Barnet · Haringey · Enfield · Harrow · Brent · Waltham Forest · Havering
Solar panels, batteries and EV chargers for homes across seven north and north-east London boroughs, from Edgware and Harrow to Walthamstow and Romford, with each borough’s rules set out plainly.
HIES Consumer Code member · NAPIT registered · MCS certified · Trustpilot reviewed
Solar in north London is decided borough by borough. Our town pages here span seven councils: Barnet, Haringey, Brent, Enfield, Harrow, Waltham Forest and Havering. They differ more than the Tube map suggests. Haringey and Brent have withdrawn the solar permitted-development right on the front of homes in some conservation areas, while Waltham Forest says panels can often go on conservation-area roofs, even those facing the road, without planning permission.
Home Comfort Enterprises (HCE) installs solar panels, battery storage and EV chargers. We are MCS-certified for solar PV and battery storage, with certification held via NAPIT (member 73495), and a HIES Consumer Code member (HCE/A/1392). The GLA has warned of people charging Londoners a fee to “secure” a grant, so check those registers before you let anyone onto your roof, us included.
Quick answer
Solar panels in north London:
Figures: PVGIS, Met Office, UK Power Networks, GOV.UK, Switch Together, Energy Saving Trust, HMRC; cited in full below.
The roofs change sharply across the patch. Havering is the semi-detached end: 41.2% of its 101,277 households live in semis, the second-highest share of London’s 33 local authorities after Bexley, and 69.5% own their home. Harrow is close behind, with 37.1% of households in semis. At the other end, 98.2% of households in Wembley Park ward live in purpose-built flats, and in Muswell Hill ward the largest single group, 32.6%, live in part of a converted or shared house.
Who owns the roof matters as much as its shape. Across Tottenham’s eight wards 28.3% of households own their home and 34.0% rent socially (our sum of the ward counts); in Enfield ownership runs from 77.2% in Bush Hill Park ward to 36.4% in Ponders End. If you rent from the council, its retrofit programme is the place to ask. And UK Power Networks needs the building owner’s permission before solar or storage work starts on a block of flats or other multi-occupied building.
Sources: ONS Census 2021 via Nomis, TS044 Accommodation type and TS054 Tenure (Havering, Harrow, Enfield, Haringey and Brent, and their 2022 wards) · UK Power Networks, Solar and storage: cost, time and what’s involved. Read 15 October 2026. Ward totals are our arithmetic.
Every borough here has declared a climate emergency, but the finishing lines differ. Brent strives for carbon neutrality across the whole borough by 2030, a target it says only 12 London councils share; Harrow set a 2030 borough aim in 2019 and its own strategy now calls it extremely challenging; Waltham Forest is committed to net zero by 2030. Enfield aims for a carbon-neutral borough by 2040, Haringey for a net zero borough by 2041 and Barnet by 2042, while Havering, which declared in March 2023, works to a carbon-neutral council by 2040 or sooner.
Several have started on their own roofs. Waltham Forest has fitted solar PV to more than 1,300 council-owned properties since 2012. Enfield said in April 2025 that it had secured funding to fit insulation, energy-saving measures and solar panels to more than 400 council homes, and Barnet’s October 2023 net zero motion noted it had begun retrofitting social housing and council buildings, solar panels included. Harrow’s strategy describes the borough, with its large proportion of houses, as well suited to rooftop solar.
Sources: council climate pages and strategies (Brent, Our response to the climate emergency · Harrow, Living Harrow 2023–2030 · Waltham Forest, Climate Action Plan and news, 22 July 2024 · Enfield, Climate action · Haringey, Climate Change Action Plan · Barnet, council motion “Recommitment to Net Zero”, 17 October 2023 · Havering, news). Read 15 October 2026.
PVGIS 5.3, run 15 October 2026
One system, 14 towns: 4 kWp, 35° tilt, due south, 14% system losses, building-mounted.
| About kWh a year (4 kWp) | About kWh per kWp | Year-to-year variation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finchley (Barnet) | 3,952 | 988 | ±154 kWh |
| Hendon (Barnet) | 3,961 | 990 | ±150 kWh |
| Muswell Hill (Haringey) | 3,955 | 989 | ±159 kWh |
| Barnet (Barnet) | 3,959 | 990 | ±162 kWh |
| Edgware (Barnet) | 3,938 | 984 | ±157 kWh |
| Wood Green (Haringey) | 3,956 | 989 | ±159 kWh |
| Tottenham (Haringey) | 3,960 | 990 | ±158 kWh |
| Wembley (Brent) | 3,963 | 991 | ±150 kWh |
| Edmonton (Enfield) | 3,959 | 990 | ±157 kWh |
| Enfield (Enfield) | 3,955 | 989 | ±166 kWh |
| Harrow (Harrow) | 3,965 | 991 | ±154 kWh |
| Walthamstow (Waltham Forest) | 3,969 | 992 | ±159 kWh |
| Chingford (Waltham Forest) | 4,011 | 1,003 | ±158 kWh |
| Romford (Havering) | 4,055 | 1,014 | ±156 kWh |
The 14 estimates span about 117 kWh a year, from Edgware to Romford (our arithmetic), less than the year-to-year swing PVGIS gives at any single town, about ±150 to ±166 kWh. Which borough you live in barely moves the answer. A chimney stack on a Walthamstow terrace, a tree in a Chingford garden or a taller block next door moves it a great deal, and the figures assume an unshaded, due-south roof at 35°. That is why we survey rather than quote from a map.
The Met Office’s long-term averages tell the same story: Hampstead about 1,559 hours of sunshine a year, Northwood about 1,556, Greenwich Observatory about 1,526 and Kew Gardens about 1,693, against about 1,403 for the UK (1991–2020).
Sources: PVGIS 5.3 (European Commission Joint Research Centre), one run per town on 15 October 2026 (each town page gives its own figure) · Met Office location-specific long-term averages for Hampstead, Northwood, Greenwich Observatory and Kew Gardens, 1991–2020.
Local facts, sourced
Borough-level figures from named public sources. Where we have added borough figures together, we say so.
DESNZ records about 20,359 solar PV installations of every size, rooftop to solar farm, across the seven boroughs at the end of 2025, as first published (our sum of the borough figures). It is not a count of homes.
Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Renewable electricity by local authority 2014 to 2025 (published 29 September 2026)
DVLA records about 48,090 privately kept plug-in vehicles across the seven boroughs at the end of June 2026, up from about 38,569 a year earlier (our sum). Vehicles, not chargers or households.
Source: Department for Transport and DVLA, VEH0142 licensed plug-in vehicles by local authority (published 23 September 2026)
In the 2021 and 2022 Solar Together London rounds, more Harrow residents opted in than in any other London borough: 285 committed to panels and 139 of them also chose battery storage.
Source: London Borough of Harrow, Living Harrow: Climate and Nature Strategy 2023–2030, section 2.1.3
Since 2012 Waltham Forest Council has installed solar PV on more than 1,300 council-owned properties, around 1,100 of which earn Feed-in Tariff income.
Source: London Borough of Waltham Forest, Solar panels help to reduce residents’ energy bills (22 July 2024)
Article 4 directions for Noel Park, Tower Gardens and Peabody Cottages in Haringey, in force since 21 December 2020, withdraw the solar permitted-development right on the street elevations of homes in those conservation areas.
Source: London Borough of Haringey, Article 4(1) directions made 16 December 2019, confirmed 17 December 2020
Enfield’s median EPC score is 67 (band D) against 69 for England; its semi-detached houses have a median of 60, and only 15.2% of them reach band C.
Source: ONS, Energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales (28 October 2025), local authority tables 2a and 2b
Havering is the semi-detached end of London: 41.2% of its 101,277 households live in semis, the second-highest share of London’s 33 local authorities after Bexley, against 18.6% for London.
Source: ONS Census 2021, TS044 Accommodation type via Nomis (Havering, London and all London local authorities)
The GLA warns that people have asked Londoners for fees of £300 to £1,500 to secure a Warm Homes: Local Grant application or arrange solar panels, and says neither it nor its delivery partner will ever charge to confirm eligibility or to install.
Source: Greater London Authority, Warm Homes: Local Grant, important notice for applicants
Data last reviewed: 15 October 2026
The Energy Saving Trust’s national anchor is a typical 4.5 kWp system, around 12 panels, at around £7,600 installed: a UK figure, not a London price. Installations carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, then 5% from 1 April 2027, batteries included. On the runs above, 4 kWp returns about 3,938 kWh a year in Edgware and 4,055 in Romford; exported surplus earns Smart Export Guarantee payments at rates each supplier sets and can change, which is why we never print one.
In Haringey, the Power Boost Haringey Fund pays private homeowners 15% cashback for two types of measure or 25% for three, up to £5,000, with solar and a battery counting as one type. It runs through the Power Up Homes group buy operated by RetrofitWorks, so ask them how it would apply to you. More on solar panel installation costs, how long panels take to pay for themselves and what a solar quote should itemise.
Sources: Energy Saving Trust, Solar panels: costs, savings and benefits explained (updated 27 August 2026) · HMRC VAT Notice 708/6 · Ofgem, Smart Export Guarantee · London Borough of Haringey, Power Boost Haringey scheme.
All seven boroughs reach the Warm Homes: Local Grant through the consortium led by the Greater London Authority, which GOV.UK lists with £53,470,024 of funding (list updated 2 July 2026). It covers privately owned homes rated EPC D to G, privately rented ones included, usually where household income is £36,000 or less or through a qualifying postcode or benefit, with a £25,000 savings limit under the GLA’s rules. In the scheme’s second and third years each borough has its own queue, capped at up to 250% of its allocation, and a place in it does not guarantee funding; Enfield says it has had over 400 expressions of interest and that not all eligible homes will be upgraded.
It does reach roofs: in March 2026 Waltham Forest reported a Chingford resident having solar panels and a battery fitted through the grant, one of more than 140 local households to have energy-saving technology installed under the scheme so far. Group buying is quiet: on 15 October 2026 Switch Together, formerly Solar Together, said it was not active in any of the seven boroughs. We don’t run or arrange either scheme and can’t speed them up.
Sources: GOV.UK, Warm Homes: Local Grant successful local authorities · Greater London Authority, Warm Homes: Local Grant · Enfield Council, Warm Homes Local Grant · London Borough of Waltham Forest, So far, solar good (24 March 2026) · Switch Together borough pages. Read 15 October 2026.
Panels on a house roof are usually permitted development, even in a conservation area. The exceptions here are specific estates. In Haringey, Article 4 directions in force since 21 December 2020 remove the solar right on the street elevations of homes in Noel Park, Tower Gardens and Peabody Cottages, and the Noel Park appraisal says panels on roof slopes visible from the street are not appropriate. In Brent, which says all its residential conservation areas carry Article 4 directions, the Barn Hill and Wembley High Street directions remove the solar right “with exception of rear roof slopes”.
Barnet’s records list the solar class among the rights removed in Finchley Garden Village, Moss Hall Crescent and Hendon The Burroughs, but not in Finchley Church End, Wood Street or Monken Hadley. Harrow has 30 conservation areas, eight of them on Harrow on the Hill, where five carry Article 4 directions. Waltham Forest takes the opposite line, saying solar PV can often go on conservation-area roofs, including those fronting a highway, without planning permission where the Part 14 conditions are met. A listed home always needs listed building consent.
Sources: London Borough of Haringey, Article 4 directions and Noel Park appraisal · London Borough of Brent, Article 4 directions and Listed buildings and conservation areas · planning.data.gov.uk, London Borough of Barnet article-4-direction records (Barnet notes it has translated old direction classes) · London Borough of Harrow, Conservation areas and Article 4 · London Borough of Waltham Forest, Conservation areas and listed buildings. Read 15 October 2026.
UK Power Networks runs the network in all seven boroughs, but not as one licence area. On its own boundary data, 13 of our 14 town centres sit in its Eastern area and only Walthamstow is in its London area. Hendon, Tottenham and Chingford are close to that line, and central Wembley is also close to SSEN’s Southern England area, so check your own postcode rather than assume.
Under the national rules, G98 covers systems up to 16 A per phase (3.68 kW) and larger systems need G99 approval before work starts. UK Power Networks says it approves home solar and storage automatically where the maximum export is under 5 kW, and that where your supply can take the system there is nothing to pay it. Your installer deals with the paperwork.
Sources: UK Power Networks, licence boundaries open data (town-centre point checks) · NESO, GB DNO licence areas · UK Power Networks, Solar and storage: cost, time and what’s involved · ENA EREC G98 · Energy Networks Association, Find my network operator. Read 15 October 2026.
If your roof is heavily shaded by neighbouring blocks or faces mostly north, the PVGIS figures above won’t apply, and we’ll say so. If the only usable slope faces the street in Noel Park or Tower Gardens, the answer may be the rear roof or nothing. If you rent from the council, ask about its retrofit programme first. If you might qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, check that route before paying for anything, even with the queue.
And if the house is empty all day, much of what a 4 kWp array makes would be exported at a supplier-set rate; a battery or an EV charger can change that sum, and we’ll show you the arithmetic. A standard grid-tied battery shuts down in a power cut unless the system is designed for backup. The battery systems in our own job photos are EnSmart and Hanchu.
Barnet, Haringey, Enfield, Harrow, Brent, Waltham Forest or Havering: one survey of your roof and usage, one written, itemised quote, no chasing.
No. The scheme now trades as Switch Together, and on 15 October 2026 its pages for Barnet, Brent, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Havering and Waltham Forest all said it was not active in the area, inviting residents to register interest. Harrow has the strongest record with it: more of its residents opted in to the 2021 and 2022 London rounds than in any other borough. You can register for a future round and get an independent quote at the same time.
Usually not for panels on a house roof, but some estates here are exceptions. In Haringey, Article 4 directions for Noel Park, Tower Gardens and Peabody Cottages remove the solar right on street elevations. In Brent, the Barn Hill and Wembley High Street directions remove it except on rear roof slopes. Barnet’s records list the solar class among the rights removed in Finchley Garden Village, Moss Hall Crescent and Hendon The Burroughs. Listed homes always need consent, so check your street before work starts.
Possibly, through the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which all seven boroughs reach through the GLA-led London consortium. It is for privately owned homes rated EPC D to G, usually with household income of £36,000 or less (or a qualifying postcode or benefit) and, under the GLA’s rules, savings under £25,000. Each borough has its own queue and a place in it does not guarantee funding. Nobody should charge you a fee to apply. We don’t run or arrange these grants.
UK Power Networks runs the network in all seven boroughs, but in two licence areas: 13 of our 14 town centres are in its Eastern area and Walthamstow is in its London area. Some streets, around Hendon, Tottenham, Chingford and Wembley, are close to a boundary, so use the network operator’s postcode checker or the Distributor ID on your bill (10 for Eastern England, 12 for London). The network operator is not your energy supplier.
Sometimes, but the decision is not yours alone. UK Power Networks says the building owner’s permission is needed before solar or storage work begins on a multi-occupied building such as a block of flats, and that is common here: in Wembley Park ward 98.2% of households live in purpose-built flats. If you own a flat, start with the freeholder; if you rent, with your landlord.
Towns we cover
Each town page sets out that town’s own ward housing figures, conservation areas and council schemes, with every source named.
Tell us your borough and whether you own the roof outright, share it with a freeholder or rent, and we’ll arrange a survey and a written, itemised quote, with no obligation. Ring HCE on 0204 547 1892 or use the form.
Also see: Hertfordshire · Essex · south-west London
For a longer read, see North London solar in December vs June, borough by borough.
