A south-facing roof in Leicester generates about 994 kWh per kWp a year on the EU's PVGIS model, and every unit you use saves 25.36p, the lowest unit rate of the 14 Ofgem price cap regions in Great Britain. A typical 4.5kWp system would make about 4,473 kWh a year.
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A south-facing 1kWp system at 35 degrees in central Leicester generates about 994 kWh a year, according to the EU's PVGIS model. That ranks 11 of the 20 areas we cover, which run from 850 kWh in Glasgow to 1,119 kWh in Dorset. East and west roofs still work, at roughly a fifth less.
| Roof direction (35° pitch) | Per kWp a year | June | December |
|---|---|---|---|
| South-facing | 994 kWh | 118 kWh | 35 kWh |
| East-facing | 794 kWh | 113 kWh | 14 kWh |
| West-facing | 775 kWh | 110 kWh | 14 kWh |
PVGIS is a modelled figure for an unshaded roof with 14% system losses, and it runs higher than the MCS method installers must use for your written estimate, which gives roughly 800 to 950 kWh per kWp for a well-oriented UK roof. Use PVGIS to compare places and the installer's MCS estimate to plan your budget. Our guides to which direction panels should face and how much electricity solar panels produce go further.
What that electricity is worth in Leicester
Every unit you use yourself saves 25.36p, the Ofgem price cap rate for direct debit customers in the East Midlands region from 1 October to 31 December 2026. The Great Britain average is 26.32p. Every unit you export earns whatever your Smart Export Guarantee tariff pays, which the Energy Saving Trust puts at around 12p typically.
Take the Energy Saving Trust's typical 4.5kWp home system. On the PVGIS figure for Leicester it would generate about 4,473 kWh a year. If you used all of it, that would be worth about £1,134. If you exported all of it, about £537. Real homes sit between the two, and a battery or daytime use pushes you towards the higher figure. The Energy Saving Trust prices that typical system at around £7,600. See our solar panel cost guide and current export rates.
The cheapest electricity in Great Britain, and what it does to payback
Leicester is in the East Midlands price cap region, where the direct debit electricity rate is 25.36p per kWh from 1 October to 31 December 2026, lower than any other of the 14 Ofgem price cap regions and below the Great Britain average of 26.32p. The standing charge, 51.45p a day, is also under the GB average of 54.83p. That is a good position to be in as a bill payer, and it is worth saying plainly that it works against solar: every unit you generate and use yourself displaces a cheaper unit than the same roof would displace in Merseyside, where the cap rate is 27.86p.
It does not change the export side. Smart Export Guarantee rates are set by your supplier, not by your Ofgem region, so the units you send back to the grid are worth the same in Leicester as anywhere else in Great Britain. The practical conclusion is that a Leicester system leans harder on using what it makes, which usually means daytime use, a hot water diverter or a battery. See our solar panel cost guide, battery storage and current export rates.
Grants in Leicester: closed, and reviewed in April 2027
Leicester City Council is not accepting new Warm Homes: Local Grant applications, because the scheme is oversubscribed. The council delivers it with Sustainable Building Services (UK) Ltd, and when it was open it covered solar panels, battery storage alongside solar, insulation and non-gas heating at no cost to eligible households. The scheme itself runs until March 2028. The delivery partner says the project position will be reviewed in its third financial year, starting April 2027, when it may reopen to new applications; the council's own page points to 2028, subject to funding.
The eligibility test, for when it does reopen: a privately owned or privately rented home with an EPC band of D, E, F or G, and either a household income of £36,000 or less, a listed means-tested benefit, or an address in a qualifying postcode. In the meantime the city council keeps a page of energy efficiency advice and support. Our guide to solar panel grants in the UK covers what is open nationally, and paying for solar panels covers the alternatives to a grant.
How much solar Leicester has
The government counted 7,994 solar installations in the Leicester City council area at the end of 2025, up from 7,359 a year earlier, about 63 per 1,000 households by our count. That is just under the UK average of about 69 and puts Leicester 204th of the 362 UK council areas in the table. The year-on-year rise, 8.6%, was slower than the region around it. The government warns that its 2025 council figures undercount, because many 2025 installations could not yet be matched to a council area, so the figure will be revised upwards.
On the domestic figures for August 2026, Leicester West had 2,939 home installations, Leicester East 2,786 and Leicester South 1,762. The East Midlands as a whole added 15,981 installations in 2026 up to July, taking its total to 182,606, a 17% rise since July 2025 and the fastest of the top five English regions.
Semis, and a city almost entirely on the gas grid
At the 2021 Census, 36.4% of Leicester households lived in semi-detached houses against 31.5% across England, and 74.0% heated with mains gas only, exactly the England figure. Oil heating in Leicester rounds to 0.0%. Another 29.2% of households were in terraced houses, 17.8% in purpose-built flats and 11.4% in detached houses, roughly half the England share of 22.9%.
Those two facts pull in opposite directions. A semi is one of the easiest house types to quote for, because it usually has a whole roof slope of its own. But a city on mains gas has no large group of homes paying expensive electric or oil heating prices, which is where solar plus a battery tends to pay back fastest. In Leicester the case rests on your own daytime use. Our guide to how many solar panels you need helps you size the system to that.
Conservation areas and your network operator
Leicester has 25 conservation areas and 396 listed buildings, and the council's guidance says you need planning permission in a conservation area if the panel faces the street and is visible, sits above the ridge line, projects more than 200mm from the roof, or goes on a garden building visible from the street. Article 4 directions in several conservation areas, including New Walk, St Paul's, West End and South Highfields, require permission for panels visible from the street. Elsewhere in the city, rooftop solar on a house is usually permitted development. See our guides to permitted development and conservation areas.
Leicester's network is run by National Grid Electricity Distribution, through its East Midlands licence area, which serves about 2.7 million customers. For a standard home system under 16A per phase, NGED must be notified on G98 within 28 days of commissioning, which the installer can do online. NGED has also agreed to buy a council-owned site at 52 to 58 Oxford Street in the city centre for a new primary substation, part of a £5.3 million investment to add network capacity, subject to planning permission. Read our G98 and G99 guide, or compare with solar panels in Nottingham and solar panels in Birmingham.
Getting solar quotes in Leicester
Get at least three written quotes from MCS-certified installers, each with a performance estimate for your roof and a full breakdown of what is supplied. That is the Renewable Energy Consumer Code's advice. Never pay more than 25% up front, and walk away from anyone offering a discount to sign on the day. Our guide to choosing a solar installer covers what to check.
Tell us about your home once and get quotes from MCS-certified installers covering Leicester.
Get a Solar Quote →Solar panels in Leicester: frequently asked questions
Are solar panels worth it in Leicester?
For a house with a suitable roof, usually yes, but the sums are tighter than in most of Great Britain. Leicester generates about 994 kWh per kWp a year on the PVGIS model, and every unit you use saves 25.36p at the East Midlands price cap rate for October to December 2026, the lowest regional rate on the cap.
Is there a solar panel grant in Leicester?
Not for new applicants. Leicester City Council's Warm Homes: Local Grant covers solar panels and battery storage for eligible households, but it is oversubscribed and closed. The delivery partner says the position will be reviewed from April 2027; the scheme runs until March 2028.
Do I need planning permission for solar panels in Leicester?
Usually not for roof panels on a house. In Leicester's 25 conservation areas you do need permission if the panel faces the street and is visible, sits above the ridge line or projects more than 200mm, and Article 4 directions in areas such as New Walk and South Highfields add the same control. Listed buildings always need consent.
Who is the network operator for solar in Leicester?
National Grid Electricity Distribution, in its East Midlands licence area. A single home system under 16A per phase is notified on G98 within 28 days of commissioning; larger systems need a G99 application.
Sources for this page
Local sources checked on 16 October 2026. Solar yields: PVGIS 5.2, EU Joint Research Centre, modelled 10 October 2026. Electricity prices: Ofgem price cap by region. System cost and export rate: Energy Saving Trust. Local sources:
- Leicester City Council: Warm Homes Local Grant
- Warm Homes Leicester (delivery partner)
- Leicester City Council: what you can do in a conservation area
- Leicester City Council: New Walk conservation area
- Leicester City Council: local plan, heritage
- DESNZ: Renewable electricity by local authority, 2014 to 2025
- DESNZ: Solar photovoltaics deployment (September 2026)
- DESNZ: first regional solar breakdown (August 2026)
- Nomis: Census 2021 accommodation type (TS044)
- National Grid Electricity Distribution: G98 micro-generation