Solar panels in
Edinburgh and the Lothians

The installation is the panels on the roof, the mounting that holds them, an inverter, the cabling, and the connection into the consumer unit. The survey looks at roof covering, pitch, space, shading from neighbouring buildings, access, and a place for the inverter. The quote describes that roof. A battery or a heat pump is a separate scope when you ask for it.

Read solar panels in Scottish weather, do solar panels work in Scotland, solar panels for Edinburgh homes, and solar panels and the EPC in Scotland.

Based in Edinburgh or the Lothians? See solar panels in Edinburgh.

0% VAT on solar installs until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 the rate is 5%. That 0% covers the panels, the cables, the controller, and the inverter, fitted in or on the building. Houses and blocks of flats both qualify. If you only buy the equipment and nobody fits it, VAT is at the standard rate.

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

Your electricity supplier has to pay you for solar electricity you send back to the grid. This is the Smart Export Guarantee. It covers solar in Great Britain up to 5MW. The rate stays above zero. The supplier chooses the pence rate, how long the contract lasts, and how you apply. You can compare suppliers.

Smart Export Guarantee · correct as of 3 October 2026

For a home solar system up to 50kW, the supplier asks you to show the kit and the installer are certified. An MCS certificate is the usual example. Other schemes that meet EN 45011 or EN ISO/IEC 17065:2012 also count. Read the SEG post.

Ofgem generator 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

The same national rules cover flats. Solar on a flat follows the solar rules above. 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. Where listed building consent is required, it stays in place. See solar on listed Edinburgh homes and Edinburgh.

Edinburgh listed building and conservation area guidance · 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. Standalone solar PV is not on that table. A hybrid solar PV and water heating system has a loan of £5,000, and that line is for solar PV-T. Grant funding on that line is not available. Where that funding pays for a renewable system, the installer and the product are MCS certified. Micro-hydro is the published exception. Amounts are on the grants guide.

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