If you’re lucky enough to live among the chalk hills and lavender fields of Sussex and you’re looking to cut your electricity bills, solar panels could be the best way forward.

From Stoughton in West Sussex to Jury's Gap beach in East Sussex, this joint area receives more sunlight than almost any other place in the UK, which gives residents with solar panels a massive advantage.

In this guide, we’ll tell you how much solar panels cost in Sussex, how the area’s great weather affects savings, and which grants can help you cut the upfront cost.

At Sunsave we install across the whole of Sussex – 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 solar panel installers in Sussex?

1. Sunsave

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

We install across England, Scotland, and Wales – and that includes Sussex.

Sunsave Plus allows you to start saving on your energy bills immediately, without having to pay anything upfront.

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

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

2. J Kirby Electrical

Since 2011, this small business run by husband-and-wife team James and Samantha Kirby has served Eastbourne in a professional, dedicated manner.

As a result, it’s earned hundreds of perfect reviews on Checkatrade – and the company cements its customer-friendly status by offering a five-year workmanship guarantee, which is about double the standard warranty.

Talking on the Brilliant Businesses podcast in 2023, Mr Kirby said his company’s motto – ‘we do things differently’ – refers to the way it treats the public.

“It's customer service and how we try to look after people. Around this area, there don't seem to be too many companies that worry about that too much,” he explained.

“20-30% of our diary's filled up with small jobs, because a lot of other electrical companies locally just don't want to know. They just put the phone down.”

However, like every firm on this list apart from Sunsave, it doesn't offer a solar subscription.

3. HSEnergy Group

HSEnergy Group has designed and installed more than 10,000 solar installations – and well over half of these have happened since 2021.

Since 2015, the business – run by Neil and Vivienne Mitchell – has taken on more than 25 employees and can now provide households with solar gear made by the likes of EcoFlow, Fox ESS, and Tesla.

In a January 2024 edition of the Burgess Hill Business Parks Association newsletter, Mr Mitchell wrote that HSEnergy Group "has proved that a personalised solar package can offer outstanding protection against energy inflation, while reducing household bills.”

Though it operates all over the country, HSEnergy Group also has strong roots in its West Sussex community.

Mr Mitchell said his company had a focus on “community engagement and development” in the same newsletter article, and the firm has proven this to be true by partnering with Solar Together, a group-buying scheme that allows households to go solar.

4. Electrotec Power Solutions

Electrotec Power Solutions has carried out more than 2,000 installations since 2011, and its customers have been almost universally happy with the firm's work.

They've written dozens of five-star reviews for the company on Google, leaving Electrotec with a perfect rating and countless compliments for the team's reliable, punctual, hard-working approach.

The owner, Luke Hunt, also runs Warm Homes Sussex, which turns government grant money into domestic installations that help some of the most underprivileged households in the country.

If you think you might qualify for any solar panel grants, ask him for more information.

How much do solar panels cost in Sussex?

A 4.5kWp solar & battery system typically costs around £11,287 to buy and install in West Sussex, and £11,895 in East Sussex.

For this investment, you should get 10 solar panels with a 450-watt peak power rating.

We've also added the cost of getting a 5kWh battery, because this can massively increase your solar returns.

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

You can also join the best export tariffs and time-of-use import tariffs, and join 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.

Multiple factors could lead to you paying a different amount for a solar panel system though, like its size, the installation’s complexity, and the installer you choose.

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

At Sunsave, we install across the whole of Sussex – 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 Sussex?

There are grants for solar panels available in Sussex, thanks to local initiatives and national government schemes.

If you’re not eligible for any of these programmes, but still can’t afford the price of solar panels, have a look at Sunsave Plus, which is available at no upfront cost.

For fixed monthly payments over 20 years, you’ll receive the best-in-class kit, full monitoring and maintenance support, and a system that can save you money from day one.

To see which initiatives you might qualify for, use our grant eligibility checker.

Solar Together Sussex

Solar Together is an initiative that helps residents in a specific area secure a sizable discount on their solar installations through collective buying.

In Sussex, the 2023 edition of the scheme secured a 37% saving, compared the typical market price.

It's not a government grant; it's a scheme run by a private, for-profit Dutch company, in collaboration with local authorities.

You can take part in Solar Together if you’re a homeowner, small or medium-sized business owner, or tenant – as long as you have your landlord's permission.

It only runs for a limited time in an area, but it should be back in Sussex before long.

There are significant disadvantages to the scheme, though.

Despite the discount, it still comes with a high upfront cost, and since the process is collective, it takes a long time to get to your installation day.

There's also a lack of post-installation support, which means that if something goes wrong with your system or monitoring app, you may be left in the lurch.

For more information, read our in-depth guide to Solar Together.

Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund

This UK government programme gives funding to local councils that they can use to improve the energy efficiency of social homes in their area, including measures like solar panels and insulation.

The government renamed the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) in September 2024.

Since it started in October 2020, the initiative – in both its guises – has handed out more than £1 billion.

In 2025, the government awarded £3.3 million of funding to Arun District Council, £5.7 million to Crawley Borough Council, and £1.3 million to Lewes District Council.

This wasn't the first time that Sussex residents have benefited from WH:SHF grants. In 2024, the scheme awarded £2.3 million of funding to Lewes District Council, and £1.47 million to Wealden District Council.

Solar panel installations make up about 10% of all WH:SHF installations across the country.

You can’t apply to the scheme, but if you live in Arun, Crawley, or Lewes, you can contact your local council to advocate for your social housing to be included in any measures.

National grants

Two national grants are available to Sussex households – and if you’re eligible for either, 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.

The Warm Homes: Local Grant

The Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG), formerly the Home Upgrade Grant, funds measures which improve the energy efficiency and heating systems of energy-inefficient homes.

To qualify, households have to be deprived, low-income, or receive a means-tested benefit.

If your home is eligible, you could get a largely discounted or free solar panel system, wherever you are in Sussex.

In the most recent wave of funding, the government gave £3.9 million to a consortium that included Eastbourne, East Sussex, Hastings, Lewes, Rother, Wealden.

Every other council in Sussex joined a consortium headed by Portsmouth, which won £26 million in funding.

You can't apply for WH;LG funding, but you can contact your local authority to check if you might be eligible for assistance.

Energy Company Obligation (ECO4)

This government scheme compels large energy suppliers to install energy-saving improvements in low-income and vulnerable households that heat their homes with electricity.

If you think you might be eligible and you receive at least one qualifying means-tested benefit – such as Income-based Jobseekers Allowance or Child Tax Credits – you could potentially get an energy supplier to install a free solar panel system at your property.

You'll have to move quickly though, as the scheme will end on 31 December 2026.

More than 61,000 solar panel systems have been installed in the UK through ECO4 since it started in July 2022, which is around 7% of all the scheme's measures.

For more information, read our guide to ECO4.

How many homes in Sussex have solar panels?

45,363 homes in Sussex have had solar panels installed with a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certificate, as of February 2026.

Overall, that means 6.2% of all households in East and West Sussex have acquired a solar panel system – or one in every 16.

This is higher than the UK average of 5.6% – as it should be, since Sussex is among the brightest, sunniest areas in the country.

Is Sussex sunny enough for solar panels?

Sussex receives significantly more sunlight than the great majority of areas in the UK, with Lewes getting 1,357 kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) on average per year – 24% higher than the national average.

This number will differ depending on where you are in Sussex, but it’s still a fantastic indication.

Lewes’ figure is based on the European Commission's Photovoltaic Geographical Information System, which provides regularly updated solar irradiance statistics.

The solar panel industry measures sunlight by tracking the sun’s average intensity in a specific area, which it calls ‘solar irradiance.’

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

There are many factors that affect solar panel output, but solar irradiance is one of the most crucial.

As you may expect, the more intense the sunlight that hits your panels, the higher the kWh/m², and the more solar electricity your installation generates – which means higher savings for you.

Typical solar panel output in Sussex

Is it worth getting solar panels in Sussex?

It’s definitely worth getting solar panels in Sussex, more so than it is in most places in the UK – as 6.2% of households in the area have found out.

If you’re put off by the upfront cost, you could consider applying for a national or local grant.

However, if you're not eligible for any of these, consider Sunsave Plus, our all-in-one solar and battery solution that’s tailored to your home, and delivered as a monthly subscription with no upfront cost.

To see how much you could save with a solar & battery system from an installer that covers Sussex, enter a few details below and we’ll provide an estimate.

Solar panels in Sussex: FAQs