Solar on Listed Edinburgh Homes

Solar panels on a listed Edinburgh building, or in the grounds of a listed building, need a planning application. In a conservation area the panels go on the back of the house, or on a side that faces away from the road, and they stick out by 1 metre or less. Edinburgh looks for those panels away from elevations the public can see. Where listed building consent is required, it stays in place.

Scottish Government Circular 1/2024 (28 May 2024) · Edinburgh listed building and conservation area guidance · correct as of 3 October 2026

You can usually put solar panels on your house without a planning application when they stick out by 1 metre or less from the wall or roof. You need to apply if the house is listed, in the grounds of a listed building, or in a World Heritage Site. In a conservation area, the panels go on the back of the house, or on a side that faces away from the road.

Scottish Government Circular 1/2024 (28 May 2024) · correct as of 3 October 2026

Panels on a smaller building in the grounds stick out by 500 millimetres or less, and that building sits behind the front of the house. You need to apply if that building is listed, in the grounds of a listed building, or in a World Heritage Site. The building itself already has permission. Equipment that is no longer used for generation comes down as soon as is practical.

Scottish Government Circular 1/2024 (28 May 2024) · correct as of 3 October 2026

The same national rules cover flats. Solar on a flat follows the solar rules, and a heat pump follows the heat pump rules. In a conservation area, or in the grounds of a listed building, other changes to the outside of a flat need a planning application.

Circular 1/2024, flats · correct as of 3 October 2026

On a listed Edinburgh building, or in a conservation area, the council looks for panels away from elevations the public can see. The alternatives it describes are a secondary roof slope, a spot hidden from the main views, and a smaller building in the grounds. Some of this equipment can be installed under the national householder rules, and listed building consent stays in place where it is required.

Edinburgh listed building and conservation area guidance · correct as of 3 October 2026

Edinburgh's heat pump page points householders to the Scottish Government guidance. The area note is solar panels in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh heat pump page A New Town or Stockbridge address is still an Edinburgh address under these national rules plus the council guidance. The survey looks at the actual roof. · correct as of 3 October 2026

You can usually fit one air source heat pump on a house, a building that contains flats, or a flat. In a conservation area it sits at ground floor on the back. You need to apply in the grounds of a listed building, in a World Heritage Site, or when the unit sticks out by more than 1 metre. The unit is for heating or hot water at home, and it meets MCS 020 or an equivalent. The installation page is heat pumps.

Scottish Government Circular 1/2024 (28 May 2024) · correct as of 3 October 2026

Home Energy Scotland can pay a grant of up to £7,500 towards a heat pump, and you can add an optional interest-free loan of £7,500. The same amounts apply to air, ground, and water source heat pumps, and to a heat network connection. The heat pump has to run all of your heating and hot water. Rural and island homes can get an extra £1,500 on the heating grant when an advisor confirms the address.

Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan · correct as of 3 October 2026

0% VAT on a solar or heat pump install at your home until 31 March 2027. The installation we quote is solar panels. Background on daylight is solar panels in Scottish weather. Ask for a survey through the quote form.

VAT Notice 708/6 · correct as of 3 October 2026

A listed terrace and a house outside a conservation area are different surveys. We look at which elevation faces the road, whether the building is listed, and whether the roof is a rear slope, a side slope, or a principal elevation. The quote follows that observation and the national rules. Edinburgh's PDF is the council note for listed buildings and conservation areas. It is linked above and on the Edinburgh page.

One air source heat pump, at ground floor on the back in a conservation area. You need to apply in the grounds of a listed building or in a World Heritage Site. Home Energy Scotland can pay a grant of up to £7,500 towards a heat pump that runs all of the heating and hot water, with an optional interest-free loan of £7,500. Where that funding is used, the installer and the product are MCS certified. See heat pump funding in Scotland and the grants guide.

Scottish Government Circular 1/2024 (28 May 2024) · Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan · correct as of 3 October 2026

The workshop is Unit 2b Eastfield Industrial Estate, Penicuik, EH26 8HA. Solar installation is described on solar panels. The quote form asks for a survey of the building you have, including a note if it is listed or in a conservation area.

An air source heat pump in the grounds of a listed building needs a planning application. In a conservation area the unit sits at ground floor on the back. One unit, sticking out by 1 metre or less, for heating or hot water at home, meeting MCS 020 planning standards or an equivalent. Heat pumps is the installation page, and heat pumps in Scottish winters explains the survey.

Scottish Government Circular 1/2024 (28 May 2024) · correct as of 3 October 2026