How expensive are solar panels in the UK?

A typical home solar panel system costs £5,000–£9,000 fitted in 2026. The main driver is system size: a 3kW system runs £4,500–£6,500, a 4kW system (around 10 panels) £5,000–£8,000, a 6kW system £7,500–£11,000, and a large 10kW system £12,000–£16,000. Adding battery storage — increasingly popular because it lets you use your own generation in the evening — adds £3,000–£6,000 on top.

Is it worth it? Most systems pay back in 7–12 years through bill savings plus Smart Export Guarantee payments for electricity you export, and panels are warrantied well beyond that. Solar installations also currently benefit from 0% VAT (through March 2027), which is already reflected in the prices above.

A few things move the price for your specific house: roof orientation and pitch, scaffolding access, whether your consumer unit needs upgrading, and how many storeys the installer has to work over. That is why like-for-like quotes matter more here than for most trades.

How much will it actually save? A typical 4kW system generates roughly 3,400–4,000 kWh a year in the UK, and the savings come from two places: the grid electricity you avoid buying (worth most if you run appliances during daylight) plus Smart Export Guarantee payments for the surplus you send back to the grid. Adding a battery lifts the share of your own generation you actually use from about a third to two-thirds or more, which is why storage has become so popular, though it does lengthen the payback. North-facing roofs and heavy shading cut output sharply, so a good installer models your specific roof rather than quoting a generic figure.

Our solar panel cost guide has the full breakdown by system size, brand and region, including grants and export tariffs. When you are ready, compare three free quotes — MCS certification is essential for export payments.