A new report by The Solar Co highlights the areas of the UK most able to get to Zero energy and travel bills, the unequal access to accredited installers and how the cost of installing solar has dropped over the past 12 months

With UK households facing another squeeze from rising energy and fuel costs, the race to cut home energy and transport bills is becoming increasingly urgent. As Ofgem’s latest energy price cap hits 13%+ in July 2026, while petrol prices climb by around 19% per litre amid disruption linked to the Iran War, UK families are facing renewed pressure from volatile energy and fuel markets.

As a result, interest in energy bill-cutting technologies is rising fast. Searches and enquiries for solar panels have surged by 169% from March 2026, while demand for second-hand electric vehicles jumped by 35% in May – suggesting more UK households are looking for ways to reduce their reliance on volatile energy and fuel markets.

To understand where Brits are best placed to make this energy transition, new research by The Solar Co shows that the ability to reach zero energy and transport bills varies sharply across the UK.

The report ranks 20 major UK cities and analyses how easy or difficult it would be for households in each location to reach £0 energy and transport bills by assessing:

How accessible the installation of solar panels, heat pumps and home EV chargers are, looking at barriers such as housing type, owner-occupation, off-street parking and gas-heating dependence.
The availability of accredited local installers for these measures;
And how rising energy costs have impacted the cost of Brits installing solar panels on their homes.

Key findings

Bradford is Britain’s most zero-bills ready city, ranking first with a 36% average score, supported by high solar power accessibility (53%) and high domestic EV charging accessibility score (44%).

Stoke-on-Trent (35%), Coventry (32%), Leeds (32%) and Sheffield (30%) round off the top five as the cities with the fewest barriers to installing bills reduction measures.

Glasgow (11%) , Edinburgh (16%), London (16%), Manchester (18%) and Portsmouth (21%) are the least Zero Bill-ready cities, mainly because of higher flat shares, lower rooftop access, weaker home EV charging access or lower heat transition readiness.

Reading (5 years), Portsmouth (7 years) and Southampton (7 years) have the greatest access to accredited solar PV, heat-pump and EV chargepoint installers – with these cities able to install measures across homes at fastest rate.

London faces the largest installer-capacity gap, with an estimated 113 years required for houses to install solar, heat pumps and EVs with current workforce levels, followed by Newcastle at 79 years.

Glasgow and Edinburgh saw the biggest improvement in solar PV payback, with payback times falling by 17% in both cities compared with 12 months ago.

Southampton and Portsmouth still offer the fastest solar paybacks, both at 7.36 years.

Bradford is UK city with fewest barriers to achieving zero energy bills

Rank	City	Total occupied households	Solar accessibility score %	Heat pump accessibility score	EV charging accessibility score	Average Zero Bills Readiness
1	Bradford	209,866	53%	11%	44%	36%
2	Stoke-on-Trent	110,398	51%	9%	45%	35%
3	Coventry	134,140	47%	10%	40%	32%
4	Leeds	341,468	45%	11%	39%	32%
5	Sheffield	231,950	46%	10%	36%	30%
6	Cardiff	147,333	43%	9%	37%	30%
7	Birmingham	423,455	40%	10%	34%	28%
8	Hull	115,471	41%	8%	32%	27%
9	Newcastle	122,797	34%	9%	32%	25%
10	Bristol	191,638	36%	9%	29%	25%
11	Liverpool	207,491	36%	8%	28%	24%
12	Leicester	127,385	37%	10%	25%	24%
13	Reading	67,683	35%	10%	25%	23%
14	Nottingham	124,745	34%	9%	26%	23%
15	Southampton	102,289	30%	10%	25%	22%
16	Portsmouth	86,155	35%	8%	19%	21%
17	Manchester	214,735	25%	8%	21%	18%
18	London	3,423,890	23%	7%	20%	16%
19	Edinburgh	223,051	22%	4%	22%	16%
20	Glasgow	285,693	13%	2%	17%	11%

Bradford ranks first for having the fewest barriers for residents looking to reach zero energy bills, with an average score of 36%, driven by the strongest solar accessibility in the table at 53% – boosted by higher owner-occupier rates and fewer dwellings being flats or apartments, and a strong EV charging accessibility at 44% driven by a high proportion of off-street parking access. Stoke-on-Trent follows closely with a 35% average score, helped by high rooftop solar access and the best EV charging accessibility score at 45%. Coventry, Leeds and Sheffield complete the top five.

Towards the bottom of the ranking, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow face more structural barriers to reaching zero energy bills. London scores just 16% despite its large household base, reflecting weaker individual rooftop access and limited home-charging accessibility. Edinburgh also scores 16%, while Glasgow ranks last at 11%, held back by very low solar accessibility, weak EV charging access and the lowest heat transition readiness.

Installer shortages leave London facing a 113-year timeline for green home upgrades

Rank	City	Household	Number of Solar PV installers per 10,000 households	Number of Heat pump installers per 10,000 households	Number of EV installers per 10,000 households	Time taken for all three measures to be installed across city (years)
1	London	3,266,173	3	2	1	113
2	Newcastle	117,153	4	1	2	79
3	Hull	112,596	9	3	2	37
4	Birmingham	410,736	9	4	2	36
5	Stoke-on-Trent	107,575	19	9	2	31
6	Leeds	320,596	11	5	2	28
7	Glasgow	285,693	49	11	2	25
8	Edinburgh	223,051	10	7	3	24
9	Bradford	199,296	18	10	2	22
10	Sheffield	229,928	16	9	3	21
11	Bristol	182,747	17	7	4	17
12	Liverpool	206,515	17	9	4	17
13	Cardiff	142,557	20	8	4	16
14	Nottingham	126,131	25	11	4	15
15	Leicester	123,125	26	11	4	14
16	Manchester	204,969	27	15	4	13
17	Coventry	128,592	27	11	5	12
18	Southampton	98,254	36	18	9	7
19	Portsmouth	85,473	28	16	12	7
20	Reading	62,869	55	38	12	5

Reading ranks first as Britain’s best city for accessing locally accredited solar panel, heat-pump and EV chargepoint installers, with 55 solar PV installers, 38 heat pump installers and 12 EV chargepoint installers per 10,000 households. Based on Reading’s installer network, a mass roll out of green energy solutions may take 4.8 years. Portsmouth ranks second in the installer index with 28 solar PV installers, 16 heat pump installers and 12 EV chargepoint installers per 10,000 households, and 7.1 years to install across the city’s households.

Southampton ranks third, with strong access to local installers across all three technologies, including 36 solar PV installers, 18 heat pump installers and 9 EV chargepoint installers per 10,000 households, whilst Coventry ranks fourth, with 27 solar PV installers, 11 heat pump installers and 5 EV chargepoint installers per 10,000 households, giving it one of the strongest installer workforces outside the South.

At the bottom of the table, Birmingham, Hull, Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle and London face the biggest workforce constraints. London ranks last, with only 3 solar PV installers, 2 heat pump installers and 1 EV chargepoint installers per 10,000 households. Based on the current installer workforce, it would take 113 years for London’s homes to install solar, heat-pump and EV charging technologies. Newcastle follows closely behind, with 4 solar installers, 1 heat-pump installer and 2 EV chargepoint installers per 10,000 households – with a rollout of solutions across all households to take 79 years across the city.

Glasgow, Edinburgh and London sees cost of solar drop by 17% in past 12 months

Rank	City	Sunshine Hours (year)	Adjusted total System installation Cost (£)	Annual Total Benefit (£)	Payback Time in 2026 (years)	Drop in payback time length (years)	% Change in past 12 months
1	Glasgow	1233	7035	736.38	9.55	-1.97	-17%
2	Edinburgh	1449	7256	865.38	8.39	-1.72	-17%
3	London	1675	7922	1010.48	7.84	-1.55	-17%
4	Liverpool	1507	7145	932.63	7.66	-1.43	-16%
5	Bradford	1249	7035	737.63	9.54	-1.75	-16%
6	Hull	1558	7035	920.12	7.65	-1.40	-16%
7	Leeds	1242	7145	733.49	9.74	-1.79	-16%
8	Sheffield	1485	7145	877.00	8.15	-1.49	-15%
9	Reading	1600	7700	971.61	7.93	-1.44	-15%
10	Newcastle	1551	7145	915.23	7.81	-1.39	-15%
11	Bristol	1667	7589	1007.06	7.54	-1.33	-15%
12	Stoke-on-Trent	1447	7035	855.26	8.22	-1.45	-15%
13	Coventry	1507	7256	890.72	8.15	-1.42	-15%
14	Birmingham	1390	7367	821.57	8.97	-1.56	-15%
15	Nottingham	1452	7145	854.35	8.36	-1.44	-15%
16	Leicester	1452	7256	854.35	8.49	-1.46	-15%
17	Cardiff	1573	7256	948.94	7.65	-1.26	-14%
18	Southampton	1706	7589	1030.83	7.36	-1.21	-14%
19	Portsmouth	1706	7589	1030.83	7.36	-1.21	-14%
20	Manchester	1265	7256	760.08	9.55	-1.44	-13%

Glasgow ranks first for the biggest improvement in solar panel payback times, with payback falling by 1.97 years, equivalent to a 17% reduction over the past 12 months. Despite having the lowest sunshine hours in the table at 1,233 hours per year, Glasgow’s updated annual solar benefit of £736 means payback now sits at 9.55 years. Edinburgh ranks second, also seeing a 17% reduction, with payback falling by 1.72 years to 8.39 years, supported by annual benefits of £865.

London ranks third, with solar payback times falling by 1.55 years, also equivalent to a 17% reduction. Although London has the highest system cost in the table at £7,922, it also has one of the strongest annual benefits at £1,010, helping bring payback down to 7.84 years. Liverpool ranks fourth, with payback falling by 1.43 years, a 16% reduction, bringing its 2026 payback time to 7.66 years.

Further down the ranking, Cardiff, Southampton, Portsmouth and Manchester saw the smallest percentage improvements in solar payback. Cardiff’s payback fell by 1.26 years, or 14%, to 7.65 years, while Southampton and Portsmouth both saw paybacks fall by 1.21 years, also around 14%, to 7.36 years. Manchester ranks last for percentage improvement, with payback falling by 1.44 years, or 13%, leaving it with one of the longest payback periods in the table at 9.55 years.

Three things Brits should be aware off when looking to go Zero Bill Ready

With demand for bill-cutting technology rising, George Penny, Solar Expert and Director at The Solar Co, outlines the key steps households should take before booking solar, heat pump or EV chargepoint installation.

1. A shortage of qualified EV installers could cost drivers up to £1,251 a year

“Home charging is where EV drivers can access the cheapest running costs, especially on fixed or off-peak tariffs, with the cheapest tariff currently around 7p/kWh. A person travelling 30 miles a day, five days a week, could see savings of £1,251 per year if charging on the cheapest fixed rate tariffs, compared with June’s sky-high petrol prices.

“But those savings depend on being able to install a home charger in the first place. With EV chargepoint installer density low across most major cities, a lack of qualified installers could become a major bottleneck just as more drivers look to switch from petrol and diesel.”

2. Don’t let installer shortages push you toward unapproved tradespeople

“Even where availability is tight, households should wait for properly accredited solar, heat pump and EV chargepoint installers to avoid poor workmanship, safety issues or invalid warranties.

“Using an approved installer can also be the difference between accessing support and missing out: for heat pumps, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is installer-led, with MCS-certified installers applying for vouchers on behalf of property owners, while EV chargepoint grants require OZEV-authorised installers and eligible chargepoints.”

3. Insulate first to cut bills now and make heat pumps work harder later

“Before installing a heat pump, households should check whether their home needs basic insulation upgrades such as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, draught-proofing or better glazing. Improving insulation can reduce heat loss and start cutting gas bills straight away, even before switching heating systems. It also helps a future heat pump run more efficiently, because the home needs less energy to stay warm, reducing running costs and making the transition away from gas smoother.”

Methodology

Zero Bills Readiness Table

Households with accessibility to solar PV calculated by owner-occupier share was multiplied by the share of households in houses,detached, semi-detached and terraced, to estimate households most able to install individual rooftop solar.
EV accessibility calculated by owner-occupier share was multiplied by the share of households with off-street parking or parking potential to estimate households most able to install a home EV charger.
Heat pump readiness calculated by taking owner-occupier share was multiplied by house share and non-gas-heated share, treating gas-heated homes as a barrier because they still need heating conversion to reach zero total energy bills.
Overall score: the three accessibility scores were averaged equally to create the Resident Zero-Bills Accessibility Score.

Accessibility of approved renewable technology installers

Installer density was calculated by dividing the number of local installers by city households, then scaling per 10,000 households.
Solar PV and heat pump installers were counted within a 30-mile radius utilising the MCS Find an Installer Dashboard; EV charger installers were counted within a 25-mile radius via the Renewables Excellence dashboard
Solar PV and heat pump rollout times were based on the number of houses (detached, semi-detached, terraces – rather than flats); EV charger rollout was based on households with off-street parking or parking potential.
Rollout time estimates assume each installer completes one installation per working day, using 260 working days per year.

Solar payback time and costs 2026

Solar payback was estimated using a standard 4.5kWp solar PV system installed on a typical three-bedroom semi-detached or detached home, assuming a south-facing 35° roof, no shading, no battery storage and no maintenance costs during the payback period.
Electricity prices were based on the July 2026 Ofgem price cap, with annual household electricity use set at 2,700kWh. The model assumes households use 50% of the solar electricity generated and export the remaining 50% through the Smart Export Guarantee. Export payments were set at 25p/kWh, based on the Octopus Fixed export tariff
Solar generation was estimated using annual sunshine hours for each city, based on Met Office and Weather and Climate Data/ Installation costs were based on a £7,000 average system cost, adjusted by city to reflect regional labour cost differences using ONS labour data.

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UK’s Zero Bill Readiness Report 2026