If you’re fortunate enough to live among Cambridge’s ancient chalk hills, gorgeous woodlands, and wildflower meadows, and you’re looking to cut your electricity bills, solar panels could be the best way forward.

From King's Hedges to Trumpington, Cambridge enjoys more sunlight than most parts of the UK, which gives solar homes a big advantage.

In this guide, we’ll run through how much solar panels cost in Cambridge, how the city’s weather could impact your savings, and which grants might help you cut the upfront cost.

We install in Cambridge, so if you’re wondering how much you could save with a solar & battery system, enter a few details below and we’ll provide an estimate.

What are the best installers in Cambridge?

We’ve created a series of rigorous tests to examine more than 2,200 installers across the UK, and these companies have performed the best of any that install in Cambridge.

They’re all certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) or Flexi-Orb, accredited by HIES or RECC, approved by TrustMark, registered with NAPIT or NICEIC, and have earned a superb customer rating on at least one reputable review site.

The very best companies are also Which? Trusted Traders and offer a solar subscription option, though Sunsave is the only top-rated firm that installs in Cambridge and offers a subscription.

To see the top firms in the country, check out our UK-wide guide to the best solar panel installers.

1. Sunsave

At Sunsave, our mission is to make solar accessible to all UK households – and that’s why we offer the UK’s first solar subscription.

Sunsave Plus allows you to start cutting your energy bills straight away, with no upfront cost.

You’ll get best-in-class kit, access to the best export tariffs, and the 20-year Sunsave Guarantee. This comes with 24/7 monitoring, maintenance, a free battery upgrade and inverter replacement if necessary, and downtime cover – and all for a fixed monthly fee.

Your system will also be insured by Aviva against damage, fire, and theft.

Our customers are huge fans of our work – they’ve given us more than 300 five-star ratings on Trustpilot, while repeatedly highlighting our helpful, communicative approach.

2. Infinite Heating and Energy

Josh and Sophie McNally run Infinite Heating and Energy, which has carried out more than 1,200 solar installations across Cambridgeshire.

Though this company was only incorporated in 2021, Josh’s experience as an engineer dates back to 2010.

Since launching this family-run firm, he said his focus has been on providing people with the best service possible.

“Our business is rooted in a commitment to outstanding customer service,” he explained.

“By helping customers adopt renewable systems, we’d like to think we’ve been a part paving the path to a more sustainable future for our communities.” 

As well as solar installations, EV chargers, air conditioning, and heat pumps, his company also provides aftercare, though only on an ad hoc basis.

3. Future Electrical Services

Yes, you read that right higher up the page: this company was founded more than half a century ago, by a 25-year-old electrician called James O’Neill.

More than 16 million companies have been incorporated in the years since, the vast majority of which have fallen by the wayside – but not the aptly named Future Electrical Services.

O’Neill has retired now – though before he did, his firm temporarily owned several racehorses including Stagecoach Emerald, Crimson King, and the relatively successful Charlottebutterfly.

Since 2020, the business has been run by Chris Eyre, who has less of an eye for horses, but an excellent reputation as a responsive owner who manages a tireless, high-quality, tidy team.

Appropriately, the installer fits a range of cutting-edge technologies, including EV chargers and heat pumps.

How much do solar panels cost in Cambridge?

A 4.5kWp solar & battery system costs £10,802 to buy and install in Cambridge, on average.

This system is made up of 10 solar panels with a 450-watt peak power rating, and a 5kWh battery.

We've added the cost of installing a 5kWh battery, as it can massively increase your returns.

A battery enables you to use more solar-generated electricity at home – known as self-consumption – which means you’ll buy less electricity from the grid.

You can also register for the best export tariffs and time-of-use import tariffs, and sign up for grid flexibility services like virtual power plants.

About 94% of new solar panel installations in the UK include a battery, according to data from Flexi-Orb and the EPVS.

There are multiple reasons why you could end up paying a different amount for your solar & battery system, such as its size, the installation’s complexity, and which installer you pick.

To find out everything else you need to know, check out our guide to solar panel costs.

At Sunsave, we install all over Cambridge – so if you’re wondering how much you could save with a solar & battery system, enter a few details below and we’ll provide an estimate.

Are there any grants for solar panels in Cambridge?

The only solar panel grants you can access in Cambridge are the ones created by the UK government, which are available in most places around the country.

Multiple councils in Cambridgeshire have grouped together to form the Cambridgeshire Home Improvement Agency and Action on Energy, both of which provide support and advice, but not their own funding.

Instead, they can help you to apply for UK government grants like the ones below, which is still an invaluable service.

Solar Together Cambridge

Solar Together empowers homeowners and small business owners in a particular area to get a discount on their solar installations through collective buying.

It’s not a government grant, though: it's a scheme run by private Dutch company iChoosr, in partnership with local authorities.

In London, it secured 20-30% discounts for its customers, according to the Greater London Authority.

In 2022, 535 households in Cambridgeshire installed solar panels through the scheme.

Solar Together only visits a few counties per year, and each programme is time-limited, so you’ll need to watch out for when it returns to Cambridge.

Unfortunately, the scheme can also come with substantial downsides. To learn more, read our comprehensive guide to Solar Together.

National grants

Households in Cambridge can access some national grants – and if you think you might be eligible, you should absolutely consider applying.

Solar panels can cut your electricity bills by hundreds of pounds per year, shrink your carbon footprint, and increase your property’s value, but the upfront cost is often high. Grants can make them affordable – or even free.

To see which schemes you may qualify for, use our grant eligibility checker.

Warm Homes: Local Grant

The Warm Homes: Local Grant awards funding to local authorities in England that they can use to improve the energy efficiency and heating systems of eligible homes.

The scheme, which started in April 2025 and is due to run until 2028, is focused on serving energy-inefficient households that are deprived, low-income, or receive at least one means-tested benefit.

In its latest funding round, the initiative handed more than £8.5 million to a Cambridge consortium including East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough’s local authorities.

So if you’re eligible and live in one of these areas, you could get up to £30,000 worth of home improvements.

This includes £15,000 for a low-carbon heating system – like a heat pump or electric storage heater – and £15,000 for energy performance upgrades.

These upgrades include a solar & battery system, as well as other measures like insulation, draught-proofing, and double glazing.

Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund

This scheme hands funding to social housing landlords, including local authorities, so they can improve the energy efficiency of their properties with upgrades like solar panels and insulation.

The initiative started in October 2020, initially as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, then took on its current form in September 2024.

It’s provided more than £1 billion of funding overall, and in its most recent round, gave more than £3.8 million to Cambridge City Council, and £8.2 million to South Cambridgeshire  District Council.

Households aren’t able to apply, but if your landlord has received funding, you can contact them to advocate for your social housing to be included in any upgrades.

Energy Company Obligation (ECO4)

This is the government’s flagship scheme for reducing residential emissions – and if you live in a low-income or vulnerable household with a resident who receives a qualifying benefit, you might be able to get some funding.

Unfortunately, the scheme is set to end in December 2026.

Until then, ECO4 will be the government’s primary way of compelling large energy suppliers to make energy-efficient upgrades in deprived homes, at no cost to the household.

The initiative can get you a free solar panel system, as it has done for more than 65,000 homes – though only if your household is heated with electricity, as 11.2% in England are.

To learn more, read our full guide to the ECO4 scheme.

How many homes in Cambridge have solar panels?

41,405 homes in Cambridge have had solar panel systems installed, according to the latest government data.

That means 11.4% of the area’s 362,100 households have gone solar – which is double the national average of 5.7%.

For more information on the popularity of solar panels in different parts of the country, check out our guide to how many homes have solar panels in the UK.

Is Cambridge sunny enough for solar panels?

Cambridge is certainly sunny enough for solar panels – in fact, it receives more sunlight than most of the UK, getting 1,281 kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) per year – 16% above the national average.

This figure will vary slightly depending on where you live, but it’s an excellent indicator.

In the solar industry, amounts of sunlight are tracked via ‘solar irradiance,’ which assesses the sun’s average intensity in a specific place.

It’s measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre – that is, how much energy makes it from the sun, across 93 million miles of space, to a given square metre on Earth.

As you may expect, the more intense the sunlight that hits your panels, the higher the kilowatt-hours per square metre, and the more solar electricity your system will generate – leading to higher savings for your household.

Typical solar panel output in Cambridge

These output figures are all based on a residential installation in the centre of Cambridge.

We've picked a 4.5kWp system because it should produce at least enough electricity to match the average UK household's electricity consumption, which is 3,400kWh per year.

When your solar panels produce more electricity than you can use or store in your battery, you can sell this excess energy to the grid via one of the best SEG rates.

While this happens with almost every UK system during summer, installations in Cambridge should be able to benefit from this additional income stream more often.

Please note: you won’t necessarily generate as much solar electricity with your system, since your home will have its own unique characteristics – but it should give you a good idea of what’s possible in Cambridge.

Is it worth getting solar panels in Cambridge?

It’s absolutely worth getting solar panels in Cambridge – more so than it is in most areas of the UK.

Despite its less than ideal weather, Cambridge receives high levels of solar irradiance – especially compared to the national average – which means its residents can save hundreds of pounds per year by switching to solar.

There’s a reason why 11.4% of Cambridge’s homes have already gone solar – and that percentage will probably rise in the coming years, as energy bills stay high, and heat pumps and electric vehicles become a common sight across the UK.

If you’d like to go solar but you’re put off by the upfront cost, consider Sunsave Plus, our all-in-one residential solar and battery solution that’s tailored to your home, and delivered as a monthly subscription with no upfront cost.

It also comes with the 20-year Sunsave Guarantee, which includes 24/7 monitoring, maintenance, a free battery upgrade, a free inverter replacement if necessary, and downtime cover.

We install across Cambridge, so if you’re wondering how much you could save with a solar & battery system, enter a few details below and we’ll provide an estimate.

Solar panels in Cambridge: FAQs