A complete new-build solar package runs from design and supply to installation, certification and aftercare. These guides cover each part. Services are grouped into four silos below: generation systems, storage and integration, design and compliance, and aftercare. Developers typically procure the full stack; self-builders mix and match.
Services
New build solar services
Everything required to deliver FHS-compliant solar PV on a new build — from system design and SAP/HEM modelling through in-roof and BIPV installation to battery, heat pump, EV charging and aftercare.
Generation systems
In-Roof Solar Integration →
How in-roof PV is built into the roof during construction, and why it is the usual specification on FHS-compliant new builds.
Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) →
Solar tiles, solar slates and PV-glass facades: when BIPV makes sense on a new build and what to check.
Solar Inverters →
Hybrid, string and micro-inverter specification — SolarEdge, SunSynk, Enphase, GivEnergy, Fronius compared.
Storage & integration
Battery Storage Integration →
AC-coupled and DC-coupled batteries on new builds: what they add, and how to size one.
Heat Pump Integration (ASHP) →
Pairing solar PV with an air source heat pump: the standard FHS heating package.
EV Charge Point Integration →
Solar-aware EV charging that diverts surplus PV to the car instead of exporting it.
Smart Energy Systems →
Unify solar, battery, heat pump and EV charging under one intelligent control layer — Loxone, Home Assistant, Hubitat.
Design & compliance
Solar System Design →
Architect-led PV design from RIBA Stage 2 — 3D layout, SAP/HEM modelling, full Building Control pack.
SAP & HEM Compliance Modelling →
What SAP 10.3 compliance modelling involves for a new build, and where the Home Energy Model fits.
Developer Procurement Packages →
How per-plot procurement of solar, batteries and heat pumps works across a whole site, and what the price should include.
40% of ground floor area
PV / ground floor area
Mar 2027
FHS in force
75%
CO₂ vs 2013 baseline
£4,350 per dwelling
Per-plot premium (2025 prices, FHS Impact Assessment)
For developers and housebuilders
New build solar services on volume new-build programmes
On a multi-plot programme, settle four things at procurement: the per-plot price and how it moves with inflation; whether the array is modelled in the SAP 10.3 calculation for every house type; what your structural warranty provider needs to see for roof-integrated PV; and who issues the MCS certificate at handover, since buyers need it to claim Smart Export Guarantee payments.
For self-builders and architects
New build solar services for one-off custom builds
On a one-off build the array is easiest to settle at RIBA Stage 2 or 3, while the roof geometry is still open. Your SAP assessor models the system for the Part L submission, your building control body signs it off, and PV installed as part of constructing a new dwelling is zero-rated for VAT under HMRC Notice 708.
How this fits into the FHS compliance pathway
Every FHS-compliant new build passes three regulatory gates. New build solar services sits mainly in the second, design-stage Part L compliance, but it affects building control sign-off and the handover documents too:
- 1 Planning permission Solar PV designed into a new dwelling is normally covered by the dwelling's own planning permission. Conservation areas, Article 4 directions and plots within the curtilage of a listed building need extra planning evidence, usually prepared by the architect or planning agent.
- 2 Building control: Part L compliance SAP 10.3 is the compliance calculation at FHS launch. The dwelling's emission and primary energy rates must meet their targets, with the PV array, heat pump, fabric U-values and air permeability all entered. The SAP assessor prepares the design-stage and as-built calculations that building control reviews.
- 3 Completion: certificates and handover The MCS certificate (needed for Smart Export Guarantee payments), the Energy Performance Certificate and the homeowner's handover documents. If your structural warranty provider has requirements for roof-integrated PV, confirm them before the roof goes on.
For a fuller walkthrough of the compliance process, see the Part L 2026 guide and the FHS PV calculator, which sizes a compliant array from your ground floor area.
FHS in force from 24 March 2027
Get a quote for FHS-compliant solar
Share your plot details and a solar installer can price a system sized to the Part L 2026 notional dwelling, with PV area equal to 40% of the ground floor area. There is no obligation to go ahead.
- ✓ Sized to the 40% ground-floor-area rule
- ✓ For developer programmes and one-off self-builds
- ✓ Check any installer against the MCS register before you sign
Request a quote
A few details about the plot help an installer price it accurately.
We also cover modular & MMC solar — lightweight panels, roof loading and factory pre-fit for volumetric housing.