How many homes have solar panels in the UK?

Before you get solar panels, it’s wise to find out how widespread and popular the technology is – and whether your region of the country has jumped on board.

In this guide, we’ll run through how many homes have solar panels, which areas have the most and fewest solar installations, and how the UK compares with Europe in the solar stakes.

If you would like to see the savings you could get from a solar & battery system, answer a few quick questions and we’ll provide an estimate.

How many UK households have solar panels?

More than 1.4 million households in the UK have solar panels, according to the latest government data.

That means 5% of the UK’s 28.4 million households have gone solar.

As recently as December 2020, fewer than a million UK homes had solar panels – which shows how far we've come in relatively little time.

The spike in solar installations in the first half of the 2010s was largely prompted by the government’s Feed-in Tariffs scheme, launched in 2010, which paid solar owners for all the electricity they generated and exported.

As the government put steadily less funding towards this initiative from 2016 onwards, installation numbers fell – but they’ve climbed rapidly since the start of the Smart Export Guarantee in 2020, and particularly after the energy crisis hit in 2021.

More solar panel systems are being installed now per month than at any time since 2015.

There have been more than 415,000 solar panel installations since the start of 2022, which has grown the proportion of UK households with solar panels from 3.5% to more than 5%.

Considering just 183,050 solar panel systems were installed from the start of 2016 to the end of 2021, this represents a massive uplift.

How does UK solar uptake compare to other countries?

The UK's solar uptake is poor compared to other countries of similar means.

5% of households have gone solar, which means the UK trails some way behind Germany, Italy, and Spain, despite being just as economically successful – if not more so.

Australia is streets ahead, with more than one in three homes boasting a rooftop system after a generous series of government subsidies and export tariffs bore fruit.

The UK's place below its international peers isn't down to a lack of enthusiasm.

The recent uptick in the number of households going solar is enough evidence to prove this, along with the fact that 68% of homeowners want to get solar panels, according to the latest government data.

Unfortunately, the the high upfront cost of solar panels stops many people from turning this wish into reality, especially as the great majority don't qualify for any solar grants.

Solar uptake in other countries

Which parts of the UK have the most installations?

South West England has the highest percentage of homes with solar panels, as you can see in the map above.

7.08% of households in the South West have gone solar, which puts the region well ahead of its closest competitors. Wales is second with 6.01%, just ahead of the East Midlands on 5.63%.

There are savings to be gained beyond the south and central regions of the UK, as shown by the fact that 4.83% of homes in North East England have solar panels – which is above the national average.

We’ve also broken down the number of solar homes by county. In this category, the Isle of Anglesey has the highest percentage in the UK, at 13.82%.

The Welsh island county is closely followed by another Welsh county, Ceredigion, and south-west English counties Devon and Dorset.

The data for Scotland is based on council areas, whereas the data for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland was taken on a county level. 

The amount of households with solar panels in different areas comes from the MCS Data Dashboard, and is true as of February 2024.

We sourced the number of households from the 2021 UK Census, where possible.

Solar adoption by English county

Many English counties have adopted solar panels at higher rates than other parts of the UK, with the country’s higher levels of sunlight making going solar even more profitable.

Let’s take a look at how the top 25 English counties perform.

The South West, East, and East Midlands regions dominate the solar adoption stakes in England, with only Herefordshire in the West Midlands bucking this trend among the top 10 counties.

Devon, Dorset, and Cornwall make up three of the top five, solidifying the South West’s position as the most popular place for solar in the country.

Which parts of the UK have the fewest installations?

Just 1.43% of households in Greater London have had solar panels installed, leaving the county rock-bottom of the rankings, behind fellow slow adopters in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

This modest adoption rate is largely down to the high number of flats in these urban areas, as well as the large part of the population who can’t afford the high upfront cost of solar panels.

Scotland is responsible for 12 out of the 15 UK counties with the lowest solar adoption rates, with Greater London, West Midlands, and Antrim the odd ones out.

Which type of property is most likely to have solar?

The most likely type of property to have a solar installation is an owner-occupied household, as these properties make up 70.6% of solar owners.

On the flip side, only 12.8% of privately rented homes have solar panels.

In terms of building type, 36% of solar panel systems are on detached homes, just ahead of semi-detached properties, on 31.4%.

Terraced houses own 19.9% of solar installations, ahead of flats, which once again lag behind on 12%.

Summary

The areas of the UK with the highest solar adoption rates are broadly also the best places for solar panels – and that’s no coincidence.

On average, households in Wales and the south of England can save more money with solar panels than other regions of the country, which makes the prospect more attractive.

However, solar panels can still save you hundreds of pounds per year if you live in other parts of the UK, and the recent record-breaking run of installations all over the nation seems to show that households know it.

If you’re wondering how much a solar & battery system could save you, just answer a few quick questions and we’ll provide you with an estimate.

UK homes with solar: FAQs