Havering ranks as London’s top hotspot for solar energy suitability  

To discover the UK’s solar panel hotspots, we looked at a range of different factors. We analysed local annual sunshine hours from the Met Office to find the best-positioned areas to benefit from solar energy, which we combined with housing figures, including the number of local homeowners and the proportion of panel-suitable houses in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The research unveils that:  

• If we only look at London boroughs, Havering is the best for solar adaptation, followed by Bexley and Richmond upon Thames.
• Besides the City of London, southern boroughs like Lambeth, Lewisham, and Greenwich rank the lowest.
• Overall, London boroughs are at the bottom of the national ranking of 368 local authorities across the UK. 

London Rank	UK Rank	Area	Annual Sunshine (Hours)	% Owned	% Houses
1	134	Havering	1644.7	70%	77%
2	212	Bexley	1526.4	70%	78%
3	242	Richmond upon Thames	1693.2	63%	60%
4	248	Sutton	1618.9	65%	63%
5	256	Hillingdon	1674.8	58%	69%
6	267	Merton	1693.2	57%	60%
7	276	Kingston upon Thames	1618.9	62%	62%
8	290	Hounslow	1693.2	48%	54%
9	291	Ealing	1693.2	48%	51%
10	299	Tower Hamlets	1769.7	26%	12%
11	303	Wandsworth	1693.2	44%	32%
12	310	Bromley	1382.2	69%	69%
13	319	Harrow	1556.1	60%	65%
14	323	Redbridge	1558.6	58%	66%
15	326	Brent	1606.9	40%	43%
16	327	Camden	1624.0	30%	13%
17	330	Barking and Dagenham	1559.4	44%	69%
18	331	Enfield	1559.4	53%	61%
19	334	Barnet	1559.4	54%	53%
20	335	Waltham Forest	1559.4	51%	55%
21	338	Westminster	1586.0	28%	10%
22	341	Croydon	1526.4	56%	60%
23	348	Haringey	1559.4	39%	39%
24	350	Newham	1559.4	33%	47%
25	352	Hammersmith and Fulham	1559.4	34%	25%
26	353	Southwark	1559.4	31%	22%
27	354	Kensington and Chelsea	1559.4	33%	17%
28	357	Hackney	1559.4	27%	19%
29	358	Islington	1559.4	28%	16%
30	361	Greenwich	1526.4	43%	48%
31	362	Lewisham	1526.4	43%	42%
32	363	Lambeth	1526.4	35%	25%
33	364	City of London	1526.4	37%	2%

London has the lowest percentage of solar energy uptake

By using government data on solar power installations from the last 14 years, we’ve identified the highest percentages of uptake in solar energy across the country. The study shows that:  

• London – a region with fewer owned houses suitable for solar installations – features in this ranking as the region with the lowest uptake (3%).
• On the other end of the scale, most installations are held in the Southwest of England, with a 9.2% uptake, meaning close to one in ten households in this area have solar panels installed. The East takes the third-highest spot for solar installations (7.3%).

Rank	Region	Installations	Occupied Dwellings	% Uptake
1	South West	181,609	1,975,450	9.20%
2	Scotland	107,077	1,323,478	8.10%
3	Wales	86,247	1,174,250	7.30%
3	East of England	156,642	2,150,610	7.30%
4	East Midlands	119,428	1,796,320	6.60%
4	South East	194,760	2,960,090	6.60%
7	North East	58,999	1,005,240	5.90%
8	Yorkshire and The Humber	109,677	1,989,465	5.50%
9	West Midlands	100,287	2,032,265	4.90%
10	North West	120,258	2,646,300	4.50%
11	Northern Ireland	25.494	744.266	3.4%
12	London	46.400	1.571.250	3.0%

Hive Home and net zero

At Hive Home, we’re not just dreaming of a greener future, we’re building it.

Susan Wells, Director of Solar and EV at Hive Home, says: “Hive is committed to providing simple and affordable net zero solutions for every home. There is a clear desire amongst homeowners to cut energy bills and act more sustainably, and solar panels and batteries are a great way to do this. Not only can they help customers save on their electricity bills, but they can also get paid for any excess energy they sell back to the grid.”

If you want more information about solar panels, please check out Hive’s website.

Sources & Methodology

• The ‘Solar Sweet Spots’ index considers factors on the suitability of homeowners to install solar panels including:
• The percentage of homeowners per local authority, with data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England and Wales, gov.scot for Scotland and finance-ni for Northern Ireland. This data was analysed to understand who has the right to install solar panels easily, accessibly, and without third-party involvement, due to ownership of houses.
• The proportion of houses vs. flats per local authority, with data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England and Wales, gov.scot for Scotland and finance-ni for Northern Ireland. This data was analysed to understand the suitability of housing in each local authority, with installations primarily on owned houses, compared to flats or apartment buildings.
• Average annual sunshine hours, using Met Office data in each local authority. This data was analysed to understand which areas could achieve the most efficient solar energy intake, from the highest possible amounts of sunshine annually.
• As well as this, regions across the UK have been analysed on their solar panel uptake data since 2010, with information obtained from gov.uk.
• Unoccupied homes as well as flats, apartments, caravans, housing associations, and other non-house buildings were excluded from this analysis.