Solar panel installation in Northern Ireland

Sized against your real consumption. We pull your half-hourly smart meter data where it exists, or work from 12 months of bills where it doesn't. Self-consumption is what drives the return in Northern Ireland, because you save the full ~34p import rate on every unit you use yourself and earn only around 12p on units you export (Power NI, October 2026).

Generation modelled on your roof. Every quote includes a generation estimate using your roof's actual pitch, orientation and shading, not a best-case south-facing figure. If your roof will not perform, we will tell you before you spend anything.

Structural and electrical checks first. We survey rafter spacing, roof covering condition and your consumer unit before we design. On older NI housing stock a board upgrade or a rafter reinforcement is not unusual, and it is far cheaper to find it at survey than on install day.

All grid paperwork handled. Systems up to 3.68 kW per phase are notified to NIE Networks under G98 after commissioning. Anything larger needs G99 approval before it is connected, which adds lead time. We manage both, plus building control notification.

Solar panel installation in Northern Ireland typically costs £5,000–£9,000 for a 4–6 kWp domestic system, generates roughly 850–950 kWh per kWp each year, and carries 0% VAT until 31 March 2027.

Northern Ireland gets less sun than the south of England, but its electricity unit rates are among the highest in the UK, so solar still pays back here. We size the system from your half-hourly consumption, so you buy the array that fits your bills, not the biggest one that fits your roof.

Yes. Northern Ireland receives roughly 850–950 kWh per kWp of installed solar per year, around 10–15% less than the south of England, but well within the range where solar pays back. Panels run on daylight, not heat, and NI's cooler climate actually improves panel efficiency. High local electricity prices mean each unit you generate is worth more here than in most of the UK.

A typical 4 kWp domestic system costs around £5,000–£6,500 fully installed, and a 6 kWp system around £7,000–£9,000. Adding a battery usually adds £3,000–£7,000, depending on size. Prices include scaffolding and VAT at 0%. Larger commercial and agricultural roofs work out cheaper per kWp.

For most houses, no. Roof panels are permitted development in Northern Ireland if they stay below the ridge, do not overhang the roof edge and, on a slope facing and visible from a road, stand off the roof by no more than 20 cm. Listed buildings, road-facing roofs in conservation areas, and flats need permission. Our planning permission guide has the full rules, and we check your property's status as part of the survey.

Yes, but through a different route than the rest of the UK. The Smart Export Guarantee is a Great Britain scheme and does not apply in Northern Ireland. Instead, Power NI publishes an export rate, currently 11.88p per kWh from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. We could not find published Northern Ireland export offers from other suppliers, so check with yours (see our guide to solar export payments in Northern Ireland). You will need NIE Networks registration, and Power NI's export terms require the solar PV system to be MCS accredited. Confirm the current requirements with your supplier.

Panels are warranted for 25 years at typically 85–87% of original output and generally keep producing well beyond that. Inverters are the shorter-lived component, with 10–12 year warranties and a realistic service life of 12–20 years. Mounting systems are aluminium and stainless steel and are designed to outlast the panels.

Not when installed correctly. Mounting brackets fix to the rafters, not the tiles, and lead or proprietary flashings restore weathertightness at each penetration. We survey the roof covering first. If slates or tiles are near end of life, we will recommend addressing that before the array goes on, because removing panels later is an avoidable cost.