Residential Solar Panel Installation

Residential Solar: What Size System and What It Costs

A standard residential solar panel system starts from around £5,500 fully installed, with 0% VAT already applied. That is typically 10 to 12 panels of roughly 4 kWp, generating between 3,400 kWh and 4,500 kWh a year and saving £600 to £900 on energy bills, with a further £60 to £270 a year from the Smart Export Guarantee on what you export.

Sizing to Your House

Terraces and small semis usually take 8 to 10 panels on a single rear pitch. Three and four bedroom semis and detached homes take 10 to 14. Larger detached properties, or any home with an EV, a heat pump or electric heating, are better at 14 to 20 panels with storage. The limit is usually usable roof area and shading, not budget, and we design around the roof you actually have rather than a template.

Roof Types and In Roof Installation

Most homes take a conventional on roof array clamped to the rafters through the tiles or slates. In conservation areas and on listed buildings, and increasingly by preference on a front elevation, an in roof system sits the panels flush within the roof covering instead. It costs more but it is usually the design that gets planning approval and most homeowners prefer how it looks. We quote both at survey so the difference is clear before you decide.

Planning Permission

Most domestic installations fall under permitted development and need no application. Listed buildings, conservation areas and some new build estates with restrictive covenants are the exceptions, and we advise on all of it during the free consultation rather than leaving you to find out.

Adding Battery Storage

Panels generate through the middle of the day, when most households are out. Without storage that surplus is exported for a few pence a unit and bought back at the full rate in the evening. Fitted at the same time as the panels, a battery carries 0% VAT and needs only one set of scaffolding, which makes it considerably cheaper than retrofitting later. See battery storage, or EV charger installation if you want the car charging from the roof.