Integrated solar panels

Solar panels are a fantastic addition to any UK home. A 7kW solar system can save you £226 per year off your energy bill and save the atmosphere up to 1,143kg per year in carbon dioxide emissions. The only setback is that even the best solar panels aren’t always easy on the eye. This can have a range of unwanted consequences – from complicating the planning permission process to annoying your neighbours – but it’s also a problem that can be solved.

The solution? Integrated solar panels are a type of solar panel designed to slot snugly and seamlessly into your roof and avoid aggravating your architectural style.

Below, we’ll explain what integrated solar panels are and the many benefits they offer for your home. We’ll also look at how to install these panels, how much they cost and how to decide whether they’re right for your UK home in 2024.

Integrated (also known as in-roof, in-line or roof-integrated) solar panels are embedded in – rather than placed on – your roof.

Unlike traditional roof-mounted (also known as on-roof) solar panels, which are placed on a mounting structure, integrated panels are built into a tileless section of the roof, sitting flush with your roof’s surface to give the panels a flatter, sleeker and more stylish appearance than their conventional counterparts. Other than this, (and apart from the differences in the installation process that we’ll get to next), integrated solar panels are much the same as the traditional roof-mounted or ground-mounted solar systems.

How to install integrated solar panels

Integrated solar panels should always be installed by a professional; ideally, this is someone certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).

The MCS is an accreditation that applies to both solar installers and products. It guarantees high standards of quality, competence, knowledge and professionalism, but you’ll also need an MCS installer to be eligible for the SEG and to access many of the other money-saving solar panel grants available to UK homeowners.

When you hire an MCS-accredited solar panel installer to fit your integrated solar panels, the nature of the process – which is different to traditional solar panel installation – will depend on whether retrofitting is required. This involves removing a section of your roof’s tiles to enable access to its felt and batten layer, where the integrated panels will slot in.

If retrofitting is required, your integrated solar panel installation could take up to two weeks. (Conversely, traditional panels – or in-roof panels that don’t require existing roof-tile removal, such as those on new developments – can be installed within a couple of days.)

When it’s time to mount your in-roof panels, your installer should offer you two options:

• mounting traditional solar panels on an in-roof frame (such as EasyRoof Evolution or the GSE system, which are universal fastening systems for integrated solar panels); and
• utilising a bespoke system in which the panels are made specifically for your home and cut to the exact dimensions your plans lay out. GB-Sol, SolFit and Viridian are a few of the suppliers offering this service in the UK.

Once the area of your roof where the solar panels will go has been cleared, your panel installer will fit plastic trays into it. These trays act as mounting systems (albeit far less obtrusive than traditional mounting systems for solar panels) for your in-roof solar panels, with any gaps around the edges filled with slates or weatherproof framing.

Earlier, we mentioned that you’ll need an MCS-certified solar panel installer to handle the job.

However, we also recommend hiring a roofer. A roofer will be able to:

• look over your home’s roof before you begin and advise you on how appropriate (and how able) your roof is to host integrated solar panels; and
• retrofit your roof to prepare it for the integrated solar panels: a process which can involve cutting into the roof, sealing around the panels to prevent leaks and ensuring the panels are securely attached to your roof’s structure.

That said, some companies will provide the entire service end-to-end, which simplifies the search and prevents you from having to coordinate multiple services and suppliers yourself. To browse suppliers capable of handling the entire integrated solar panel installation process, complete our quick quote-finding questionnaire below.

We’ll ask a few questions about your home’s setup and electricity costs to learn more about your requirements. Then, we’ll use this information to match you with leading solar panel installers in the UK who’ll provide you with tailored solar panel quotes. Our form takes a minute of your time to fill out and is completely free for UK-based homeowners.

Integrated solar panels boast aesthetic appeal and light weight, damage-resistant properties to safeguard them against solar panels’ top threats.

Let’s unpack the benefits of integrated (in-line) solar panels below.

Integrated solar panels are more attractive

Because in-roof solar panels are, as the name suggests, integrated into your roof, they blend into your home’s existing architecture. This gives them a sleeker, more streamlined appearance than traditional on-roof solar panels.

But integrated solar panels’ advantages aren’t just for show or to impress your neighbours. The finish can serve a vital purpose when it comes to obtaining planning permission to install solar panels on your home’s roof.

Chances are you won’t need planning permission for your solar panels – providing your array doesn’t exceed a certain size and is purely for domestic purposes only. However, some UK properties, such as World Heritage Sites, listed buildings or homes in conservation areas, will require planning permission.

As part of this process, you’ll need to prove to your local planning authority (LPA) that your solar panels won’t detract from the appearance of your home or its surroundings (and, in most cases, you’ll have to make sure your panels aren’t visible from the road).

In this scenario, integrating your solar panels into your roof can ensure a discreet and limited visual impact on your home and surrounding area.

Integrated solar panels weigh less

Because integrated solar panels are built into your roof – replacing your existing roof tiles rather than being built on top of them – they don’t need a mounting system.

Since a mounting system consists of weighty metal instruments (clamps, brackets and big mounting rails), it’s heavy: without one, your solar array will weigh less. This makes integrated solar panels ideal for homes with roofs that may not be well-suited to supporting the load of traditional roof-mounted solar panels.

Integrated solar panels are more resistant to damage

Wind, debris and birds – when it comes to potential damage to your solar panels, these three are the Holy Trinity.

Yet with integrated solar panels, this trio of factors will be less of an issue than with traditional on-roof solar panels. Why?

First, there’s no space between the panel and the roof’s surface. For all intents and purposes, the roof is the panel – meaning there’s no gap for high winds to squeeze into and risk damaging your kit.

Second, because integrated solar panels sit flush with the roof with no gaps around them and no mounting system to gather debris, they require less maintenance.

Third, integrated solar panels’ lack of space between the unit and the roof means they’re less enticing as a nesting place for the local avian wildlife. Birds gravitate towards the kind of shelter that traditional solar panels provide, and their presence can end up damaging your solar panels, impacting your energy bill and affecting your solar array’s lifespan.

Integrated solar panels do have their drawbacks, however. Read on for more information.

Integrated solar panels are more difficult to install

Before you can install integrated solar panels on an existing property, you’ll first need to make room for them by removing a portion of your roof’s existing tiles.

When you’re building a home from scratch – or simply re-roofing one – this isn’t too hard to factor in. In the latter case, you’ll be ripping up your roof anyway.

When you just want to add solar panels to your existing home, however, integrated solar panel installation becomes more complicated and, as a result, more expensive. Installing integrated solar panels into an existing roof typically requires more specialised expertise and labour than with traditional solar panel varieties, so you’ll need to factor these extra costs into your budget.

Integrated solar panels are less efficient

In an energy context, “efficiency” refers to your solar panels’ ability to convert sunlight into useable electricity. It represents your panels’ electricity output as a percentage of the total solar energy input from the sun – so the higher that percentage, the more efficient the panel.

Unfortunately, integrated solar panels are around five to 10 per cent less efficient than traditional on-roof solar panels. Why is this?

Like most of the differences between these panel types, the reason comes back to the placement of the panels. Integrated solar panels sit nestled in the roof, so they’re not as well-ventilated as traditional solar panels, which are propped up on a mounting system. This lack of airflow in and around integrated solar panels can cause them to overheat on especially hot days, inhibiting their ability to generate clean energy for your household.

The net result of this shortfall is less energy to power your home, to store for later (if you also have a solar battery) or to sell via the SEG back to the National Grid for a profit.

The short answer is – no! While integrated solar panels used to be more expensive than their roof-mounted alternatives, there’s no longer a significant price difference between the two.

With that in mind, here’s how much your integrated solar panel could cost you – and how much it could save you over time – in 2024.

*Includes installation and a solar battery

**Includes energy bill savings and income from an SEG tariff

That said, the key price difference between integrated and regular solar panels doesn’t lie in the cost of the panels; much of it comes down to the installation cost.

As we touched on earlier, integrated solar panels are more complex and therefore more costly to install, especially if your roof needs to be retrofitted to accommodate these panels, with tiles needing to be removed. For example, installing integrated solar panels into roofs at the felt and batten stage will cost around £100 per tile; if tiles need to be removed first, that cost could double to £200 per tile and beyond.

The table below explores how much the average UK household might expect to pay for integrated solar panel installation with and without retrofitting.

What this means is that it’s a good idea to mitigate these extra costs by combining the installation of your integrated solar panels with other work on your roof (such as re-roofing) or by factoring it into your home’s construction from the get-go.

So far, we’ve touched on solar panel costs and the price of installation, but there’s a third factor to consider when weighing the financial merits of integrated solar panels vs regular solar panels: their performance over time.

As we mentioned earlier, integrated solar panels are around five to 10 per cent less efficient. So how would that impact the amount of energy your solar panels generate and, as a result, the amount of savings you could see on your electricity bills and through the SEG every year?

The table below provides a comparison:

*Based on integrated solar panels’ average efficiency rate of 7.5% (halfway between 5 and 10%) less than traditional solar panels.

**Traditional solar panel data comes from Energy Saving Trust and integrated solar panel data from the Federation of Master Builders. Both datasets assume the cost of electricity and SEG rate – 5p/kWh – remain level for the lifetime of the average solar panel.

If we assume that the initial outlay for integrated solar panels is similar to that of traditional on-roof panels – and we account for the former’s slightly lower efficiency – the difference in the break-even point is negligible.

Integrated solar panels will only take between six and 12 months more than traditional solar panels to repay their investment, and that’s without factoring in integrated panels’ minimal maintenance, which should also save you money over time.

Ultimately, whether you opt for integrated solar panels or the conventional roof-mounted kind will depend less on the cost  and more on which type is right for your home’s unique needs and circumstances. We’ll explore these in more detail next.