Solar Panel Installation Process UK

Fitting solar panels takes one to two days on site, according to the Energy Saving Trust, with the scaffolding often going up a few days before that. What surprises most people is that the install day is the short part. Before it there is a survey and a system design; after it there is a commissioning test, an MCS certificate, a notification to your network operator and a separate application to a supplier before a single export payment reaches you.

This page walks the whole thing through in order, with the timings that are actually written down somewhere rather than the ones a salesperson estimates. Every figure comes from the Energy Saving Trust, MCS, Ofgem and the network operators, fetched on 10 August 2026.

How long does it take to install solar panels?

One to two days for the installation itself. The Energy Saving Trust is direct about it: "Your installer should take one to two days to install your solar panels." That covers putting up scaffolding, fixing brackets to the roof, mounting the panels, connecting the inverter to your home's electrical system, and fitting any battery storage or PV diverter.

The scaffolding is the exception to the two-day rule. The Energy Saving Trust notes installers "might do this a few days before the installation date", so the first sign of work on your house is usually a scaffold crew rather than the solar team, and the scaffolding stays up until after the panels are fitted.

What the one to two days does not include is everything either side of it. The realistic sequence looks like this.

Sources: Energy Saving Trust, solar panel installation guide (last updated 27 April 2026); MCS, solar panels for consumers; Ofgem. The gap between signing a contract and the installation date is set by the installer's order book, not by any rule, which is why it is the one stage with no published number.

Before the install: survey, design and questions

An assessor visits before anything is ordered. The Energy Saving Trust describes the step plainly: "an assessor will come and look at your roof to make sure it's safe to hold the solar panels. They'll also design your solar panel system to make it as efficient as possible, based on your roof setup and how much space you have."

This is also the stage where a quote is still a negotiation rather than a contract, and MCS puts the burden on the installer to be straight with you. Its consumer guidance says the quote "will be clear and provide a full breakdown of what you're purchasing", and that it is "the duty of your installer to ensure that you are fully informed of their products and services, the installation timeline, and any delays which may occur". If nobody has given you an installation timeline, that is not you being impatient. That is a gap.

MCS also expects the installer to tell you about "any subcontractors that will be involved in your installation, so you can know who is at your property and when". Worth asking, because on a lot of jobs the scaffolders and sometimes the electricians are not the company whose name is on the quote.

The Energy Saving Trust suggests four questions for each installer at this point:

• What electricity price are you using to estimate savings?
• How much of the energy will I likely use myself compared with exporting to the grid?
• How are you accounting for shading or roof orientation?
• What warranties do you offer, for the panels, inverter and installation?

Add a fifth: check the installer is still certified. MCS says to check "as you get a quote, before you sign your contract, and before the installation starts", using its Find an Installer search or its helpdesk. Certification can lapse between the quote and the scaffolding, and it is your export income that depends on it. Our guide to choosing an MCS-certified installer covers what else should be in writing before you commit, and what solar panels cost in the UK sets the price expectation the quote should be landing near.

Do you need planning permission first?

Usually not. The Energy Saving Trust puts rooftop solar on houses under permitted development, so most homes need no application, with exceptions for listed buildings, conservation areas and national parks.

The catch is that permitted development is devolved, so the limits differ in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Flat roofs and conservation areas are where the four sets of rules diverge most sharply, and the height allowance for a flat-roof array is not the same number in any two nations. Our guide to solar panels and permitted development sets out each nation's limits. Check yours before the scaffolding is booked, not after.

What happens on installation day

Scaffolding first, then brackets, panels, inverter and any battery, with a brief power cut somewhere in the middle. The Energy Saving Trust breaks the day into five jobs:

• Putting up scaffolding. Often a few days ahead of the install itself.
• Fixing brackets to your roof. These are what hold the panels in place.
• Mounting the solar panels to the brackets.
• Connecting the inverter to your home's electrical system. The inverter turns the DC electricity from the panels into the AC electricity your appliances run on.
• Installing any battery storage or PV diverters. A diverter sends surplus electricity to an immersion heater instead of the grid.

The disruption is smaller than most people brace for. The Energy Saving Trust: "Once the scaffolding is up, the actual installation tends to be straightforward. The installer may need to turn your power off briefly to connect the panels to your home's electricity, but that's it." Plan around a short outage, not a day without power. If you work from home, ask which part of the day it lands in.

If you are having a battery, have it fitted now rather than later. The Energy Saving Trust's point is that the installers are already on site and the scaffolding is already up, so doing it as one job is normally cheaper than retrofitting. Our guide to solar battery storage costs covers whether the battery earns its place at all.

When your installer tells the grid, and why the answer is not the same for everyone

It depends on the size of your system, and the two rules point in opposite directions, so ask which one applies to you. Both routes are the installer's job rather than yours, but the timing changes what can happen on the day.

Under G98, which covers systems up to 3.68kW per phase, the installer can connect the system and then notify the Distribution Network Operator within 28 days of commissioning. UK Power Networks describes exactly this for its own region: if the installer can connect your system, "all they need to do is simply notify us of the installation within 28 days". Under G99, which covers anything above that threshold, the application goes in and is approved before the system is connected. Our guide to G98 and G99 explained covers where the thresholds bite and what a fast-track G99 involves.

Worth knowing that MCS's consumer guidance takes the cautious line regardless of size, telling homeowners that "before your installer begins work, you will need to notify your DNO, providing details on the type and capacity of your system", and that in some cases the installer does it on your behalf. That is safer advice than the G98 minimum, and it is the version some network operators prefer. UK Power Networks, for instance, wants the installer to apply through its Smart Connect portal and automatically approves where maximum export after any export limitation is under 5kW, and it is explicit that "only installers can notify us on behalf of customers".

The practical version: get the installer to confirm in writing whether your system is G98 or G99, and whether the notification goes in before or after the install. If your supply needs upgrading to take the system, that is the stage where a job slips by weeks, and it is far better to find out at survey than on scaffolding day.

In Northern Ireland the route is different again. The Energy Saving Trust says your installer registers the system with NIE Networks.

After the install: commissioning, certificate and handover pack

Your installer tests the system, hands over a pack of documents, and has 10 working days to get you an MCS certificate. This is the part worth chasing, because two later things depend on it.

The Energy Saving Trust describes the immediate handover: "Once the panels are up, your installer will run some tests to make sure everything's working. They should also guide you through checking how much electricity the panels are generating." It adds that your installer should leave written details of the maintenance checks to make, including the main inverter fault signals and basic troubleshooting, and should show you this after installing the system rather than posting it later.

MCS sets out what you should end up holding. Its consumer guidance for solar states that you will receive an MCS certificate "within 10 working days of completion", and a handover pack on completion "including key information such as product details and workmanship warranty". Its guidance to installers explains the mechanism behind that deadline: an installation "shall only be registered on the MID when the installation is fully complete and commissioned, and not before", registration "shall be completed no later than 10 working days after commissioning has taken place", and "the MCS certificate shall be included in the handover pack provided to your customer".

If day 11 arrives with no certificate, chase it. Without it your export application does not proceed, and if you sell the house later it is the document a buyer's solicitor asks for.

Getting paid for what you export

Nobody enrols you automatically. You apply to a supplier yourself, after the install. The Smart Export Guarantee launched on 1 January 2020 and requires some electricity suppliers, known as SEG Licensees, to pay small-scale generators for the low-carbon electricity they export, provided certain criteria are met, according to Ofgem. Solar PV up to 5MW qualifies, which is every domestic system.

Two things to be clear about. First, Ofgem states that you apply to a SEG licensee, that each licensee has its own application process, and that "you can apply for a SEG tariff with any SEG licensee", so your export supplier does not have to be your import supplier. Second, the rates are set by suppliers rather than by Ofgem, which is why they vary so widely. Our guide to current Smart Export Guarantee rates compares what suppliers are actually paying and explains why the headline rate is not always the better deal.

To apply you generally need a smart meter and proof your installation is certified. The Energy Saving Trust puts it as "you'll usually need a smart meter and proof that your solar installation is certified", and MCS notes its certificate "will also be required when accessing some grants and incentives".

This applies in England, Scotland and Wales only. Northern Ireland is not in the Smart Export Guarantee. Be careful with what you read here, because the obvious-looking alternative is a dead end. The Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation is often cited as the NI equivalent, but the Department for the Economy states that it "closed to new large scale onshore wind on 31 March 2016, to new small scale onshore wind on 30 June 2016 and to all other technologies on 31 March 2017", and that "all grace periods have expired and the NIRO is now closed to all new renewable electricity generation". A system installed today cannot join it. For a new install in Northern Ireland the practical route is the one the Energy Saving Trust gives on its main solar page: speak to your energy supplier and ask whether they offer an export tariff. Source: Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation.

Can you install solar panels yourself?

Legally you can put the panels up, but doing so costs you the export income, so almost nobody should. The Energy Saving Trust does not recommend DIY installation and sets out the two things you cannot do yourself: "Get a qualified electrician to connect the panels to your electrical system" and "Use an MCS-certified installer to qualify for any export payments."

That second point is the one that decides it. A self-installed system generates electricity you can use, but without a certified installation the export application stops, so every unit you cannot use yourself goes to the grid for nothing. On a system where a meaningful share of summer output is exported, that is a large recurring loss against a one-off saving on labour.

What it costs, for context

The Energy Saving Trust puts a typical 4.5kWp domestic system at around £7,600 installed, with figures last updated on 21 July 2026. MCS reports a slightly different number from a different base: its Data Dashboard put the average cost of a certified domestic solar PV system in 2025 at just over £7,000, around £500 less than in 2024.

Installation is zero-rated for VAT across the UK until 31 March 2027, after which the rate reverts to the reduced rate of 5%, not the standard 20%, per HMRC's VAT Notice 708/6. That relief applies to supply-and-install work by a VAT-registered installer, which is how home solar is normally bought, and it is another reason the DIY route is worse value than it looks.

For the full breakdown by system size, and what actually moves a quote up or down, see solar panel costs in the UK.