Solar panels · Devon
Solar panels in Exeter
We design and install solar panels and battery storage for Exeter homes, from our base near Okehampton, 31 miles from the city as the crow flies. Exeter’s housing is a mix of its own, with a high share of terraces, a quarter of properties dating from 2000 onwards and 20 conservation areas.
Or call 07441 369 505
- Workmanship
warranty10years - Family run
since2022 - The Solar Owners
Club included1year
- Conservation areas
- 20
- Largest home type
- 31.3%
- Homes built since 2000
- 25.3%
conservation areas across the city
of households in terraced homes, the city’s largest group
of properties built in 2000 or later (England 18.8%)
City and council
Exeter’s 13 wards and the council that plans them
Exeter City Council is the planning authority for the city’s 13 wards, from Exwick and St Thomas to Pinhoe and Topsham, every one of them covered by our own installation team. Within two-tier Devon it is a district council, adding guidance of its own to the national rules.
Outside the city, see solar panels across Devon, solar panels in Plymouth and Cornwall solar installations, or the full list of places we cover.
Terraces and new builds
Exeter’s terraces, newer homes and solar panels
Terraces are the city’s most common home, at 31.3% of households in 2021 against 23.0% across England, while detached houses are just 15.1% (England 22.9%). On a terrace, your section of roof sits alongside your neighbours’, so we look closely at its usable space, nearby chimneys and anything that shades it.
Exeter’s housing is also younger than England’s: 25.3% of its properties date from 2000 onwards, against 18.8% for England, and 13.8% from before 1900. Whatever its age, the council’s Householder’s Guide asks owners to check that a roof can take the weight of panels, and expects Building Regulations to apply to roof-mounted panels.
Distance from our base
Exeter and around
Miles from Allerford Farm, Lewdown, as the crow flies.
Exeter and the six towns nearest it on our map.
Places in and around Exeter
- Alphington
- Duryard and St James
- Exwick
- Heavitree
- Mincinglake and Whipton
- Newtown and St Leonards
- Pennsylvania
- Pinhoe
- Priory
- St David’s
- St Loyes
- St Thomas
- Topsham
Planning and heritage
Exeter’s 20 conservation areas and its listed homes
The 20 run from Central, Southernhay and The Friars and St Leonard’s to Heavitree, Pennsylvania, Alphington and Topsham. The council says permitted development rights (the work you can do without a planning application) are more limited in them and can be removed by Article 4 Directions, and it asks owners not to swap original roofing materials or remove chimneystacks.
Under national rules in force since 27 August 2026, roof panels on unlisted homes there are still allowed within the limits, but not on walls, balconies or roof enclosures (railings, balustrades and parapets) that front a highway, and a flat roof needs the council’s prior approval first.
Listed homes fall outside permitted development altogether. Asked whether a listed building can have panels, the council answers “sometimes” and calls early consultation with its Conservation Team essential. Where permission is needed, its guide favours panels that match the roof’s colour, low-profile fixings, a symmetrical layout and hidden wiring.
Solar in the city
Solar panels already on Exeter’s roofs
5,911
The government’s figures give Exeter 5,911 solar installations at the close of 2025, up from 5,309 a year before, with 27.02 megawatts (MW) of capacity between them. Systems of every size count, and the latest year may be revised.
The city council itself runs 3.4 megawatts peak of solar across 13 sites, including panels on more than 800 of its own homes, about 17% of its housing. It declared a climate emergency in July 2019, and full council adopted the Net Zero Exeter 2030 Plan in July 2020.
Already have panels at home? Adding a battery to your existing system may be the next step.
Checked facts
9 verifiable local data points on this page.
- As the crow fliesExeter Cathedral is 31.2 miles from Allerford Farm, our Lewdown base, as the crow flies.OSM Nominatim
- Conservation areasExeter has 20 conservation areas, including Central, Heavitree, Pennsylvania, St Leonard’s and Topsham.Exeter City Council
- Largest home typeTerraced homes are Exeter’s largest group, at 31.3% of households in 2021, compared with 23.0% in England as a whole.Census 2021 (ONS)
- Homes built since 200025.3% of Exeter’s properties were built in 2000 or later (England: 18.8%).Valuation Office Agency
- The Householder’s GuideExeter City Council’s Householder’s Guide, adopted in April 2024, says solar panels on a house’s roof or wall are permitted development in many circumstances.Exeter City Council
- The council’s own solarExeter City Council has 3.4 megawatts peak (MWp) of solar across 13 sites, including panels on more than 800 council homes.Exeter City Council
- Net Zero Exeter 2030Exeter City Council formally adopted the Net Zero Exeter 2030 Plan in July 2020.Exeter City Council
- Solar already fittedExeter had 5,911 solar installations at the end of 2025, up from 5,309 a year earlier (provisional government figures).Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
- Mostly gas-heated76.4% of Exeter households heated with mains gas alone in 2021 (England: 74.0%).Census 2021 (ONS)
Data last reviewed:
From survey to handover
Gas heating, the grid and our process
Gas still heats most homes in the city, a slightly higher share than across England: about three households in four relied on mains gas alone at the 2021 Census (76.4%, against 74.0%). Panels generate electricity, not heat, so we size the system around how much electricity you use and when, with battery storage alongside your panels if it suits your evenings.
Your system may need approval from National Grid before we can connect it. This is called a G99 application. We handle the application for you and keep you updated while we wait for their response. Exeter sits in National Grid Electricity Distribution’s South West network.
It all begins with a free survey of your home and a quote with no obligation. We plan the system in Easy PV Pro, the people who fit it are our own installation team, and most homes take them one to three days. Our 10-year workmanship warranty sits alongside the product warranties from each manufacturer, and a year of The Solar Owners Club is included. Our solar panel installation process sets out each step.
Questions
Solar panels in Exeter: your questions.
Adopted in April 2024, it says panels fixed to a house’s roof or wall are permitted development in many circumstances, within national limits such as projecting no more than 0.2 metres from a pitched roof. Listed buildings and conservation areas are the exceptions it flags, and Building Regulations will normally apply.
It can. Both are among Exeter’s 20 conservation areas, where permitted development covers roof panels within the national limits, though not panels on a highway-facing wall, balcony or parapet, and flat-roof panels need prior approval first. Article 4 Directions can remove those rights in places, so it’s worth a word with the council’s planners before work starts.
That depends on the roof rather than the house type. Terraced houses make up 31.3% of Exeter’s households, more than any other type, and the free survey looks at your roof’s orientation, shading and usable space. The council’s guide also says to make sure the roof can bear the panels’ weight.
Panels generate electricity, so what matters is how much your home uses, and when. 76.4% of Exeter households heated with mains gas alone in 2021. Any estimate we give comes from your own usage, and if solar isn’t the right fit for your home, we’ll tell you.
Yes. The council runs 13 solar sites with 3.4 MWp between them, including over 800 of its homes, and its Net Zero Exeter 2030 Plan dates from July 2020. Across the city, the government’s provisional count was 5,911 solar installations by the close of 2025.
Nearby
Solar panels nearby.
Next steps
Let’s talk about your project in Exeter
Whether your home is a terrace, a semi or a house built since 2000, start with a conversation about how you use electricity, then a survey of your roof. We’ll check the planning position and quote for solar panels on your Exeter home, with no obligation to go ahead. Arrange your free site survey.
Call us07441 369 505
- Lines open
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
- Find us
- Allerford Farm, Lewdown, Okehampton, Devon EX20 4PU
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