Solar panels, batteries and heat pumps in Oldham
MCS-certified solar, batteries, heat pumps and EV chargers across Oldham, Shaw, Royton, Chadderton and Saddleworth.
4.7 on Trustpilot
No obligation
Photo: G-13114, CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, via Wikimedia Commons
Solar panel installers for Oldham.
Oldham is terrace country: a bigger share of its homes are terraced than in any other Greater Manchester borough, most of them on mains gas. That makes solar and a battery the usual starting point in the town, with a heat pump when the boiler is due. Up in Saddleworth the houses are older, more of them are detached and a few still burn oil or bottled gas, so the conversation there turns to heat pumps and planning sooner.
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
- OL1 for the town centre and Coldhurst, OL4 for the east side from Waterhead and Lees to Springhead and Grasscroft, OL8 for the south from Werneth and Hollinwood to Fitton Hill, OL9 for Chadderton, OL2 for Shaw, Crompton and Royton, and OL3 for Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and Denshaw; plus M35 for Failsworth
- Network operator (DNO)
- Electricity North West (North West England, now trading as SP Electricity North West). We make the G98 notification or G99 application for your solar or battery; you do not need to contact them.
Near Oldham.
We cover Oldham and everywhere around it. A few of the places nearby, and what tends to matter there.
Shaw
OL2 · Oldham Council
Shaw and Crompton sit at the head of the Beal valley, where 86% of homes are on mains gas and two in five are semis. The old centre around St James' church and Park Cottages are conservation areas; the estates around them are simple roofs for solar and a battery.
Royton
OL2 · Oldham Council
Royton runs north to Tandle Hill Country Park, and semis make up more than two in five of its homes. The centre around St Paul's church is a conservation area. In the Royton South ward nearly one home in thirteen is heated by electricity alone, more than anywhere else in the borough outside the town centre wards, and those homes gain most from a battery.
Uppermill
OL3 · Oldham Council
The largest of the Saddleworth villages, on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal with its centre a conservation area, and built mostly of stone. Saddleworth has nearly twice the borough's share of detached houses, and the moors to the east are in the Peak District National Park.
Chadderton
OL9 · Oldham Council
Semis and terraces in roughly equal measure, more than three quarters of homes between them, and fewer than one in 25 heated by electricity alone. Its two conservation areas, around the Old Town Hall and on Victoria Street, are small, so most Chadderton roofs are straightforward permitted development.
What would this mean for your Oldham home?
We come out, look at the roof, the loft and the meter, and tell you what is worth doing. No obligation.
What we fit in Oldham.
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 Oldham businesses, schools and farms.
Photo: Steven Haslington, CC BY-SA 2.0, adapted, via Wikimedia Commons
Oldham homes, and what suits them
The terraces around the town centre, Werneth, Glodwick and Waterhead are mostly brick, with long roofs split by chimneys and rear outriggers. One good slope of eight to ten panels is typical, the inverter goes in the loft and the battery under the stairs. Whichever way the slope faces, east or west still gives about four fifths of what a south roof would, so a terrace that misses out on a south face is still worth a look.
Chadderton, Royton, Shaw and Failsworth are mostly interwar and post-war semis on mains gas, the borough's easiest roofs, with a garden for a heat pump when the boiler is due. Saddleworth is different again: stone houses, many of them older, a quarter of them detached and only 4% heated by electricity alone. Thick stone walls hold heat well but are hard to insulate, so we size any heat pump from a room-by-room heat loss survey rather than the size of the old boiler.
Planning and conservation areas
Oldham Council has conservation areas in the town centre, at Alexandra Park and the Garden Suburb, and across Saddleworth at Uppermill, Dobcross, Delph, Denshaw and Grasscroft among others. In a conservation area the rules are tighter for the front of the house: panels on a wall facing the road need planning permission, and a heat pump on the front can too. Roof panels are usually still permitted development, but we check the council's map at the survey and make the application for you if one is needed.
The moors east of Greenfield, including Dovestone Reservoir, are inside the Peak District National Park, where planning is decided by the Peak District National Park Authority rather than Oldham Council. Uppermill, Dobcross and Delph themselves are outside the park boundary.
Not sure what your house needs?
Tell us your postcode and what you are thinking about. We will come straight back to you to arrange a visit.
Questions from Oldham.
Who do you need permission from to connect solar in Oldham?
SP Electricity North West, formerly Electricity North West, runs the network across Oldham and Saddleworth. 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 Uppermill. Can I still have solar panels?
Usually yes. Uppermill is a conservation area, so the rules are tighter for anything on the front of the house, and stone or slate roofs need fixing with care. A rear slope is often the simplest answer. We check your house against the council's map at the survey and, if consent is needed, prepare and submit the application.
My house is inside the Peak District National Park. Who decides?
The Peak District National Park Authority is the planning authority for the part of Saddleworth inside the park, east of Greenfield. Panels and heat pumps can still go ahead there, but the park's planning policies put more weight on how they sit in the landscape, so we check before designing and make any application to them for you.
Is a heat pump worth it in a Saddleworth house on oil?
That is where it makes most sense. Oil and bottled gas cost more per unit of heat than a heat pump does to run, and a home coming off them gets the higher £9,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, taken off the price up front. On mains gas the grant is £7,500. Either way we size it from a room-by-room heat loss survey, not from the size of your current boiler.
Do you cover the whole of Oldham?
Yes: the town and the whole borough, including Failsworth, Lees, Springhead and every Saddleworth village from Greenfield to Denshaw. We fit anywhere in the country, so if your postcode is just outside, put it in anyway.
Rated 4.7 on Trustpilot
Oldham in numbers.
What the public data says about homes here, and what it means for yours.
865 kWh
a year from each kW of panels
A south-facing roof at 35° in central Oldham, after losses. An east or west roof gives about a fifth less over the year, which still makes a terrace's one good slope worth covering, and a battery moves the daytime surplus into the evening.
Source: PVGIS (European Commission Joint Research Centre), central Oldham
38.5%
of Oldham homes are terraced
The highest share of any Greater Manchester borough, and more than half the homes in the St Mary's and Werneth wards. Another 36% are semis. A terrace usually takes one slope of panels and a battery under the stairs or in the back kitchen.
Source: Census 2021, TS044 accommodation type (ONS)
3.9%
of Saddleworth North homes run on oil or bottled gas
Against 0.8% across the borough. Those farmhouses and hamlets off the gas main are where a heat pump pays back fastest, and a home coming off oil or LPG qualifies for the higher £9,000 grant.
Source: Census 2021, TS046 central heating (ONS)
15%
of Saddleworth households have no car
Against 28% across Oldham and 47% in Coldhurst. More than two in five Saddleworth households have two cars or more, which is where an EV charger fitted alongside the panels makes the most sense.
Source: Census 2021, TS045 car or van availability (ONS)
Tell us about your Oldham home.
We will come and look, talk you through what would actually work and give you a figure. No obligation.