The pace of household solar installations in the UK has fallen behind commercial and industrial deployment over the past five years, according to new government data*.
Analysis by British solar subscription provider Gryd shows the number of residential installations has risen by 67% between December 2020 and December 2025, increasing from 966,597 to 1.61 million.
However, residential progress is increasingly lagging behind commercial and industrial installations, which have tripled over the same period – rising from 101,820 systems in 2020 to 303,408 by the end of 2025.
In 2020, residential installations accounted for 90.5% of all solar systems in the UK. By the end of 2025, that figure had fallen to 84.1%. Gryd says the figures highlight a widening gap between strong public support for solar and the number of households able to install it.
“UK businesses are now moving much faster than households, largely because they can absorb the upfront cost of solar and take a longer-term view of energy investment,” says Mohamed Gaafar, CEO and co-founder of Gryd.
“For many households, the upfront cost of retrofitting solar remains a major barrier. That continues to hold back adoption, even as support for the technology has grown.”
Gaafar believes the Future Homes Standard, which is expected imminently and is set to mandate solar on almost all new homes, will be critical in addressing this imbalance.
“The Future Homes Standard could almost double annual household solar installations**. With around 200,000 new homes built each year – and only an estimated 42% currently fitted with solar – mandating solar on all new homes would add roughly 116,000 installations annually.
“With the government targeting 300,000 new homes a year, that could lead to around 216,000 additional installations – close to double the current rate recorded by MCS.”
While the Future Homes Standard will significantly increase solar uptake in new-builds, Gaafar says additional measures are needed to accelerate adoption across the UK’s existing housing stock.
A further boost could come from the recently announced Warm Homes Plan, which includes proposals for interest-free loans for solar and a government-backed leasing scheme.
Gaafar says: “Households often face uncertainty about how long they’ll stay in a property, or whether the upfront cost of solar will pay back quickly enough. Solar delivers the most value over decades, not short ownership periods.”
“This is where the government’s consideration of solar leasing could be key. Leasing removes the upfront cost, delivers bill savings from day one and allows solar systems to transfer smoothly between homeowners.
“Taken together with the Future Homes Standard, these measures could drastically change the trajectory of household solar adoption in the UK.”
Find out more: https://gryd.energy/
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