How much do solar panels cost in the UK?

How much does it cost to install solar panels by system size?

At the 2025-26 median rates, a 4 kW solar system works out at about £6,200 to £6,400 to install and a 9 kW system about £13,900, by our calculation [1]. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) publishes these rates each May from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) database. It gives a rate per kW for each size band, so the costs below are our calculation: size multiplied by the rate for its band.

The two columns differ in both statistic and population. The median rate covers all MCS installations in the band with valid cost data, including new builds and non-domestic buildings. The mean rate covers existing homes only; DESNZ does not publish a median for them.

DESNZ also publishes prices per kW of declared net capacity (DNC), the most a system can export at once. That figure is usually smaller than total capacity, so DESNZ says TIC-based prices per kW are typically 6 to 12 per cent lower than DNC-based ones [1]. This page uses TIC, the basis DESNZ says it is moving its statistics to, for every price except the long-run trend.

What do solar panels cost for a 3-bedroom house?

House size is not in the DESNZ data, because a system is sized from your electricity use and roof space rather than the number of bedrooms. If a quote for a 3-bedroom house is for 4 kW, the median rates give about £6,200 to £6,400, by our calculation [1]. The sizing guide works out a size from your bills.

How much do 12 solar panels cost?

Twelve panels rated 430 to 450 watts make a system of about 5.2 to 5.4 kW. At the 2025-26 median rate for 4 to 10 kW systems (£1,546 per kW), that is an illustrative cost of about £8,000 to £8,300, the range coming only from the panel rating [1].

The panel ratings are our assumption, not DESNZ data. A quote should state the panel model, its wattage and the system total in kWp (kilowatts peak, the rated output).

What does the price include?

The DESNZ figures cover the generating equipment, installing it and connecting it to your electricity supply, with VAT where it applied [1]. They exclude batteries, extended warranties and any other materials or work on the solar equipment. A battery is priced separately: see solar battery costs.

A quote should also say who provides the MCS certificate and who handles the notice or application to your distribution network operator (DNO), the company that runs the local grid. Quotes that name the panel and inverter models and the access method are easier to compare than a single total.

Why are some quotes higher?

A higher quote can be a fair one: the DESNZ figures are medians and means across many different jobs.

• System size. At the median, systems of 10 to 50 kW cost £1,204 per kW against £1,595 for systems up to 4 kW, about a quarter less (our calculation from DESNZ medians) [1].
• Existing home or new build. On homes up to 4 kW, the mean was £1,518 per kW for new builds and £2,109 for existing homes [1].
• Region. Recorded prices vary by region: for systems up to 4 kW the mean was highest in London and lowest in the North East (table below).
• Work some properties need. Access over a conservatory or a three-storey wall, roof repairs, a replacement consumer unit or bird protection appear in some quotes and not others.

Ask what the cheapest solar panel quote leaves out before comparing it with these figures.

Solar panel prices by region

The mean cost per kW for systems up to 4 kW ranged from £1,760 in the North East to £2,101 in London in 2025-26 [1].

Are solar panels getting cheaper?

Yes, in real terms. After adjusting for inflation, the median cost per kW for systems up to 4 kW fell 7 per cent between 2024-25 and 2025-26 on the TIC basis [1]. On the DNC basis, the only one with a series back to 2013-14, 2025-26 was the lowest in that series [1].

Cash prices were steady through the year: the monthly median on the TIC basis was £1,595 per kW in seven of the twelve months, with a low of £1,554 in October 2025 [1]. The 2025-26 figures cover 264,742 installations, 27 per cent more than the year before [1].

Do you pay VAT on solar panels?

Solar panels supplied and installed in a home are zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027, under HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Notice 708/6 [3]. The zero rate covers Great Britain and, since 1 May 2023, Northern Ireland; from 1 April 2027 the rate is due to be 5 per cent [3]. Panels bought without installation are charged at the standard 20 per cent [3].

Our calculation: 5 per cent on a £6,400 system would add about £320. The VAT guide covers batteries, kits and the conditions that apply.

How much energy does a solar panel produce?

As a guide rather than a forecast for your roof: the median Feed-in Tariff solar installation ran at a 9.2 per cent load factor in 2024-25, the lowest median on record [2]. That year had the fewest sun hours since 2012-13 [2]. That works out at about 810 kWh per kW over the year (our calculation: 8,760 hours times 9.2 per cent), so it reflects a low year. Direction, pitch, shading and location change the figure for any one roof; the sizing guide estimates it for a home, and the worth-it guide covers whether the savings repay the cost, which for some homes they do not.

Before you accept a quote

1. Size and panels. The total in kWp, the panel model and its wattage, so you can divide the price by the kW and compare it with the rates above.
2. What is included. The inverter model, access, any consumer unit work, bird protection, the MCS certificate and the DNO notice.
3. VAT and extras. VAT at the rate that applies to a qualifying installation [3], and any battery priced on its own line.