Do Solar Panels Add Value to Your Home? UK Evidence 2026

What the Evidence Actually Says

This topic is a minefield of made-up numbers, so let's separate the research from the marketing.

The most credible figure comes from a 2024 study by economists at Swansea University and the University of Birmingham, published in the journal Energy Economics. They analysed more than 1.5 million property transactions across England and Wales, which makes it by far the largest piece of work on the question. Their finding: homes with solar panels sold for 6.1% to 7.1% more than otherwise similar homes without them. On a typical UK home (around £290,000 in early 2026) that's roughly £14,000 to £16,000.

That's the number to anchor on. It's worth being honest about the others you'll see:

• "Solar adds up to 14%" traces back to small surveys and installer blogs, not transaction data. It's not impossible for a specific home, but it's not a typical outcome.
• "Up to £90,000" is a headline figure for very high-value London homes with large systems. Irrelevant for almost everyone.
• "Just 0.9% to 2%" comes from an older 2021 Solar Energy UK estimate, before the recent surge in energy prices made running costs front-of-mind for buyers. It's probably too low for today's market.

Our honest read: budget for a 3 to 7% uplift on an owned system, leaning towards the higher end if energy prices stay high and your panels are recent and well-documented. Use the estimator below to see what that looks like for your home.

Why Buyers Pay More for a Solar Home

Value isn't magic, it's the sum of things a buyer can see and feel. Solar ticks three of them.

1. Lower bills, which matter more than they used to

Since the energy crisis, running costs are something buyers actually ask about. A home that generates a chunk of its own electricity and earns money from exports (through the Smart Export Guarantee) is genuinely cheaper to live in. A 4 kW system saves a typical household £400 to £700 a year depending on usage and tariff. Buyers can do that maths, and increasingly they do.

2. A better EPC rating

Every home listed for sale needs an Energy Performance Certificate, and the rating is right there on the listing. Solar typically lifts a home's EPC by about one band, sometimes two for smaller or lower-rated homes. That matters because the band itself moves the price:

• Oxford Economics found buyers will pay around 3.4% more for an A or B rated home compared to a D.
• Homes rated F or G sell for roughly 7.4% less than equivalent D-rated homes.
• Lifting a home all the way from G to A has been linked to uplifts of up to 14%.

So part of solar's value is baked into the EPC effect, not counted separately. A jump from D to C is a real, visible selling point. If you want to push the rating higher, pairing solar with loft insulation moves the needle further than either does alone.

3. The work is already done

A new owner who wants solar faces quotes, scaffolding, a roof survey, and weeks of disruption. A home where it's already installed, signed off, and earning export payments removes all of that. You're selling convenience, and convenience commands a premium.

The One Thing That Kills the Value: Leasing

This is the single biggest mistake, and it's worth a section of its own.

In the 2010s, "rent a roof" schemes were everywhere: a company installed panels for free, kept the Feed-in Tariff income, and you got the free daytime electricity. The panels weren't yours, they were leased to a third party for 20 to 25 years.

If you have one of these, or you're tempted by a modern equivalent, understand the resale problem. The buyer inherits the lease. Some mortgage lenders won't lend on a property with a roof lease unless the agreement meets strict conditions (the Council of Mortgage Lenders published guidance precisely because deals were falling through). At best a leased system adds nothing to your home's value. At worst it shrinks your pool of buyers and delays the sale.

Owned panels are an asset. Leased panels are a liability attached to your roof. With solar costs down and 0% VAT in place until March 2027, there's very little reason to lease today. Buy outright, or use a finance deal where the loan is yours and the panels are yours.

What Else Can Undermine the Value-Add

• A non-MCS install. Without MCS certification, your system can't claim SEG payments and a switched-on buyer (or their surveyor) will treat it as a red flag. Always use an MCS-certified installer.
• Missing paperwork. The value is in the documentation. Keep the MCS certificate, the DNO notification (the G98/G99 form confirming the system is registered with the grid), the electrical certificate, and the product warranties. Hand them all to the buyer at completion.
• An ageing system with no warranty left. Panels last 25+ years but a 12-year-old system with a dead inverter and no remaining warranty is worth far less than a recent one. Degradation is slow (about 0.4% a year) but buyers price in age.
• An ugly or oversized install. Panels sprawled across a front-facing roof in a conservation area can put some buyers off. Most homes are fine, but kerb appeal is real.

Does a Battery Add Even More?

A little, but not as much as the panels themselves. A battery makes the home cheaper to run (you self-consume 70-80% of generation instead of 30-40%), which feeds back into the "lower bills" selling point. But batteries also have a clearer lifespan than panels and buyers know they'll eventually need replacing, so the resale value is more modest. Add a battery because it improves your own bills while you live there, not as a resale play.

Will SEG Payments Transfer to the Buyer?

Not automatically. The Smart Export Guarantee contract is between you and your energy supplier, so it doesn't pass to the new owner. They'll need to sign up for their own SEG tariff after they move in, which is straightforward as long as the system is MCS-certified and the paperwork is there. The ability to earn from exports transfers with the panels, the specific contract doesn't. Make this clear to buyers, it's a selling point, not a complication.

The Bottom Line

Owned solar is one of the few home improvements that pays you twice: it cuts your bills for as long as you live there, then hands you a resale premium of roughly 3 to 7% when you sell. The numbers only work if you own the system, use an MCS-certified installer, and keep every piece of paperwork. Lease the roof instead and you get neither benefit. If you're weighing solar partly as an investment in your home's value, the move is clear: get it installed properly, by certified installers, on terms where the panels are genuinely yours.