Lower upfront, faster payback, bills down from day one. Solar-only fits homes that use power during daylight, drive an EV, or want to start now and add storage later.
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Most homes do better with solar and a battery, but for some, panels alone already cover the bulk of the saving. If any of these sound like you, cost up solar-only first.
Generation rises with the sun, peaks around midday, and tails off in the evening. Your home uses what it can, exports the rest under the Smart Export Guarantee, and falls back on the grid after dark.
Sunrise: panels wake up
Generation rises through the morning. Kettle, breakfast, hot water immersion all run on solar.
Midday peak
Output peaks. Your home draws what it needs off the roof, and the surplus exports to the grid for SEG income.
Evening tail-off
Generation drops as the sun sets. Anything still going (cooker, lights) runs on a mix of solar and grid.
Grid takes the night
Without a battery, you import for the evening peak. A time-of-use tariff (Octopus Go) softens this if you have an EV.
A diverter sends spare solar to your hot water cylinder, so you get a free tank by evening (cylinder, not combi).
Run the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer between 11am and 3pm, when generation is highest.
Set your charger to solar mode (Ohme) so it tops the car up only on surplus. Free fuel on sunny days.
Panels, inverter, mounting, electrical work, scaffolding, MCS registration, and a generation app. Whatever's left in scope at handover is in writing on the day.
Solar-only installs are quicker than a combined system because there's no hybrid inverter to commission and no battery to bench-test. Most jobs finish in 1-2 days.
Tell us about your roof and usage. Our quote tool maps the sun your roof gets across the year from satellite data, so the system is sized to your actual yearly exposure, not a postcode average. No site visit needed at this stage.
An all-in fixed price based on your roof's modelled generation, your usage, and the inverter we size to match. No deposits chased and no surprise extras on the day.
Scaffolding, panels, inverter, electrical work, commissioning and MCS registration in 1-2 days. Faster than a combined install because there's no battery to wire in.
Both setups work. The right pick depends on when you actually use power and how much you want to spend up front. Here's the honest side-by-side.
Lowest entry, fastest payback. Add a battery later when it suits.
Best for: daytime households, EV owners who charge in daylight, landlords, phased buyers, anyone who wants the fastest payback.
Higher upfront, longer payback, full evening cover and 0% VAT on the battery.
Best for: households out during the day, time-of-use tariff users, anyone wanting backup during a grid outage. See combined systems.
Both setups qualify for 0% VAT until March 2027. Your exact price and payback depend on your roof, your usage, and the SEG tariff you pick. Get a fixed quote and we'll model both side by side.
Anything you don't use is exported and paid under the Smart Export Guarantee, typically 40-60% of generation on a solar-only system. The top flat rates usually require you to take your import electricity from the same supplier, so weigh the export rate against the import deal.
Yes. It mostly comes down to which way your roof faces. The table below is the rough rule. Our quote tool figures out the specifics for your roof when you ask for a price.
| Roof orientation | Annual yield | Yearly generation | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| South | 100% (baseline) | ~3,400 kWh | Best you can get. Highest yield through the year. |
| South-east or south-west | ~95% | ~3,240 kWh | Almost as good as south. You'll barely see the difference. |
| East or west | ~80% | ~2,720 kWh | Still pays off well. East peaks in the morning, west in the evening, so it can fit your daytime usage. |
| North-east or north-west | ~65% | ~2,200 kWh | Noticeable drop, but still worth running the numbers against your actual usage. |
| North | ~55% | ~1,880 kWh | Steep drop. We'd usually point you at another roof face if you have one. |
| Flat roof (0°) | ~88% (tilted frame) | ~3,000 kWh | Works fine. We angle the panels on a tilt frame so they sit at the 10-15° sweet spot. |
Generation figures are for a 4 kWp system (the typical UK home install), based on MCS Standard Assumptions and the Energy Saving Trust UK average. They assume a 30° pitch with no shading. Your roof almost certainly isn't textbook. When you get a quote we read your actual roof from satellite imagery and show what yours would produce.
Flexible finance
No deposit, monthly payments from 9.9% APR Representative over up to 15 years. With a smaller upfront than a combined system, monthly options usually come in lower too. Subject to status and affordability.
How finance works
See the price up front, with no obligation.
Choose how long you want to spread the cost.
Complete the form in a few minutes. Most people get a decision the same day.
Final terms are confirmed in your formal quote.
No. Get installed first, then pay monthly. An optional deposit lowers payments.
Yes, with no early-repayment penalty. Useful if your SEG export income builds up faster than expected and you want to clear the balance.
Yes. Clear terms, fixed repayments, no hidden fees, all under FCA consumer-credit rules.
Three schemes do real work on every UKEM solar install: certified quality, a consumer-code-backed contract, and a written estimate of what your system should produce.
Honest answers on whether solar makes sense without a battery, what you save, and how to add a battery later.
A typical residential solar panel system costs between £5,000 and £12,000, depending on system size, roof layout, and whether you add battery storage. UKEM installs systems from 6 panels (2.67 kW), with larger systems available where suitable. Get a fixed, personalised price through our online quote tool.
Yes, for plenty of homes. Solar-only systems carry the lowest upfront cost (typically from around £5,300 fully fitted) and tend to pay back faster than a combined system, usually inside 7 to 10 years. They suit households that use power during the day: people working from home, retired homeowners, families with kids around at lunchtime, or anyone who runs an EV, hot water tank, or appliances on daylight hours. The trade-off is reduced evening cover. Anything you don't use during the day is exported under the Smart Export Guarantee rather than stored, so picking a strong export tariff matters. If you're out most days and use most of your power in the evening, see our combined solar and battery systems.
Yes. Most retrofits use an AC-coupled battery, which works alongside your existing solar inverter rather than replacing it, so the panels stay as they are. Fitting usually takes around a day with no roof work. As a standalone retrofit, batteries typically fit for around £4,000 to £7,000 depending on capacity (Fox ESS 5.76 kWh up to Tesla Powerwall 3 at 13.5 kWh) and whether you want whole-home backup. Bundling a battery in with your original solar install is usually £1,500 to £4,000 cheaper than retrofitting later, because it's one site visit and one MCS submission. See our battery-only options for the full range.
SEG rates currently sit between roughly 5p and 15p per kWh, and the leaders move around. As of 2026, Octopus Outgoing typically pays around 15p flat, EDF and E.ON Next sit at the upper end, and most other suppliers pay between 5p and 8p. You can switch your export supplier independently of your import supplier, so it's worth checking the Ofgem SEG list at install and reviewing it once a year. Without a battery, your export volume is higher, so a good SEG rate makes a real difference to year-one returns.
The goal is self-consumption, using your generation directly instead of exporting it cheap and buying it back expensive. Three things move the needle most. First, a hot water diverter (myenergi Eddi or Solar iBoost) sends surplus generation to your immersion heater, banking it as hot water. Second, schedule heavy appliances (dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer) to run between 11am and 3pm. Third, if you have an EV, set it to charge during daylight on sunny days using your charger's solar mode. Together these can lift typical self-consumption from around 30 percent to 50-60 percent on a solar-only system, often without spending much extra.
Yes. Solar panels generate electricity from daylight, not direct sunshine, so they still perform on cloudy days. You'll generate more in summer and less in winter, but the annual output is usually strong enough to deliver meaningful savings for UK homes.
Usually no. Most domestic rooftop systems are covered by permitted development rights. Exceptions include listed buildings, conservation areas, and some flat-roof setups where panels project above limits. We check this during your survey before installation is booked.
Most standard solar installations are completed within around one week. Larger systems or complex roof layouts can take longer. We handle scaffolding, electrical work, commissioning, and MCS paperwork so the process stays straightforward for you.
Yes. Panels, inverter, and battery storage are usually bundled into a single fixed-rate APR agreement, so you have one monthly payment for the whole system. Bundling also means 0% VAT applies under the energy-saving materials relief (running until March 2027). Many households structure repayments so the monthly cost lines up roughly with bill savings and Smart Export Guarantee income. See our finance page for how options are structured.
It depends on your system size, tariff, and household usage. Many setups are sized so the monthly finance payment sits close to the combined value of bill savings and Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) income. Self-consumption matters most: the more solar you use directly, the better the monthly maths. We model both sides at quote stage.
