Renewable energy and its impact on housing

Solar panels and heat pumps are reshaping how we heat our homes — and what surveyors look for when they inspect a property.

The world's reliance on fossil fuels for heating, specifically natural gas, coal and oil, has had a damaging effect on the natural world. With calamitous weather events increasing in frequency and ferocity, and the toll they take on local communities, it is understandable that successive governments have tried to address the population's reliance on fuels that only add to the climate change problem.

There is a continual drive to replace this dependency with renewable energy, with wind turbines and solar panel farms becoming an increasingly common sight around the country. The current Government has a plan to drive the country towards an ambitious target of Net Zero by the next decade, which requires reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, be it through transport, industry or their use in homes for heating.

More households are also trying to do their bit for the environment, and their pockets, by fitting solar panels, which store energy generated by daylight, to their roofs, or by installing heat pumps, which draw latent heat from the local environment and pump it around the house.

These approaches to managing demand for fossil fuels are becoming even more pressing given the situation in the Middle East, where the US-Israeli-Iranian conflict has effectively closed the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, the route through which a significant percentage of the world's oil is shipped. Many will have noticed the immediate impact at the petrol and diesel pumps, where the price of a litre has jumped by 20p or more in the month or so since hostilities began.

While there is some way to go to address the UK's reliance on such fuels, particularly right now when the weather is not being kind to those trying to keep warm, there are options for improving home warmth through insulation and the adoption of solar panels and heat pumps.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the drive for such improvements is primarily coming from the millennial age group. It is also worth noting that analysis suggests the average buyer would be prepared to pay around 7-8% more for a home that already has solar panels installed. At the same time, supermarkets and other vendors appear to be capitalising on the uncertainty by selling plug-in solar panels.

However the ways and means for improving the green credentials of a home might be adopted and adapted, there are specific issues that a home survey will look to uncover.

The condition of the panels, the structural suitability of the roof, the electrics and any outstanding permissions or warranties will all come under scrutiny. We have covered what surveyors commonly find on properties with solar panels, including the most common problems found and how they are graded in the report, if you want the full picture before you proceed.

Even if you are not looking to buy a property and are instead thinking about installing solar panels on your existing home, achartered surveyor can provide structural guidance to confirm that the roof is strong enough to hold the installation. They will also assess the level of likely shade from trees, chimneys and neighbouring buildings, which, while not preventing the panels from working, will reduce overall efficiency.

There will necessarily be an evaluation of the home's electrical system to verify that it can cope with the capacity the panels will generate, as well as confirmation of the best position and design for the installation, accounting for which way the roof slopes are facing. South-facing is obviously best, but not all roofs are built that way.

So whether you are thinking of buying a home that already has solar panels fitted, or looking to ease the economic strain of traditional fuels by installing them yourself, an expert survey gives you the assurance that it is the right option for you.

Whether you are buying a property with solar panels or thinking of fitting them, getting the right survey advice early can save you a lot of uncertainty down the line. Surveyor Local works with RICS-accredited chartered surveyors across England and Wales. Give us a call on  and we'll help you work out what you need.