
The installer should check the roof, the fuse board, the cable route and where the inverter and any battery will go, and tell you who deals with the network operator.
Compare complete quotes
Put system size, exact models, warranties, scaffolding, extras and aftercare side by side. Ask for the battery to be priced separately so you can compare with and without one.
Install and register
At handover, keep the MCS certificate, the warranties and the network operator notification. You need the MCS certificate (or equivalent certification) to apply for a Smart Export Guarantee tariff.
The Smart Export Guarantee
How much could solar save you?
Most of the value comes from the solar electricity you use at home, which cuts the units you buy. Exported electricity earns your export tariff, which is usually worth less per unit than what you pay to import.
The result depends on the installed price, your roof’s output, when you use electricity and the export rate you can get. Compare the same system with and without a battery before you decide on a size.
Estimate my installation →My yearly electricity use is
Your yearly electricity use helps us size your solar panel system.
Which solar panels should you choose?
The right panel makes good use of your roof without pushing up the cost of the whole system. Compare the exact model’s power and efficiency, its size, its warranties and the price of the complete installation.
Our brand pages help you draw up a shortlist; the datasheet and warranty terms for the model you are quoted are what count.
Read before you choose
Compare panels and brands
Power, efficiency, size and warranties: see which of them actually change your choice.
Which inverter suits your roof?
The inverter converts the panels’ electricity so your home can use it. A string or hybrid inverter handles groups of panels; microinverters work panel by panel.
The right set-up depends on your roof faces, shading, system size and whether you add a battery. Ask about monitoring and exact compatibility.
Read before you choose
Microinverters or a string inverter?
Understand when a string inverter or microinverters suit your roof.
Is a home battery worth it for you?
A battery stores spare daytime solar electricity for the evening, and on some tariffs it can charge from the grid at cheap times. Its value depends on your evening use, how much spare electricity you have, its price and the export income you give up.
Usable kWh tells you how much energy it stores; kW tells you how much power it can deliver at once. A battery only keeps the lights on in a power cut if the system is designed for backup.
Read before you choose
Solar battery storage explained
Weigh a battery against your evening use, its losses, your tariff and its installed cost.
Solar battery storage explained →Frequently asked questions
Are solar panels worth it?
They can cut what you buy from your supplier for many years. How long they take to pay back depends on the installed price, your roof’s output, how much you use at home, your export rate and your electricity price.
How much does an installation cost?
The price varies with system size, the roof, the equipment and any electrical work. Ask for itemised quotes, with any battery priced separately, so you can compare like with like.
Do I need a battery?
Not necessarily. First look at how much of your solar electricity you would use during the day and how much would be spare. Then compare what a battery adds with what it costs.
What happens to the electricity I don’t use?
It goes to the grid. In Great Britain you can be paid for it through a Smart Export Guarantee tariff once your system has an MCS certificate or equivalent certification. Rates vary by supplier, so check them before you work out the savings.
Choosing an installer and comparing quotes
The survey and the installation matter as much as the panels. A proper survey and an itemised quote let you check the plan before you sign.
Certification and experience
Check the MCS certificate and consumer-code membership separately, and ask for similar installations.
Roof survey
Ask for the shading, layout, generation estimate and the assumptions behind it.
Work and paperwork
Clarify scaffolding, network operator notification, timescales and subcontracting.
Warranties and aftercare
Find out who stands behind the panels, the inverter, the installation and the workmanship.
Guides to read next
What a quote includes and what changes the price.
Are solar panels worth it?Savings, payback and the downsides.
Solar panel grantsWhat help exists in each UK nation, and where there is none.
Smart Export GuaranteeHow export payments work and what suppliers pay.
Solar battery storageWhen a battery helps your electricity use.
All brandsPanel, inverter and battery makers.