Smarter home energy
See your home's solar potential.
Enter your address and our solar panel calculator measures your roof from satellite imagery — usable area, realistic panel count and system size, in about a minute.
Your home
1/4
- Your home
- Your roof
- Your energy
- Your plan
Quick question
What type of home is it?
This helps us estimate the roof space and system that may suit your home.
No personal details needed yet — we start with your roof.
FreeNo obligationInstant roof assessment
Roof scan complete
16
Estimated panels
6.4 kWp
Roof capacity
Illustrative scanner output. Your figures are generated from your own roof.
What the solar potential calculator does
Enter your address and the calculator locates your property, measures the roof from satellite imagery and solar irradiance data, and shows you how much of it could physically carry solar panels. You get your roof's usable area, a realistic maximum panel count and the corresponding system size in kWp — for your own house, not a national average or a rule of thumb based on bedrooms.
It is a desk assessment, which is exactly why it is useful this early: it costs you nothing, takes about a minute, and tells you whether a solar installation is worth exploring before anyone visits or asks you to make a decision.
What the assessment takes into account
- Your property's exact position, roof outline and roof faces
- Usable roof area once edges, obstructions and clearances are excluded
- Roof direction and pitch for each face
- Solar irradiance data for your location rather than a UK average
- How many panels of a typical modern size fit the usable area
- Your annual electricity use, when you tell us, to size an initial system
Roof capacity and system size are two different numbers
The panel count from satellite data is your roof's physical ceiling. The system we would actually recommend is a design decision that also depends on how much electricity your household uses, how much of your generation you would use rather than export, whether a battery is part of the plan, and the inverter and grid connection design. A recommended system is often smaller than the roof's maximum, and we always label which number you are looking at.
Roof capacity
Maximum
The largest number of panels that could physically fit within your usable roof area. It tells you the ceiling — not what your household needs.
Initial system estimate
Right-sized
A system sized around your electricity usage, budget, battery plans and grid requirements. It is often smaller than the roof could hold.
Why an on-site survey is still required
Satellite imagery cannot see the condition of your roof covering, the timbers beneath it, your consumer unit and existing wiring, cable routes, loft access, or the details of your electricity supply and any generation already installed. Those decide the final design, so every online figure is preliminary and is confirmed at technical survey.
Results are indicative estimates, not quotations or guaranteed savings, and are subject to final system design and DNO or grid connection approval where required. If you want to understand what drives the price before you go further, the solar panel cost guide explains each variable, and the installation process page covers what happens after an assessment.
Solar calculator FAQs
How accurate is the satellite assessment?
It is a preliminary estimate built from satellite imagery and solar irradiance data for your own property rather than a national average, so it is a good early indicator of roof potential and likely generation. It cannot see roof structure, the condition of your tiles, your consumer unit, loft access or cable routes. Panel numbers, positions, inverter choice and any battery are all confirmed during technical design.
How many panels do I need?
There is no fixed number. The starting point is how many panels your roof could physically hold; the right number then depends on how much electricity you use each year, how much of your generation you would use in the home rather than export, whether you are adding a battery, and the inverter and grid connection design. A household using around 3,000 kWh a year needs a very different system to one with an EV and a heat pump.
Why can roof capacity differ from system size?
Roof capacity is a physical measurement: the largest array that fits in your usable roof area. A recommended system is a design decision that also accounts for your electricity consumption, budget, inverter sizing, battery plans and grid connection requirements. Filling a roof with panels you rarely use the output from is not automatically better value, so the recommended system is frequently smaller than the maximum the roof could hold.
Will solar work on my house?
Most UK pitched roofs can take solar panels. What matters is how much unshaded roof area you have, which way the roof faces, its pitch, and the condition of the roof covering. Flat roofs and complex roofs with dormers, valleys or several small faces can still work, but the usable area is normally smaller than the total roof area. Our satellite assessment gives you an initial view within about a minute, and a technical review confirms suitability before any design is finalised.
Do I need a south-facing roof?
No. South-facing roofs give the highest annual total, but east and west facing roofs still generate well and shift output towards the morning and afternoon, which often matches household usage better. East/west splits across two slopes spread generation across the day rather than peaking sharply at midday. North-facing slopes are generally not worth using on their own.
Start with your roof
A free satellite assessment shows your realistic panel count in under a minute. No obligation.
Free • Around 60 seconds