Solar Panels for Restaurants — FAQs

Most restaurant installations sit between 15 kW and 50 kW. At 2026 prices that means roughly £18,000–£28,000 for a 15–20 kW system and £45,000–£65,000 at the 50 kW end, fully installed. Cost per kW falls as systems grow — small commercial installs price around £1,100–£1,400/kW, dropping towards £950/kW near 50 kW. These are indicative ranges rather than prices for any particular venue. Commercial installation is charged at 20% VAT, which a VAT-registered business can usually reclaim. Solar counts as special-rate plant for capital allowances, and the £1m Annual Investment Allowance usually means 100% relief in year one for a business under the limit.

Two reasons: extreme energy intensity and daytime demand. Commercial kitchens consume several times more electricity per square metre than offices — refrigeration runs 24/7, extraction runs every service hour, and induction, dishwashers, and air conditioning stack on top. And because lunch prep, lunch service, and afternoon trade happen exactly when panels generate, restaurants self-consume a very high share of their solar output rather than exporting it cheaply.

Yes, though the economics shift. Even dinner-led venues run substantial daytime loads: walk-in fridges and freezers never switch off, prep kitchens work afternoons, and HVAC pre-conditions the dining room before service. Self-consumption typically lands lower than a lunch-trade café but still strong enough for viable paybacks — and a small battery can shift surplus afternoon generation into evening service.

Usually not. Roof work happens above the trading area, and the grid connection normally needs a short power-down — often two to four hours — so ask any installer to schedule it for a closed morning or day rather than during service. Scaffolding should be positioned to keep entrances, deliveries and outdoor seating usable.

The 0% VAT rate for installing solar runs until 31 March 2027 and then reverts to 5%, but it applies to residential accommodation (and certain charitable buildings) only. Ordinary commercial premises such as restaurants pay 20% VAT, which a VAT-registered business can usually reclaim. The bigger lever is tax relief: solar counts as special-rate plant, and the £1m Annual Investment Allowance usually means 100% relief in year one for a business under the limit. As an illustration, that would cut the net cost of a £50,000 system by £12,500 for a company paying 25% corporation tax. Sole traders and partnerships claim through income tax instead.

It exports to the grid and you get paid through the Smart Export Guarantee. Licensed suppliers must offer eligible small generators an export tariff above 0p, but each supplier sets its own rate — typically a few pence per kWh, well below the 25–35p/kWh you avoid by using the power yourself. That gap is why systems for restaurants are normally sized for self-consumption first, not roof capacity.

With landlord consent, usually yes. Many landlords have a reason to agree, because solar can improve a building's EPC rating: it is already unlawful to let a non-domestic property rated below EPC E (since 1 April 2023), and in June 2026 the government proposed that privately rented non-domestic buildings over 1,000 square metres reach EPC B by 2031, subject to secondary legislation and "where cost effective". Smaller buildings stay at the EPC E minimum. Options range from a simple licence for alterations to the landlord funding the system and recovering costs through the lease. Tenancy length matters: a 15-year lease comfortably outlasts a 5–6 year payback.

From the point an installer is instructed: design and DNO paperwork usually take 2–6 weeks. A system of up to 3.68 kW per phase (about 11 kW on three phases) can connect under G98 notification; larger systems need a G99 application and DNO approval before connection, which adds lead time. Roof work on a typical 15–50 kW system is then usually one to two weeks, followed by the connection visit. Most projects run start to finish inside two to three months.

Solar feeds your distribution board, so it powers whatever is running — extraction, refrigeration, induction hobs, dishwashers. On a sunny service a 30 kW array can carry most of a kitchen's daytime load. It will not run the kitchen during a power cut though: grid-tied inverters shut down on outages unless paired with battery backup.

Usually, yes. Flat roofs take ballasted mounting systems angled at 10–15 degrees, no roof penetrations needed. The checks that matter: structural capacity for the ballast weight, remaining life of the roof membrane, and clear zones around kitchen extract terminals — panels must not block or sit in the grease-laden airflow from extraction outlets.

Modest but real. Panels near kitchen extract outlets attract grease film as well as normal grime, so cleaning once or twice a year is typical — more than an office roof needs. Inverters typically need replacement once in the system's 25-year life. Monitoring runs continuously and flags faults; expect £200–£500 a year in cleaning and inspection costs for a typical site.

For evening-led venues, increasingly yes. A battery stores afternoon surplus and discharges it into evening service, lifting self-consumption from perhaps 60% to 85%+. Batteries add roughly £400–£600 per kWh of capacity, so the case should be tested against the venue's actual trading pattern — for a lunch-led café it rarely pays; for a dinner-led restaurant with a strong summer terrace trade it often does.