Latest Blog

The headline numbers

For a typical three-bedroom UK home, a standard 4kW solar PV system — panels, inverter, mounting, wiring, and certification — generally costs somewhere between £6,500 and £8,500 fully installed. Add a battery, and you’re typically looking at £10,000 to £14,000 for the combined system.

Smaller one- or two-bedroom properties with a 2kW–3kW system tend to sit lower, often from around £4,000. Larger homes with bigger energy demands, or those adding an EV charger or heat pump into the mix, can push past £10,000 even before a battery is added.

The UK’s 0% VAT rate on solar panel and battery installations remains in place until March 2027, which knocks a meaningful chunk off these figures compared to the 20% you’d pay on most other home improvements.

Why two quotes for "the same system" can differ by thousands

This is the part that catches people out. Two installers can quote for what looks like an identical 4kW system and come back with wildly different prices, because the headline kW figure doesn’t capture everything that affects cost:

– Roof type and access. A straightforward tiled roof with easy access costs less to work on than a slate roof, a steep Victorian pitch, or a property needing scaffolding in a tight space.

– Panel tier. Standard-efficiency panels and premium monocrystalline panels can have a noticeable price gap, even at the same wattage.

– Inverter choice. A standard string inverter is cheaper than a hybrid inverter built to manage a battery, and that choice affects your options later if you add storage.

– What’s actually included. Some quotes bundle in scaffolding, DNO paperwork, and MCS certification; others itemise these separately, which makes the headline number look lower than the real total.

– Regional labour rates. The same system can cost noticeably more in the South East than in the North East of England, purely down to local labour costs.

None of this means anyone’s trying to mislead you — it just means a single quote, taken at face value, isn’t enough to know whether you’re getting a fair price for your specific roof.