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Brits with solar panels are set to save an average of £765 from their energy bills in 2026 as electricity rates soar by 5.1% from January.
These rising energy prices means that the average UK household with solar panels will save approximately £496 per year just from using electricity generated at home, in addition to generating a further £269 from exporting additional energy back to the grid through Smart Expert Guarantee (SEG) payments, providing a boost of £765 per household (based on a typical three-bedroom semi-detached home).
Government data shows 1.6 million Brits had solar panels installed on their homes as of October 2025, and the pace of adoption is only accelerating as households look to protect themselves from rising energy costs.
A new report by The Solar Co outlines how a record-breaking year for solar with 328,000 domestic installations will unfold in 2026. This, paired with total domestic EV charge installations topping 1.5m, will see potential bill savings for solar panel owners rise to £2.53bn throughout the year – whilst also creating up to 1,100 new jobs in the green economy.
Based on recent government installation trends, around 328,000 UK homes are expected to install solar panels in 2026, making it the highest annual total on record.
January to October 2025 saw a record breaking 23.9% increase in domestic solar panel installations, and installations have been rising year on year significantly, with 130,000 installed in 2022 compared with approximately 250,000 solar installations across 2025, according to MCS Data Dashboard. Spring is likely to be a particularly busy period, as households rush to get panels installed in time to benefit from longer daylight hours and higher summer energy generation from the sun. Installers are already reporting rising enquiries as consumers look to lock in savings before the next winter.
This demand is once again being driven by energy prices. Electricity unit rates rose by 5.1% in January, and wholesale electricity prices are expected to remain elevated through 2026, leaving households increasingly exposed to volatile bills.
Exceedingly, solar panels are going to be viewed less as a ‘nice to have’ and more as a financial necessity.
With the Ofgem price cap rising to £1,758 from January, households without solar remain fully exposed to rising energy costs. Those with solar panels, however, are increasingly insulated from these increases.
Some well-optimised solar households, particularly those with batteries and smart tariffs, are able to cut their energy bills by up to 90% during high-generation periods.
This means that the potential savings from UK’s estimated 1.6 million solar homes could reach up to £2.53 billion a year taken off household energy bills.
While actual savings vary depending on system size, usage patterns and storage, the direction of travel is clear: solar panels are playing a growing role in shielding households from rising energy costs.
Home EV charging is set to surge alongside solar adoption.
In 2025, over 425,000 new electric vehicles were registered in the UK, making it the biggest year on record for EV uptake. 2026 is expected to see similarly strong growth, but with public charging still expensive, more drivers are opting to install chargers at home.
Industry estimates suggest there were around 1 million domestic EV chargepoints installed by the end of 2024. If current trends continue, the UK could exceed 1.5 million home EV chargers by 2026.
Charging at home allows drivers to access much cheaper electricity, particularly when paired with off-peak EV tariffs or rooftop solar. For households with both solar panels and an EV charger, the ability to power cars directly from their own roof is becoming one of the biggest financial draws of going solar.
With an estimated 20,000 people already employed in the UK solar sector, record installation volumes in 2026 could support up to 1,100 additional jobs nationwide.
This significant boost in the green jobs sector owes to the fact that solar and battery storage technologies are highly labour-intensive, with jobs supported across installations, survey and system design, manufacturing, sales and maintenance.
The UK solar workforce has been expanding steadily since 2022, and green energy careers are proving increasingly popular with younger workers looking for skilled, future-proof roles. Importantly, these green jobs will not be concentrated in one geography, but added across the whole of the UK economy.
As interest rates begin to ease following the Bank of England’s latest base rate cut, 2026 is expected to see a sharp rise in green mortgage uptake.
Research suggests over 9.6 million UK households could already be eligible for a green mortgage, often without realising it. Around 61% of UK homes are rated EPC C or above, and with most of these owner-occupied, millions of homeowners could unlock better mortgage terms by improving their home’s energy efficiency.
Major lenders including NatWest, Nationwide, and Halifax continue to provide a range of green mortgage offerings, typically rewarding homes with EPC A or B ratings.
With solar panels helping properties quickly improve EPC ratings, and boosting property values whilst doing so, a record year for solar installations will likely result in a reciprocal boom in green mortgage access in 2026.
Methodology
To estimate average annual household savings from solar panels, this study modelled a 4.5kWp solar PV system installed on a typical three-bedroom semi-detached home, with panels installed on a south-facing roof at a 35° tilt, with no shading. The model assumes no battery storage, no electric heating, and no maintenance or repair costs.
Annual solar generation is estimated at approximately 3,584 kWh per year, consistent with a well-sited 4.5kWp system in the UK. A 50% self-consumption rate is assumed, meaning half of the electricity generated is used directly in the home and half is exported to the grid.
Electricity used on-site is assumed to offset grid imports priced at the Ofgem overall electricity price cap for January to March 2026, equivalent to 27.69 pence per kWh. This results in avoided electricity purchases of 1,792 kWh, worth approximately £496 per year.
The remaining 1,792 kWh of electricity exported to the grid under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) at an average tariff of 15 pence per kWh, generating around £269 per year in export income. Combining savings from self-consumed solar electricity (£496) with SEG export payments (£269) produces a total estimated annual household saving of approximately £765.
To estimate the number of domestic solar installations in 2026, The Solar Co extrapolated data from the MCS Data Dashboard which saw an increase in installation from 2024 to 2025 of 29.5%. Applying a 29.5% increase to 2025’s installation estimates of 253,111 to give 327,778.
To estimate cumulative household savings from solar energy, this study calculated 1.6 million UK households with installed solar panels saving up to 90% on energy bills, with savings calculated against the 2026 Ofgem price cap rate of £1785, cumulatively added up to give savings of up to £2.53bn.
To estimate green jobs supported by solar deployment in 2026, this study draws on the UK Government’s Solar Roadmap, published in mid-2025 by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which sets out an ambition to reach 47 GW of solar capacity by 2030, supporting up to 35,000 direct and indirect jobs across the sector. This implies an employment intensity of approximately 745 jobs per gigawatt (GW) of solar capacity. Applying this ratio to the 1.48 GW of new solar capacity expected to be installed in 2026 based on 328,000 domestic installations, produces an estimate of around 1,100 solar jobs supported by 2026 deployment.
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