Solar guides
Plain-English guides to home and business solar in the UK — costs, savings, batteries, the rules and choosing an installer. Each one lists its sources and the date we checked it. General information, not financial advice.
- Are solar panels worth it?For homes
How home solar works, what it typically costs and saves, how long it takes to pay back, and the 2026 changes that affect the sums.
- How much do solar panels cost?For homes
Typical prices per kW from government data, the Energy Saving Trust's typical system, what pushes the price up or down, and battery costs.
- How much will solar panels save me?For homes
How generation is worked out (the MCS method), how much of it you'll use yourself, what each unit is worth, and a worked example.
- The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) explainedFor homes
How you get paid for the solar electricity you export, who has to offer it, what you need, and example rates checked on 9 October 2026.
- Solar batteries: are they worth it?For homes
What a home battery does, what it costs, how much more of your solar you'll use, VAT and loans, and what to ask.
- Do I need planning permission for solar panels?For homes
When rooftop and ground-mounted solar counts as permitted development in England (rules rewritten 27 August 2026), Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the exceptions.
- MCS certification and why it mattersFor homes
What MCS is, what an MCS installer must give you, the 2026 changes (MCS:2025, consumer codes now voluntary) and how to complain.
- Choosing a solar installer and comparing quotesFor homes
How to find an installer, what to check, what a quote and contract should include, deposits, cancellation and warning signs.
- VAT on solar panels and batteriesFor homes
The 0% VAT rate on installed home solar and batteries (until 31 March 2027), what it doesn't cover, and the separate 0% VAT on electricity bills.
- Looking after solar panels: maintenance and cleaningFor homes
How little maintenance panels need, when cleaning helps, inverter life, monitoring, staying safe and avoiding scams.
- Solar for renters, leaseholders and flatsFor homes
Your options if you rent or live in a flat: permissions, plug-in solar (legal in Great Britain from 27 August 2026), landlords and loans.
- Plug-in solar: the 800 W balcony and garden kitsFor homes
Plug-in solar became legal in Great Britain on 27 August 2026. The rules, costs, savings, registration, VAT, and what it can't do.
- Solar scams and pressure selling: how to spot themFor homes
Current Trading Standards warnings, pressure-selling red flags, deposits, cancellation rights and where to report a problem.
- Solar for businesses: the basicsFor businesses
Costs for larger systems, VAT, business rates, export tariffs, planning, grid connection and tax — the basics for small businesses and farms.
- Solar in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: what's different
Export payments, VAT, plug-in solar, planning, grants and mortgages compared across the four UK nations.
- Solar grants and loans in 2026For homes
There's no general solar grant, but the Warm Homes Plan, Warm Homes Loans, ECO4 (to 31 December 2026) and schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may help.