Do Solar Panels Improve Your EPC Rating?
Updated: · By Depth of Light Ltd, Milton Keynes
Short answer: usually, yes. Solar panels generate some of your home's electricity, which lowers the running costs the EPC estimates, and a lower cost means a better rating. How much the rating moves depends on your system and the rest of your home, and we can't promise a particular band without seeing it.
Here's why solar helps, what decides how much, and how batteries fit into the new-style EPC.
Why solar panels usually improve an EPC
An EPC rating is based on how much it is expected to cost to heat, light and power your home, under standard conditions. It isn't based on your actual bills or how you live.
When a home has solar panels, part of its electricity comes free from the roof. The assessor records the panels, and the estimated running costs go down. Lower estimated costs mean a higher score on the A to G scale.
What decides how much it helps
The size of the system
A bigger system generates more electricity, so it usually has a bigger effect. The size you can fit depends on your roof: how big it is, which way it faces and whether anything shades it.
The rest of the home
This is the part people don't expect. Solar tends to move the rating most once the basics are in good shape. In a draughty home with little insulation and an old boiler, most of the estimated cost is heating, which solar panels don't directly fix. In a well-insulated home, the same panels can make a bigger difference to the band.
That's why we usually suggest looking at insulation and heating first, then solar.
Where your rating is now
Each band covers a range of points. A home near the top of band D may move up to C with a modest system. A home at the bottom of D might need more than solar alone.
Book your EPC
Fixed prices from £75, carried out by an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor. Certificate usually within 48 hours.
What about batteries?
On the current EPC, a home battery adds little by itself. That is changing. The government is introducing a new-style EPC, targeted from late 2026, which scores homes in more than one way. One of the new scores is how "smart-ready" a home is.
Batteries, solar panels, smart heating controls and smart meters are all expected to count towards that smart readiness score. The full method hasn't been published yet, so treat this as expected rather than certain.
Why this matters for landlords
Privately rented homes in England must reach EPC C, or its equivalent under the new EPC, by 1 October 2030. Under the new standard, landlords will need a good fabric score (insulation, walls, roof and windows) plus either the heating score or the smart readiness score.
That makes solar and batteries more useful for landlords than before, because they are expected to help with the smart readiness route. They still don't replace insulation, which the fabric part of the standard requires. Our guide for landlords explains the new rules in more detail.
Other benefits of solar beyond the rating
- Lower bills — you use the electricity you generate instead of buying it
- Payment for exports — your supplier pays you for the electricity you don't use
- Appeal to buyers and tenants — lower running costs are easy to explain
For a home in Milton Keynes, see our solar panel installation page for what a typical system costs and generates.
Get a new EPC after installing
Your rating on the register won't change until a new EPC is carried out. If you've had solar fitted since your last certificate, a new one lets buyers, tenants and lenders see the improvement. Book an EPC with us and we'll include a free call about what else would move your rating.
An honest answer, not a sales pitch
We install solar panels, so we have an interest. That's why we'll always tell you if insulation or heating would do more for your rating first. Your EPC is carried out by an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor to the national standard.
Book your EPC
Fixed prices from £75, carried out by an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor. Certificate usually within 48 hours.