The rules that apply
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
You can usually fit one air source heat pump on a house, a building that contains flats, or a flat, or in the grounds, without a planning application. You need to apply when it sticks out by more than 1 metre. In a conservation area it sits at ground floor on the back of the building. In the grounds it stays behind the front wall and behind a side wall that faces a road, and within 3 metres high. You need to apply in a World Heritage Site or in the grounds of a listed building. The unit is for heating or hot water at home, and it meets MCS 020 planning standards or an equivalent.
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
These are the national householder rules. They apply to homes in East Lothian in the same way as the rest of Scotland. A survey of the individual house still decides the roof, the outdoor unit position, and the quote.
Pentland Renewables installs from the workshop at Unit 2b Eastfield Industrial Estate, Penicuik, EH26 8HA. A job is a survey of the house, then a quote for the solar array or the heat pump on solar panels and heat pumps. The grants guide records the Home Energy Scotland heat pump grant of up to £7,500 and the optional £7,500 interest-free loan. 0% VAT on those installs at your home until 31 March 2027. East Lothian homes use the national rules on this page. The quote lists materials and labour after the survey.
Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan · VAT Notice 708/6 · correct as of 3 October 2026