Blog

This is where the wider, less easily categorised solar stories live — the questions people actually ask down the pub, in comment sections and on forums, rather than the standard “how much does it cost” guides found elsewhere on the site.

Expect myth-busting, UK-specific data, and the occasional uncomfortable truth the sales brochures leave out. We’ve dug into how much solar panels really lose in a UK heatwave (not much), what genuinely happens to a system during a lightning strike or a named storm, and why solar panel theft is rising sharply in some parts of the country and barely registers in others. There’s a running series on real UK homeowner regrets, what to do if your installer goes bust mid-job, and where some of the country’s most surprising buildings — churches, cathedrals, even a Premier League stadium — have quietly gone solar.

Three posts worth starting with. Is Solar Worth It in Cloudy UK? breaks down real generation data: panels keep producing 10–80% of their peak output on an overcast day, worth roughly £500–£900 a year on a typical 4kW system, with payback in 7–10 years. What Happens to Your Panels in a Lightning Strike or Major Storm? finds wind, not lightning, causes most UK solar insurance claims — insurers paid out £585 million in weather damage in 2024 alone. And How Many Days Does a UK Solar Install Actually Take? answers the question almost nobody asks until it’s too late: 1–2 days of actual work on the roof, but 4–8 weeks from first phone call to a live, exporting system.

New posts go up here every few days, covering whatever’s genuinely worth knowing that week rather than sticking to a fixed content calendar. For structured guides on costs, grants or specific property types, use the menu above instead.

You Might Have Questions

Q1. What kind of posts are in the SolarBriton blog?
A. The SolarBriton blog covers wider solar news, myth-busting and UK-specific data that doesn’t fit neatly into our cost, grant or property-type guides — including storm and lightning risk, solar panel theft trends, real homeowner experiences, and how well solar performs in UK weather.

Q2. Is cloudy weather a problem for solar panels in the UK?
A. Not as much as most people assume. UK solar panels typically keep producing 10 to 80% of their peak output on an overcast day, and a typical 4kW system still saves around £500 to £900 a year, with payback in roughly 7 to 10 years, according to our full breakdown on the blog.

Q3. How long does it take to get solar panels installed in the UK?
A.The physical installation usually takes just 1 to 2 days on the roof, but the full process from your first phone call to a live, exporting system typically takes 4 to 8 weeks once scaffolding, DNO approval and MCS paperwork are factored in.