The 2025 Solar Sentiment Survey: What UK Homeowners Really Think About Solar Panels

Solar energy has gone mainstream. More than 1.3 million homes in the UK benefit from solar power every day according to the Energy Saving Trust, but there’s still plenty of progress to be made on our journey towards a greener future.

To understand more about how UK consumers are feeling on the topic of solar energy, we’ve teamed up with Scottish Building Society to deliver our 2025 UK Solar Sentiment Survey for the third year in a row.

In just three years, UK homeowners have gone from sceptical to convinced about the financial benefits of solar energy. Homeowners are confident in using their systems and the systems themselves are delivering on performance expectations. But poor aftercare and low-quality installations indicate a worrying trend of some unscrupulous suppliers entering a growing mainstream market. Could this derail the nation’s green progress?

The bright side: Cost savings and climate impact

UK homeowners are clear on the benefits of solar panels. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, 66% see solar panels as a major cost-saving addition to their home. And with the UK striving to meet net-zero targets by 2050, 57% see them as a way to help the planet.

Yet, while both considerations are front and centre of the thought process of UK households, saving money appears to be the overriding priority.

Just 12 months ago, 50% of households viewed solar as a cost-saving addition to their home. This jump up to 66% in 2025 is a whopping increase of a third in just a year. It’s also triple the rate of increase in positive sentiment about the environmental benefits of solar.

It mirrors the trend in recent years of cost savings motivating the general public more than environmental concerns.

Generational divide: Confidence gaps in solar know-how

In the last 12 months, generational knowledge gaps have narrowed. In 2024, we saw Gen Z leading on solar awareness and reporting unexpectedly high savings. But just a year later, homeowners of all ages now understand the potential of this renewable energy source.

Those who have systems in place at home are confident in using them effectively too. In fact, only 6.5% of homeowners aged 15–54 lack confidence in using their system effectively, but with this jumping to 23% for the over 55s, there is still work to be done in supporting older generations on their solar journey.

Expert fitters armed with tailored education and support for older homeowners are essential to boost confidence amongst this age group and ensure they’re getting the most out of their systems.

The doubters: Financial and technological concerns

Whilst the motivations for solar lean towards its cost-effectiveness, this is also where the doubts often linger. Misinformation, concerns about the weather and the length of payback periods are leading some people to question the cost benefits of solar. Specifically:

• 1 in 6 homeowners worry the technology will be outdated before it pays off due to long payback periods
• 1 in 6 survey respondents think it’s impossible to make their money back
• 1 in 10 mistakenly thing there’s no point having solar in the UK as there’s not enough sunshine to power the system

It’s down to providers to set expectations with clear and transparent advice and education. At GreenFox Energy, our payback period is typically under 10 years and you can read more about this over in our payback guide.

Performance vs. expectations

How homeowners feel about solar energy is one thing. The real yardstick for the industry is how solar performs for each household and whether it delivers efficiency and cost savings.

The Solar Sentiment Survey indicates that in 2025, solar power is delivering for households – as many as 80% of respondents say their system generates what was promised or more.

With reliable systems that continue to perform and trusted suppliers that are transparent and honest about potential performance, we have the building blocks for the industry to thrive.

GreenFox Energy Co-founder Eddie Curran, said: “The results of this year’s Solar Sentiment Survey mirror what our engineers and customer service teams are hearing from customers every day. Solar energy has gone mainstream and is now widely accepted to be the smart choice for homeowners looking to cut energy bills and future-proof their homes as the UK faces into a lower-carbon future.

As the market continues to mature, we'd expect to see a continuation of this year's key trends: increasing positivity about the benefits of solar, but also an increasing gap between the best solar companies and the under qualified opportunists. As the market grows customers are becoming more aware of what good looks like and - quite reasonably - have higher expectations around what is a major investment decision. This will translate to a greater focus on skill, quality and provision of lifetime care services as customers assess the market for solar engineers."

Trust in the solar industry

In 2025, customers are bought into the value of home solar energy, from both environmental and economic standpoints. Yet, the reputation of many fitters continues to hamper the industry.

The survey reveals that 15% of solar generating homeowners wouldn’t be confident to recommend their fitter to friends and family. And often it comes down to the level of service and lack of qualifications.

As many as 40% of survey respondents received no information from their fitters on how to maintain the system and half received no system registration details. Around one in six, felt their fitters likely lacked the necessary qualifications and certification.

This could be an early sign that the booming UK solar energy market is attracting opportunistic, less well qualified and less experienced tradesmen. As well as lacking the knowledge, experience and resources to design and supply high quality systems, these fitters will be unable to support homeowners maintain and service their systems.

Paul Denton, Chief Executive of Scottish Building Society, said: “It’s encouraging to see increasing confidence in solar energy as a cost-saving solution for households. However, the findings also underline the importance of addressing gaps in trust and information when it comes to installations.

As a mortgage provider, we’re willing and ready to lend on all types of home improvements and by improving transparency and support within the industry, we can help homeowners feel more confident in adopting energy-saving technologies and enjoying their long-term benefits.”

A solar future with room to grow

The 2025 GreenFox Solar Sentiment Survey offers evidence that the consumer market for solar energy is maturing and beginning to adopt the same characteristics as the long-established market for gas-fired boilers and heating systems.

Consumers are also beginning to demand the same level of professionalism from solar providers that they expect from heating engineers or electricians. As many as 90% of respondents would be happy to pay for maintenance and post-installation support from solar providers, with significantly more than half prepared to pay in excess of £30 per month.

The concern is that while the desire is there from consumers, many providers simply aren’t matching up. Worryingly, less than 1% of homeowners with solar energy have a care plan in place, as so few solar energy providers offer subscription plans.

For the industry to deliver on this increasing consumer demand and growing faith in solar, we need better education, clearer communication around return on investment and continued innovation from trusted suppliers.

The industry is close, but not quite there yet.

For more information book a free, no obligation meeting with us to discuss your solar panel needs.