The short answer for Edinburgh: a 4kW south-facing system in Edinburgh generates about 3,610 kWh a year on the EU's PVGIS model — about 11% less than London. Installed prices for that size run roughly £6,600–£7,800 on the UK government's 2025/26 cost data, and at October–December 2026 South Scotland electricity prices (26.11p/kWh) it is worth roughly £600 a year without a battery, or £800 if a battery lets you use most of it yourself.
Edinburgh gets a little more sun than Glasgow, but much of the city sits under heritage rules. The Old and New Towns are a World Heritage Site, where the national permitted development rules for solar don't apply, and the city has 50 conservation areas. Most homes are flats, so shared roofs are the other big question.
How much a solar panel system generates in Edinburgh
The table uses the European Commission's PVGIS tool for Edinburgh: crystalline panels at a 35° pitch, with PVGIS's standard 14% allowance for system losses and the local horizon. Your installer's MCS estimate will differ a little because MCS uses its own irradiance tables and your actual pitch and shading, but the gap between places and orientations is what matters here.
| Roof faces | Per kW | 3kW system | 4kW system | 6kW system |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South | 903 kWh | 2,710 kWh | 3,610 kWh | 5,420 kWh |
| East | 704 kWh | 2,110 kWh | 2,820 kWh | 4,220 kWh |
| West | 700 kWh | 2,100 kWh | 2,800 kWh | 4,200 kWh |
Annual output, PVGIS 5.3 (SARAH3 satellite data, 2005–2023) for Edinburgh, fetched 30 October 2026. Actual output varies year to year.
Of the 25 areas we cover, Edinburgh ranks 22nd for south-facing yield (Dorset is highest at 1,126 kWh per kW, Glasgow lowest at 853). The seasons matter as much as the location: in December a 4kW system here makes about 89 kWh for the whole month, against 444 kWh in June — which is why a battery is mostly a summer and shoulder-season tool, and why nobody should promise you winter bills near zero.
On PVGIS, a south-facing roof in Edinburgh makes about 6% more per kW than one in Glasgow, reflecting the drier east coast, and a little more than Manchester. East- and west-facing slopes still make close to four-fifths of a south-facing one. That matters here because the council's heritage guidance often steers panels away from the front slope, so a rear slope facing east or west may be the one you can use. It is worth having it surveyed rather than ruling it out.
What solar costs and saves in Edinburgh
There is no separate "Edinburgh price" for solar — installers price by system size, roof and access — so the fairest benchmark is the government's own cost series. Across domestic installations registered with MCS between April 2025 and March 2026, the average installed cost was £1,955 per kW for systems up to 4kW and £1,645 per kW for 4–10kW, VAT included and batteries excluded.
| System | Output in Edinburgh | Typical installed price | Year-one value, no battery | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3kW | 2,710 kWh | £4,900–£5,900 | £500 | 10–12 years |
| 4kW | 3,610 kWh | £6,600–£7,800 | £600 | 10–12 years |
| 6kW | 5,420 kWh | £9,900–£11,700 | £1,000 | 10–12 years |
Price range: DESNZ Solar PV cost data (published 28 May 2026), each size priced between the 4–10kW average (£1,645/kW) and the up-to-4kW average (£1,955/kW); bigger systems tend towards the lower figure per kW. Value: south-facing PVGIS output, 40% used in the home at the South Scotland price-cap unit rate of 26.11p/kWh (1 October to 31 December 2026), the rest exported at 12p/kWh (the 12p rate several large suppliers pay their own import customers in September 2026). Payback ignores panel degradation, future price changes and inverter replacement.
Two things move those numbers more than anything about Edinburgh itself. First, how much you use yourself: every unit you use saves 26.11p, every unit you export earns only what your export tariff pays — 12p in this illustration. Our illustration assumes you use 40% without a battery; with a battery taking that to around 70%, the same 4kW system is worth about £800 a year — but the battery adds several thousand pounds, so price it as its own line and judge it on its own payback (battery storage guide). Second, the export tariff: rates are set by suppliers, not Ofgem, and range widely — see the solar payback guide for current examples.
VAT on solar panels and batteries installed in homes is 0% until 31 March 2027 (how the relief works), so a quote that adds 20% VAT to a domestic install is wrong.
Help with the cost in Edinburgh
There is no council solar group-buy in Edinburgh, and standalone solar panels and batteries aren't on the list for Home Energy Scotland's Grant and Loan. It does offer interest-free loans of up to £5,000 for solar thermal or hybrid PV-T panels, which heat water as well as making electricity, with a 1.5% admin fee capped at £150 (Home Energy Scotland). You apply through Home Energy Scotland, not through us or an installer, and work can't start until you have its written offer. Its free advice line is 0808 808 2282.
Warm Homes loan: the UK government's Warm Homes Loan Scheme, published on GOV.UK on 28 October 2026, covers homes anywhere in the UK, including Scotland, and can pay for standard solar panels and batteries on a home you own. You apply to one of the listed lenders, directly or through an MCS installer arranging finance, and pass the lender's credit checks. It can sit alongside Home Energy Scotland funding, but not for the same improvement (GOV.UK). It's a loan from a lender, not a grant, and we don't arrange credit.
Edinburgh homes and what they mean for your roof
Scotland's Census 2022 counted 238,944 households in Edinburgh: 12.7% semi-detached, 12.8% terraced, 11.3% detached and 63.2% flats or maisonettes, with 59.7% owner-occupied and 23.1% privately rented (Scotland: 62.9% owned).
Flats are the biggest group in Edinburgh by far, from Victorian tenements to the Georgian New Town. Under the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, unless your title deeds say otherwise, the top-floor flat includes the roof over it, but the roof is still shared "scheme property" that every owner helps to maintain. The Act lets a majority of owners agree repairs, not improvements, and bars any owner from work that would materially impair the building's shelter, so in practice panels on a tenement roof need the other owners' written agreement, a plan for the cable and inverter route, and a clear answer on whose flat the output supplies. Check your title deeds before you pay for a survey.
Nearly a quarter of Edinburgh households rent privately, more than in Glasgow or Aberdeen, and renters need the landlord to commission the work. Owners of the city's detached and semi-detached houses, mostly in the suburbs, have the simplest route: one roof and one owner. Check first whether the street is in a conservation area.
Planning permission in Edinburgh
In Scotland, solar panels on a home are normally permitted development, so no planning application is needed, under rules that took effect on 24 May 2024. The panels can stand up to 1 metre proud of the roof or wall, and the rules cover flats and tenements as well as houses. The main exceptions: a listed building (or a building in its grounds) or any home inside a World Heritage Site needs planning permission, and listed buildings also need listed building consent. In a conservation area, panels can't go on the front of the building or on a side that faces a road, so in practice they go on the rear slope. Panels on a garage or shed are also permitted, up to 50cm proud, as long as it isn't in front of the house. A council can withdraw these rights in a particular area with an Article 4 direction. Permitted development only answers the planning question: on a tenement or any shared roof you still need the other owners to agree.
Edinburgh has 50 conservation areas (council page) and two World Heritage Sites: the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, inscribed in 1995, and the Forth Bridge (council page). Inside the Old and New Towns site, panels on a home always need a planning application, because the national permitted development class excludes World Heritage Sites.
The council's September 2025 guidance is strict. It says that on listed buildings and in conservation areas, "solar panels will not normally be permitted on any elevations which are visible from public views", so a south-facing main roof slope "may be inappropriate". In the New Town and the World Heritage Site, "aerial views will also be considered". It points instead to secondary roof slopes, hidden locations, outbuildings, and panels "behind parapets or the internal valley of a roof, where no part projects above the ridge" (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas guidance). If your roof has a central valley or sits behind a parapet, ask the installer whether panels can go there. If yours is listed, listed building consent is needed as well, wherever the panels go.
Connecting to the grid: SP Energy Networks
Edinburgh's local electricity network is run by SP Energy Networks, the distribution network operator for central and southern Scotland (SP Energy Networks). Your installer notifies or applies to it for the connection; your electricity supplier is a separate company. Edinburgh is in Ofgem's South Scotland price-cap region, which the prices on this page use.
For a typical home system the installer handles this. A single-phase installation up to 3.68kW of inverter capacity (16 amps per phase) is connected under the G98 process and the network operator is notified within 28 days of commissioning. Anything larger — including a bigger system, or panels plus a battery whose combined inverter capacity passes that limit — goes through G99, which needs the network operator's approval before installation and can add weeks. Ask your installer which route your design needs and whether an export limit is being applied.
Getting a quote in Edinburgh
Tell us about your home
Postcode, property type and how you'd pay. Two minutes.
We pass it to one installer
If an accredited (MCS-certified) installer covers your area, we'll pass your enquiry to them, and only them. They can arrange a roof survey and quote.
Judge the quote
Check it against the figures on this page. If it's out of range, you can say no. No obligation at any stage.
How your enquiry is handled
- One installer introduction, fulfilling your request. If an accredited (MCS-certified) installer covers your area, we'll pass your enquiry to them, and only them — not a list of companies.
- No obligation, at any stage. You can say no at any point, including after the survey or the quote, and owe nothing.
- It costs you nothing. An installer may pay Great British Energy a referral fee if you go ahead, and that fee does not change your price.
- We are an independent guide, not an installer. Great British Energy Guide doesn't install anything and isn't the government body of a similar name. Your consent is recorded with the enquiry, as set out in our privacy policy.
Get your solar quote in Edinburgh
One MCS-certified installer who covers your postcode. Nothing is shared until you submit.
What the quote should show
- The installer's MCS certificate number — needed for a Smart Export Guarantee tariff — and their consumer code (RECC or HIES).
- Named panel and inverter make and model, with quantities, and the MCS performance estimate for your roof in kWh a year. Every saving quoted to you should come from that estimate.
- Scaffolding stated as included or excluded, and any battery priced as a separate line.
- No VAT added on a home installation (0% until 31 March 2027), warranty terms split out, and, if financed, the total repayable next to the cash price.
The full checklist is on the solar quotes page.
Questions from Edinburgh homeowners
Can I put solar panels on my house in Edinburgh's New Town or Old Town?
Possibly, but you need planning permission. The Old and New Towns are a World Heritage Site, where Scotland's permitted development rules for solar do not apply. The council's guidance says panels will not normally be allowed where they are visible from public views, and it also considers aerial views. Hidden locations, such as behind a parapet or in a roof valley, are the ones it says may be acceptable. A listed building also needs listed building consent.
Do I need planning permission for solar panels in Edinburgh?
Outside the World Heritage Site, usually not for a house, flat or tenement that is not listed. In one of Edinburgh's 50 conservation areas the panels must go on the rear or on a side that does not face a road. A listed building always needs permission and listed building consent.
Can I put solar panels on an Edinburgh tenement?
Not on your own. Unless your title deeds say otherwise, the top-floor flat includes the roof over it, but every owner shares its upkeep, and the majority rule in the Tenements (Scotland) Act covers repairs, not improvements. Get the other owners' written agreement before you pay for a survey.
Is Edinburgh sunny enough for solar panels?
Yes, for an unshaded roof. On PVGIS data a south-facing roof in Edinburgh makes about 903 kWh per kW a year, about 11% less than London but more than Glasgow or Manchester. East- or west-facing roofs make close to four-fifths of that.
Are there grants for solar panels in Edinburgh?
Not for standalone solar panels if you are paying yourself. Home Energy Scotland offers interest-free loans of up to £5,000 for solar thermal or hybrid PV-T panels, applied for through Home Energy Scotland before any work starts. The UK Warm Homes Loan Scheme, which covers Scotland, lets homeowners borrow for standard solar panels and batteries through approved lenders. For funded routes for lower-income households, see the Edinburgh energy grants page.
Other areas
- Solar in Birmingham
- Solar in Newcastle
- Solar in Manchester
- Solar in Bristol
- Solar in Sheffield
- Solar in Doncaster
- Solar in Nottingham
- Solar in Cornwall
- Solar in Aberdeen
- Solar in Cambridge
- Solar in Cardiff
- Solar in Derby
- Solar in Devon
- Solar in Dorset
- Solar in Essex
- Solar in Glasgow
- Solar in Hull
- Solar in Kent
- Solar in Leeds
- Solar in Leicester
- Solar in Liverpool
- Solar in London
- Solar in Norfolk
- Solar in Telford & Shropshire
Thinking about a heat pump too? The Boiler Upgrade Scheme doesn't cover Scotland. See Home Energy Scotland grants and loans for heat pumps and the other Scottish schemes.
Solar or heating for business premises in Scotland? See Business Energy Scotland loans and cashback and commercial solar panels.
Sources
- European Commission JRC, PVGIS 5.3 — grid-connected PV, Edinburgh, 1kWp crystalline silicon, 35° slope, 14% system loss, south/east/west, SARAH3 2005–2023; queried 30 October 2026.
- National Records of Scotland, Scotland's Census 2022 tables UV402 (accommodation type, households), UV404 (tenure, households), UV407 (central heating) and UV408 (bedrooms), council area level; Scotland's Census, downloaded via the UK Data Service. NRS perturbs cell values, so shares may not sum to exactly 100%.
- DESNZ, Solar PV cost data, updated 28 May 2026 — domestic, mean cost per kW, Total Installed Capacity basis, 2025/26 (Official Statistics in development).
- Ofgem, Changes to energy price cap between 1 October and 31 December 2026 (26 August 2026) and regional unit rates and standing charges; electricity at 0% VAT from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 (HMRC).
- Ofgem, Smart Export Guarantee: tariffs must be above zero; suppliers with 150,000+ domestic customers must offer one. Supplier export rates checked on supplier websites, 23 September 2026.
- HMRC, VAT Notice 708/6: 0% on installing energy-saving materials in homes, 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027.
- Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992, Schedule 1 Part 1A Classes 6HA and 6HB, inserted by SSI 2024/102 from 24 May 2024; Scottish Government, Planning circular 1/2024: householder permitted development rights (28 May 2024).
- Network connection thresholds (G98 up to 16A per phase — 3.68kW single-phase; larger systems G99): SP Electricity North West; find your operator via the Energy Networks Association.
- Home Energy Scotland, Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan: solar thermal and hybrid PV-T loans up to £5,000 with no grant, heat pump grant up to £7,500 (plus a £1,500 uplift for eligible rural and island homes) and an optional interest-free loan up to £7,500; loans carry a 1.5% admin fee, capped at £150; standalone solar PV and batteries not listed; advice line 0808 808 2282 (checked 30 October 2026).
- Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, section 2(3) (a top flat includes the roof over it, unless the title says otherwise), section 9 (no owner may materially impair the building's support or shelter) and schedule 1, the Tenement Management Scheme (the roof is scheme property; majority decisions cover maintenance, not alteration or improvement).
- City of Edinburgh Council, conservation areas, World Heritage in Edinburgh, Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas guidance (September 2025) and Guidance for Householders (September 2025) (checked 30 October 2026).
- SP Energy Networks, network area; Ofgem postcode-to-region map, regional unit rates page (checked 30 October 2026).
- GOV.UK, Warm Homes Loan Scheme (published 28 October 2026; checked 30 October 2026).