Solar panels, batteries and heat pumps in Leicester
MCS-certified solar, batteries, heat pumps and EV chargers across Leicester and the county.
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Photo: NotFromUtrecht, CC BY-SA 3.0, adapted, via Wikimedia Commons
Solar panel installers for Leicester.
Leicester is a city of terraces and semis: between them they make up two thirds of its homes, and a semi with a south or west-facing slope is an ideal solar roof. Out in the county the houses get bigger and the villages get further from the gas main, which changes the conversation from batteries to heat pumps. This page covers both, with the figures for each district rather than one number for the whole area.
Every install is MCS certified (NAP-75287), with 0% VAT on solar, batteries and heat pumps until March 2027 and the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant claimed for you.
- Postcode districts
- LE1–LE5 for the city (LE1 the centre, LE2 the south side from Clarendon Park and Stoneygate out to Knighton and Oadby, LE3 the west from the West End to Braunstone and Glenfield, LE4 the north from Belgrave and Beaumont Leys to Birstall and Thurmaston, LE5 the east from Evington to Hamilton), plus LE7, LE10, LE11, LE18 and LE67 for the towns around it
- Network operator (DNO)
- National Grid Electricity Distribution (East Midlands). We make the G98 notification or G99 application for your solar or battery; you do not need to contact them.
What the figures say about Leicester homes.
What the public data says about homes here, and what it means for yours.
994 kWh
a year from each kW of panels
A south-facing roof at 35° in Leicester, after losses. An east or west roof gives about a fifth less over the year, and a battery makes better use of what it does produce by moving the daytime surplus into the evening.
Source: PVGIS (European Commission Joint Research Centre), central Leicester
1 in 9
city homes heated by electricity alone
11% of Leicester households, more than double the share in the county districts around it, many of them flats and converted houses. Those homes gain the most from a battery charged on a cheap overnight tariff.
Source: Census 2021, TS046 central heating (ONS)
65%
of city homes are semis or terraces
36% semi-detached and 29% terraced. Detached houses rise from 11% in the city to 30–41% in Oadby and Wigston, Blaby, Hinckley and Bosworth and North West Leicestershire.
Source: Census 2021, TS044 accommodation type (ONS)
3.8%
of North West Leicestershire homes run on oil
Against none in the city. Oil and LPG homes in the villages around Coalville and Market Bosworth are where a heat pump pays back fastest, and they qualify for the higher £9,000 grant.
Source: Census 2021, TS046 central heating (ONS)
Want to know what your roof could do?
We come out, look at the roof, the loft and the meter, and tell you what is worth doing. No obligation.
Photo: Dave Bevis, CC BY-SA 2.0, adapted, via Wikimedia Commons
The houses here, and what works on them
The Victorian and Edwardian terraces of Clarendon Park, Highfields, the West End and Belgrave have long, narrow roofs, often split by a rear outrigger. One good slope with eight to ten panels is typical, the inverter goes in the loft, and a battery usually fits under the stairs or in the back kitchen. Stoneygate's big Victorian villas are a different job: slate roofs, chimneys and mature trees mean we model the shading rather than guess.
Interwar semis in Knighton, Evington, Western Park and Braunstone, and the post-war estates at New Parks, Eyres Monsell and Beaumont Leys, are the city's easiest roofs: simple gables, concrete tiles and a garden with room for a heat pump. Hamilton is 1990s and later, and Ashton Green newer still: smaller roofs and good insulation, and the newest houses often arrive with a small array already fitted, so the gain is in a battery and an EV charger.
A third of city households have no car, against one in six or fewer in the county districts, so an EV charger is a county conversation more than a city one. A battery and the right smart tariff make sense in both.
Planning and conservation areas
Leicester City Council has conservation areas across the city, and Stoneygate also carries an Article 4 direction that removes some permitted development rights from houses there. In a conservation area, roof panels are normally still permitted development, but panels on a wall facing the road and a heat pump on the front of the house need planning permission. We check the council's map at the survey and make the application for you if one is needed.
Charnwood has 38 conservation areas, including eight in Loughborough and the villages of Quorn, Mountsorrel and Anstey. Outside conservation areas and listed buildings, roof solar, batteries and air source heat pumps are permitted development on most houses in the city and the county.
What Leicester homeowners ask us.
Who do you need permission from to connect solar in Leicester?
National Grid Electricity Distribution runs the network across Leicester and Leicestershire. A typical home system is notified to them after the install under G98; a bigger inverter or a large battery needs a G99 application first, which can take several weeks. We make the application and deal with them; you do not need to contact them yourself.
I live in Stoneygate. Can I still have solar panels?
Usually yes, but Stoneygate is a conservation area with an Article 4 direction, so panels on a slope you can see from the road may need planning consent. Rear and side slopes are often fine. We check your house against the council's map at the survey and, if consent is needed, prepare and submit the application.
Is a heat pump worth it in a Leicestershire village with no gas?
That is where it makes most sense. Oil and LPG cost more per unit of heat than a heat pump does to run, and a home coming off oil or LPG gets the higher £9,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, taken off the price up front. We size it from a room-by-room heat loss survey, not from the size of your current boiler.
My flat or terrace has electric heating. What helps most?
Usually a battery charged on a cheap overnight tariff, with panels if you have a roof of your own. In Leicester one home in nine is heated by electricity alone, and moving that use into the cheap hours is the biggest saving available to them.
Do you cover the whole of Leicestershire?
Yes: the city and every district around it, including Loughborough, Coalville, Hinckley, Melton, Market Harborough and Lutterworth. We fit anywhere in the country, so if your postcode is just outside, put it in anyway.
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Around Leicester.
We cover Leicester and everywhere around it. A few of the places nearby, and what tends to matter there.
Loughborough
LE11 · Charnwood Borough Council
The county's second town, with eight conservation areas of its own (Church Gate, Queen's Park and Victoria Street among them), so we check the map before fitting anything to the front of a Victorian terrace near the centre. The post-war semis out at Thorpe Acre and Dishley are straightforward.
Coalville
LE67 · North West Leicestershire District Council
A former mining town in a district where nearly 4% of homes still run on oil, against none in the city. The villages off the gas main between Coalville, Ibstock and Ashby are heat pump country; the town's own semis suit solar and a battery.
Hinckley
LE10 · Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council
Hinckley and Bosworth is nearly two-fifths detached houses, and one home in forty still burns oil. Larger roofs here often take a bigger array than a city semi, which is where a second battery starts to make sense.
Syston
LE7 · Charnwood Borough Council
On the north-east edge of the city where the Wreake meets the Soar, with a lot of post-war and modern estates on simple, unshaded roofs. The newer homes usually want a battery and an EV charger more than more panels.
Glenfield
LE3 · Blaby District Council
Home of County Hall, on the city's western edge in Blaby district, where 85% of homes are on mains gas and nearly half are semis: the classic solar-and-battery house, with a heat pump as the next step when the boiler goes.
Thurmaston
LE4 · Charnwood Borough Council
Strung along the old Melton road beside Watermead Country Park, a mix of interwar semis and newer estates. Homes backing onto the Soar valley get a flood-risk check before we decide where a battery goes.
Oadby
LE2 · Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
Home to Leicester Racecourse and some of the largest interwar and post-war detached houses around the city, often with hipped roofs that split the panels over two or three slopes. We design to the roof rather than to a standard layout.
Wigston
LE18 · Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
In the smallest district in Leicestershire by area, where 86% of homes are on mains gas. Plenty of 1950s–70s semis with gardens wide enough to site a heat pump well away from the neighbours.
Everything we install across Leicester.
Solar panels
Solar and battery starting at £6,995 installed. 0% VAT until March 2027.
Battery storage
Sized to how you actually use power, not to fill a wall. 0% VAT until March 2027.
Air source heat pumps
£7,500 or £9,000 off under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, claimed for you. 0% VAT until March 2027.
EV chargers
Fixed prices from £1,195 fitted, VAT included. Pick your charger, pay online, and we fit it.
Air conditioning
Priced per room. 0% VAT on a fixed system in your home until March 2027.
Commercial
Solar, batteries and air conditioning for Leicester businesses, schools and farms.
Tell us about your Leicester home.
We will come and look, talk you through what would actually work and give you a figure. No obligation.