Is solar worth it? The honest answer for UK homes

Because the fixing method is checkable, and we encourage you to check it. On a tiled roof every anchor must land in a rafter with the tile above worked around it, never glued or resting on felt. We photograph the fixings before the panels cover them and the photo set is part of your handover pack. If an installer can't show you their fixing photos from previous jobs, that tells you something.

Usually four things: whether scaffolding is included (GBP 600-1,200), inverter class (a budget string inverter versus a hybrid ready for a battery), whether the DNO application and MCS paperwork are handled for you, and whether the roof survey was real or done from Google Earth. Ask each quoter to itemise those four lines and the mystery usually disappears. The MCS-reported average install price in England is around GBP 1,565-1,590 per kW as of spring 2026 - a long way either side of that deserves an explanation.

An on-roof array adds roughly 15-20 kg/m2 - most post-war UK trussed roofs in fair condition carry that comfortably, but 'most' is not 'all'. A proper survey checks rafter size and spacing, existing sag, and the covering's remaining life. Slate, single-lap tile and older cut-timber roofs need more care, and a ballasted flat-roof system needs a dead-load check. If the answer is genuinely no, the honest options are structural work, an in-roof system at re-roof time, or a ground mount - not pretending.

For most houses in England, no - rooftop solar is permitted development under Part 14 Class A, and the rules were rewritten on 27 August 2026 - the roof-slope projection limit stays 0.2 m, and wall-mounted panels on houses gained a 0.4 m allowance. The exceptions that still catch people: listed buildings, some conservation-area elevations, flats in some configurations, and ground arrays over 9 m2. We check the planning position at survey and put it in writing.

Three separate protections outlive any installer: the panel manufacturer's warranty (typically 25 years performance), the inverter manufacturer's (10-12 years typical), and the insurance-backed workmanship warranty that MCS consumer codes require - it steps in if the installing firm ceases trading. What you should NOT rely on is a verbal 'lifetime guarantee'; nobody can promise that and the paperwork is what pays out.

Because doing it in the wrong order can cost you money or force changes. Up to 16 A per phase (about 3.68 kW of inverter) the installer simply notifies your network operator within 28 days of commissioning (G98). Above that - most systems with a battery - a G99 application must be APPROVED BEFORE the system is energised, and the DNO can impose export limits. 'We'll sort it after' on a G99-scale system is how people end up with an inverter turned down to half power.