Solar · Battery · EV — Hertfordshire
Solar Panels Borehamwood
Solar panels, battery storage and EV chargers for homes in and around Borehamwood — designed from your actual usage, installed by an MCS-certified team, and explained in plain English before you commit to anything.
If you are weighing up solar panels Borehamwood homes can actually use, the first questions are down to earth: who owns the roof, which way it faces and how much of the power you would use yourself. The town has been making films since 1914, when Neptune Studios opened in what was then a small village; building on Elstree Studios began in 1925, and after Hertsmere Council won a court case in the 1990s the Shenley Road studios came under the ownership of the local community. Today Borehamwood's energy story is catching up, too: Hertsmere's climate strategy lists a 3 MW solar installation at Sky Studios in Borehamwood, operating since 2023.
Roof ownership matters more here than the national averages suggest, because 34% of Borehamwood households live in flats and maisonettes and more than a quarter rent from a social landlord (Census 2021). For a house with a usable roof, the decision is yours to make; for a flat, it starts with the freeholder or housing association. Either way, we quote for homes in and around Borehamwood and Elstree, with battery storage in Borehamwood priced at the same visit where it makes sense, and the national price figures on our solar panel installation cost page. If solar would not pay its way on your home, we will say so.
Quick answer
Solar panels in Borehamwood:
- Cost: the Energy Saving Trust puts a typical 4.5 kWp home system (around 12 panels) at around £7,600 installed. Your own figure comes from a survey of your roof, not a table.
- Generation: PVGIS 5.3 estimates about 3,944 kWh a year from a 4 kWp south-facing array in Borehamwood, around 986 kWh per kWp.
- Payback: on the Energy Saving Trust's table, with export payments and fuel prices as of July 2026, a London home pays back in about 9 years.
- VAT: residential solar installations carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, then 5% from 1 April 2027.
- Battery: the Energy Saving Trust puts a 5 kWh battery at around £4,600; fitting it with the panels costs less than a separate visit later.
- Who fits it: HCE is a NAPIT member (73495), MCS-certified for solar PV via NAPIT, and a HIES Consumer Code member. Check both registers yourself.
Figures: Energy Saving Trust (solar, updated 27 August 2026; batteries, updated 19 August 2026) · HMRC VAT Notice 708/6 · PVGIS 5.3 (European Commission Joint Research Centre), run 2026-10-15. Each is cited in full further down this page.
Solar on Borehamwood's housing
ONS counts 39,765 people in the Borehamwood built-up area at the 2021 Census, and its households fall into three big groups: 34% in flats, maisonettes or apartments, 28.8% in terraced houses and 26.8% semi-detached, with 9% detached. Tenure is the distinctive part. Only 22.4% of households own outright and 33.1% own with a mortgage or through shared ownership, while 26.0% rent from a social landlord and 18.6% rent privately or live rent-free, a far higher social-rented share than Hertsmere as a whole, where it is 17.3%. In practice a large minority of Borehamwood roofs belong to a housing association or a freeholder, and solar there is a conversation with them first.
The efficiency data is better than in many older suburbs. ONS analysis of EPC records up to March 2025 gives the four statistical areas (MSOAs) that ONS's lookup assigns to Borehamwood median scores between 70 and 73, which is band C, with between 55% and 69% of dwellings at band C or above; England's median is 69. On planning, none of Hertsmere's 15 conservation areas carries Borehamwood's name; Elstree Village, next door, is one, and an Article 4 direction there brings some otherwise permitted works under planning control. Green belt covers 78.9% of Hertsmere on the government's figures for March 2025, which shapes where new homes can go but does not take away a householder's permitted development rights for roof solar. Panels must still sit no more than 0.2 m proud of the slope and no higher than the highest part of the roof, excluding chimneys, and a listed building always needs consent.
What Hertsmere Borough Council is doing
Hertsmere Borough Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and committed to net zero emissions in all its operations as soon as reasonably possible and no later than 2050. Its updated Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy runs from 2025 to 2030, and the council put solar panels on the roof of its Civic Office in 2020. The same strategy counts 1,091 solar PV sites operating in the borough, with 18.03 MW installed, a 44% rise in the number and capacity of solar PV systems since 2019, and lists support for rooftop solar PV across the borough among its further measures.
On schemes, it pays to be clear-eyed. Hertsmere took part in the Solar Together group-buying scheme in Hertfordshire, which in its first two years helped 42 homes and businesses in the borough install 431 panels, but the scheme, now trading as Switch Together, said on its Hertsmere page on 15 October 2026 that it is not active in the area. Hertsmere does not appear on DESNZ's list of councils funded for the Warm Homes: Local Grant (updated 2 July 2026), either on its own or in a consortium, so check GOV.UK before relying on that route. ECO4, the other income-linked scheme, runs until 31 December 2026.
What solar costs on a Borehamwood home
The honest national anchor is the Energy Saving Trust's: a typical domestic system is around 4.5 kWp — roughly around 12 panels over 20 to 30m² of roof — and costs around £7,600 installed. On their payback table, with export payments and fuel prices as of July 2026, London homes sit at about 9 years. Borehamwood's homes are 34% flats and maisonettes, with terraces at 28.8% and semis at 26.8% (Census 2021), so a house with a clear roof is the usual case for a system of around that size, while a flat starts with the freeholder or housing association.
Two things move that number for everyone. Residential installations carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, reverting to 5% from 1 April 2027. And export payments under the Smart Export Guarantee are set by each supplier and must be above zero — they change on short notice, which is why we never print one. A quote should itemise the panels, inverter, mounting, scaffolding, labour, commissioning, warranties and the DNO notification, so you can see what the total is made of — ours does, and it comes from a survey of your actual roof and usage, not from a table.
Sources: Energy Saving Trust — Solar panels: costs, savings and benefits explained (updated 27 August 2026) · HMRC — VAT on energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6) · Ofgem — Smart Export Guarantee.
When we'd tell you not to fit solar in Borehamwood
A persistently shaded roof, a slope that faces mostly north, a listed building where consent will not carry the fixings, or a home whose daytime usage is so low that almost everything would be exported at a supplier-set rate — in those cases we will say so at the survey rather than sell you a system that under-delivers. Fabric-first improvements sometimes beat panels as the first spend, and we would rather tell you that than not.
Whoever you use, check the registers yourself: HCE is NAPIT member 73495 and an HIES Consumer Code member (HCE/A/1392), with MCS certification for solar PV via NAPIT — the certification an MCS-certified install needs for Smart Export Guarantee payments.
What a Borehamwood roof actually generates
Rather than quote a generic yield, we ran the European Commission's PVGIS 5.3 (European Commission Joint Research Centre) for Borehamwood itself. A 4 kWp array at 35° facing due south, with 14% system losses, is estimated at about 3,944 kWh a year — around 986 kWh per kWp — with a year-to-year variation of roughly ±167 kWh (PVGIS-SARAH3, 2005–2023). East- or west-facing slopes generate less, and shading changes the answer more than the town does; that is exactly what the survey measures.
Method: PVGIS 5.3 (European Commission Joint Research Centre), 4 kWp, 35° tilt, due south, 14% system losses, building-mounted, run 2026-10-15.
Local facts, sourced
Borehamwood in numbers
Every figure below comes from a named public source — the same standard we hold our savings estimates to.
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Northwood, the nearest Met Office climate station to Borehamwood, averaged 1,556 hours of sunshine a year over 1991–2020, with July the sunniest month at about 209 hours; Hampstead, the next nearest, averaged 1,559.
Source: Met Office — Northwood and Hampstead location-specific long-term averages, 1991–2020 — https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/location-specific-long-term-averages/gcptwusdp ; https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/location-specific-long-term-averages/gcpv7fnqu
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The Borehamwood built-up area had 39,765 residents at the 2021 Census; 34% of households lived in flats, maisonettes or apartments, 28.8% in terraced houses, 26.8% in semi-detached and 9% in detached houses.
Source: ONS, Towns and cities: characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales, Census 2021 (tables 1c and 5c, Borehamwood E63004665) — https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/datasets/townsandcitiescharacteristicsofbuiltupareasenglandandwalescensus2021
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In the Borehamwood built-up area 22.4% of households own outright, 33.1% with a mortgage or through shared ownership, 26.0% rent from a social landlord and 18.6% rent privately or live rent-free; across Hertsmere the social-rented share is 17.3%.
Source: ONS, Towns and cities: characteristics of built-up areas, Census 2021 (table 6c); ONS Census 2021 TS054, Hertsmere E07000098 (Nomis) — https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/datasets/townsandcitiescharacteristicsofbuiltupareasenglandandwalescensus2021
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ONS gives the four MSOAs its lookup assigns to Borehamwood (Hertsmere 006, 007, 009 and 011) median EPC scores of 70 to 73, band C, with 55% to 69% of dwellings at band C or above, against an England median of 69.
Source: ONS, Energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales (28 October 2025), MSOA table 3a; ONS MSOA 2021 to built-up area 2022 lookup — https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/energyefficiencyofhousinginenglandandwales/latest
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Neptune Studios opened in Borehamwood in 1914 and building on Elstree Studios began in 1925; after Hertsmere Council took the studios' former owner to court, the Shenley Road facility came under the ownership of the local community.
Source: Elstree Studios — History — https://www.elstreestudios.co.uk/history/
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Hertsmere has 1,091 solar PV sites with 18.03 MW installed, up 44% in number and capacity since 2019, including a 3 MW solar installation at Sky Studios in Borehamwood operating since 2023.
Source: Hertsmere Borough Council — Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy 2025–2030 — https://www.hertsmere.gov.uk/asset-library/climate-change-and-sustainability-strategy-2025-20303.pdf
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78.9% of Hertsmere (7,980 of 10,110 hectares) is designated green belt as at 31 March 2025; the borough has 15 conservation areas, none of them named for Borehamwood, and the Elstree Village conservation area carries an Article 4 direction.
Source: MHCLG — Local authority green belt statistics for England 2024-25, live table Area by LA (published 9 October 2025); Hertsmere Borough Council — Conservation areas in Hertsmere; Elstree Village Conservation Area — https://www.hertsmere.gov.uk/planning-building-control/building-tree-conservation/conservation-areas
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Hertsmere took part in Solar Together in Hertfordshire (42 homes and businesses, 431 panels in its first two years), but Switch Together's Hertsmere page said on 15 October 2026 that the scheme is not active in the area; Hertsmere is not on DESNZ's Warm Homes: Local Grant list updated 2 July 2026.
Source: Hertsmere Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy 2025–2030; Switch Together — https://switchtogether.co.uk/solar-panels/hertsmere ; DESNZ — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/warm-homes-local-grant-successful-local-authorities/warm-homes-local-grant-successful-local-authorities
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Hertfordshire's electricity network was historically run by Eastern Electricity and is now part of UK Power Networks, which approves home systems with a maximum export under 5 kW automatically.
Source: UK Power Networks — Our history; Solar and storage: cost, time and what's involved — https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/our-company/our-history
Data last reviewed: October 2026
Where we work around Borehamwood
We quote for homes in and around Borehamwood, including Elstree, Cowley Hill, Brookmeadow, Hillside, Kenilworth and Shenley Road, across the WD6 postcode district. Every quote starts with a free survey of your actual roof and usage — if solar wouldn't pay its way on your home, we'll say so plainly. Try the numbers first on our savings calculator, or read how we approach installations across Hertfordshire.
If you are weighing storage as well, our page on battery storage in Borehamwood sets out what a battery does on a Borehamwood roof through the year, and what it costs. For a longer local read, see Borehamwood homes: where do solar panels fit?.
Borehamwood solar questions
Do I need planning permission for solar panels in Borehamwood?
For most houses, no. Roof-mounted solar on a house is permitted development in England provided the panels sit no more than 0.2 m proud of the roof slope and no higher than the highest part of the roof, excluding chimneys. Green belt covers 78.9% of Hertsmere on the government's March 2025 figures, but it does not remove those rights for a householder. None of Hertsmere's 15 conservation areas is named for Borehamwood; Elstree Village, next door, is one and has an Article 4 direction, and since 27 August 2026 the national conservation-area exclusion applies only to solar on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure fronting a highway. Listed buildings always need consent. We check the designations for your address before quoting.
I own a flat or rent from a housing association in Borehamwood. Can I get solar?
It depends on who owns the roof. Flats and maisonettes are 34% of Borehamwood households and 26.0% of households rent from a social landlord (Census 2021), so for many homes the freeholder or housing association has to agree first, along with who pays and who benefits. UK Power Networks also says the building owner's permission is needed before any solar or storage work on a multi-occupied building. If a shared roof will not work, we will tell you rather than force a design.
What would a Borehamwood roof generate, and what does solar cost?
It depends first on whether the roof is yours. For a house with a clear south-facing slope at 35°, the European Commission's PVGIS 5.3 model gives about 3,944 kWh a year from 4 kWp in central Borehamwood, about 986 kWh per kWp, with a typical swing of around ±167 kWh between years (SARAH3 data for 2005–2023, 14% losses, run 15 October 2026). Northwood, the closest Met Office climate station, recorded about 1,556 sunshine hours a year over 1991–2020. The Energy Saving Trust's national price marker is around £7,600 for a typical 4.5 kWp system of about twelve panels, and household installations pay no VAT until 31 March 2027. With 28.8% of homes terraced and 26.8% semi-detached, many WD6 houses have room for something close to that size; a flat is a freeholder question first.
Is there a council solar scheme or grant in Hertsmere?
Not one that is open at the moment. Hertsmere took part in the Solar Together group-buying scheme in Hertfordshire, which helped 42 homes and businesses in the borough install 431 panels in its first two years, but Switch Together, as the scheme now trades, said on its Hertsmere page on 15 October 2026 that it is not active in the area. Hertsmere is not on DESNZ's July 2026 list of councils funded for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, and ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026 for households that qualify. Residential solar and batteries carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, which applies automatically.
Nearby
We also cover solar panels in Edgware, solar installation Barnet and Potters Bar solar and battery installers.
Also for Borehamwood homes
Solar is usually the first step, not the last. If you are wondering whether a battery would pay its way, we can talk you through home battery storage; if you are charging a car at home, we can talk you through a home EV charge point; if you are comparing battery brands, we can talk you through Sigenergy storage systems; and if you are set on a particular battery, we can talk you through Tesla Powerwall. Every one of them starts the same way — a free survey of your actual roof, usage and property, and a straight answer about whether it is worth doing.