Solar panels in Edinburgh

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

Edinburgh's heat pump page points householders to the Scottish Government guidance and to the council's householder planning PDF.

Edinburgh heat pump page · 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. Where listed building consent is required, it stays in place.

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

Pentland Renewables surveys the roof or the heating system, then sends a quote for that home. The workshop is at Unit 2b Eastfield Industrial Estate, Penicuik, EH26 8HA. The quote lists the materials and the labour for the property that was seen. 0% VAT on solar installs until 31 March 2027, and the same 0% covers a fitted heat pump. 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, and you can add an optional interest-free loan of £7,500. Related reading: solar panels, heat pumps, grants, and solar on listed Edinburgh homes.

VAT Notice 708/6 · Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan · correct as of 3 October 2026