Solar panel cost calculator
Solar panels cost £5,000 to £7,000 for 3-4 kW; £7,000 to £9,500 for 5-6 kW and £9,000 to £12,000 for 6 kW+. Set the options below to price your own, adjusted for where you live.
Work out what a solar panel system costs. Pick the system size, tick a battery if you want one, and this calculator gives you a price range for your region. Figures backed by the government's own solar PV cost data rather than an installer's quote.
Solar panel cost calculator
Set it up to match your job. Everything updates as you change it, and nothing is sent anywhere.
Built from the same figures as our solar panel guide: £5,000 to £7,000 for a 3 to 4 kW system, £7,000 to £9,500 for 5 to 6 kW and £9,000 to £12,000 for 6 kW and above, all installed, with battery storage adding £3,000 to £6,000. Those figures are checked against the government's published solar PV cost data and Ofgem's Smart Export Guarantee guidance, so they are not an installer's estimate. Regional figures use the same multipliers as every other page here. Solar is zero-rated for VAT until 2027, and the prices above reflect that. Not priced, because the survey decides them: scaffolding on a difficult or high roof, a roof needing repair before panels go on, an electrical supply upgrade, and a bird-proofing mesh if you are near gulls or pigeons.
Solar panel cost by region
| System size | UK average | London | North / Scotland / Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4 kW (smaller home) | £5,000 to £7,000 | £6,500 to £9,100 | £4,600 to £6,400 |
| 5-6 kW (typical) | £7,000 to £9,500 | £9,100 to £12,500 | £6,400 to £8,700 |
| 6 kW+ (larger home) | £9,000 to £12,000 | £11,500 to £15,500 | £8,300 to £11,000 |
Guide prices for solar panels, before any extras. UK guide prices reviewed June 2026, not quotes. Set the calculator above to your own job to add the extras.
System size is about your roof and your usage, not your ambition
The size that suits you is set by two things: how much south-facing or east-west roof you have without shading, and how much electricity you actually use during daylight. A 5 to 6 kW system is the common answer for a family home and takes roughly twelve to sixteen panels.
Going bigger only pays if you can use or store what it makes. Exported units earn considerably less than the units you avoid buying, so a system sized well beyond your daytime usage has a longer payback, not a shorter one. The exception is an electric car charged at home during the day, which changes the arithmetic completely.
Whether a battery is worth £3,000 to £6,000
A battery does not generate anything. It shifts what your panels already made from the middle of the day to the evening when you actually use it, which raises the share of your own generation you consume rather than export.
Whether that pays depends on how much of the day the house is empty. A household out from eight until six exports most of its generation and a battery captures a lot of value. A household home all day already uses most of it, and the battery adds less. It also lets you charge cheaply overnight on a time-of-use tariff, which for some households is worth more than the solar storage itself.
What the roof has to be like first
Panels last twenty-five years and more, and they are fixed to your roof covering. If the roof is near the end of its life, doing it before the panels go on is far cheaper than taking an array off and putting it back. A good installer will say so; a poor one will fit over a roof that needs work.
Also worth checking before you commit: the roof pitch and orientation, shading from trees or a neighbouring building at different times of day, and whether the loft has room for the inverter. Any MCS-certified installer will assess all of that, and MCS certification is what the export tariff requires, so it is not optional if you want to be paid for what you export.
Common questions
How much do solar panels cost in the UK?
About £5,000 to £7,000 for a 3 to 4 kW system, £7,000 to £9,500 for a typical 5 to 6 kW system and £9,000 to £12,000 for 6 kW and above, all installed, with £7,000 the typical figure. Battery storage adds £3,000 to £6,000. Solar is zero-rated for VAT until 2027. London runs about 30% above the UK average.
What size solar system do I need?
For most family homes, 5 to 6 kW, which is roughly twelve to sixteen panels and needs about 25 to 30 square metres of usable roof. Smaller households or limited roof space suit 3 to 4 kW. Go above 6 kW only if you have the roof and can use the output during the day, for example charging an electric car at home, because exported electricity earns much less than the electricity you avoid buying.
Is a solar battery worth it?
It depends on when your house is occupied. A battery stores what your panels already generated so you can use it in the evening instead of exporting it. If the house is empty through the day you export most of your generation and a battery captures real value. If someone is home all day you are already using it, and the battery adds less. At £3,000 to £6,000 it is a bigger decision than it is often presented as.
Do solar panels need scaffolding and does that cost extra?
Almost always yes on a pitched roof, and on most quotes it is included rather than extra, but confirm it because a quote without access costs looks cheaper and is not. A straightforward two-storey house is routine. A three-storey, very steep, or awkward-access roof costs more, and that is one of the things a survey exists to price.
Should I replace my roof before fitting solar panels?
If the roof is within about five years of needing replacement, yes. Panels last twenty-five years or more and are fixed through the covering, so re-roofing later means removing the array and refitting it, which is a substantial extra cost for no benefit. If the roof is sound, panels do not shorten its life and in fact shelter the covering underneath them.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing. These are independent Costwise guide prices, reviewed June 2026, not quotes and not a survey of real quotes. A real price depends on access, condition and what the job actually involves, so use this to sanity-check what you are told and always get three written quotes.