Reviewed by Georgia Howson, MCS Certified Solar Expert
Solar Panel Installers in Cheltenham
Stratford Energy Solutions installs MCS certified solar panels, battery storage and EV chargers across Cheltenham, from our base around 31 miles away in Stratford-upon-Avon. We have been fitting systems across the region for over 15 years.
Over 15 years installing across Cheltenham and the wider Gloucestershire area
Cut your electricity costs by hundreds of pounds a year
MCS certified, in-house engineers with 10+ years of experience
Free survey, no obligation, and a 14-day cooling-off period on every contract
Most homes go from first call to switch-on inside a few weeks
How a Cheltenham Solar Installation Works, Step by Step
We work with homeowners across Cheltenham, from established neighbourhoods such as Pittville, Montpellier and Leckhampton to Charlton Kings, Prestbury and the residential areas around the edge of the town. Every system is designed around your roof, your house and how your household actually uses power, then fitted by our brilliant in-house solar engineers. We pride ourselves on never using subcontractors for our installations. Solar, battery and EV charging are quoted as one job, not three. Stratford Energy has completed residential solar installations in Cheltenham, including Mervin’s system installed in April 2023.
Four stages, from your first call to the day the system switches on. Most Cheltenham jobs run from enquiry to commissioning in a matter of weeks rather than months.
1.
Talk to the team
Call us on 01789 262 411 or send the form. One of our Renewable Energy Experts, will talk through your property, your bills and what you want the system to do.
2.
Free survey and a fixed proposal
We look at roof pitch, orientation, shading and your actual consumption before we quote. The quotation holds for 30 days. If you go ahead, a deposit of up to 25% confirms the order, and you have 14 days to change your mind under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
3.
Installation
Most residential systems are on and wired within one to two days. The same in-house team does the work. We agree the date with you and give reasonable notice.
4.
Switch on and aftercare
We commission the system, set up monitoring on your phone, issue the MCS certificate and handle the G98 or G99 notification to your local electricity network operator. We’ll also take care of this paperwork for you, making the process as straightforward as possible.
Where We Install in Cheltenham
We cover Cheltenham and the residential areas around it, from the Regency and Victorian neighbourhoods around the centre to the suburban areas stretching towards Charlton Kings, Prestbury, Leckhampton and the western edge of the town.
Our engineers work across Cheltenham, including Pittville, Montpellier, Lansdown, Leckhampton, Charlton Kings, Prestbury, St Mark’s, Hatherley, Warden Hill, Benhall, The Reddings, St Paul’s, Fairview and Swindon Village, along with the surrounding communities. These are established Cheltenham neighbourhoods and parish areas identified in current council records.
Cheltenham roofs vary considerably from one part of the town to another. A Regency or early Victorian property around Pittville is a different job to an Arts and Crafts influenced home in the Poets area of St Mark’s, and both are different again to the post-war houses and bungalows found further north in Pittville. The town’s Central Conservation Area alone includes most of its Victorian and Edwardian suburbs, while other neighbourhoods contain everything from historic villas and terraces to later suburban homes. We survey each property properly rather than assuming.
We are around 31 miles from Cheltenham, which keeps the town within straightforward reach of our Stratford-upon-Avon base. It also means you can pick up the phone and speak to the team responsible for your system whenever you need to.
Our Installations Near Cheltenham
Our team installs solar panels and battery storage systems for homeowners across Cheltenham and the surrounding areas. Stratford Energy’s Cheltenham case-study archive records 30 solar systems installed in the area and includes a detailed residential installation completed for Mervin in Cheltenham. These projects show the range of solar and battery systems we install for homeowners across this part of Gloucestershire.
We hold 4.9 stars from 150+ Google reviews, across every area we cover.
Thinking About Solar in Cheltenham?
No obligation, no hard sell, and if we genuinely think solar isn’t the right option for your property, we’ll tell you.
Solar Panels in Cheltenham: The Key Facts
| Average annual sunshine | Cheltenham averages 1,542.78 hours of sunshine a year according to the Met Office 30-year average for 1991 to 2020. |
| Sunniest and darkest months | July averages 200.62 hours of sunshine; December averages 52.82 hours. |
| Local planning authority | Cheltenham Borough Council |
| Conservation areas | Cheltenham has seven conservation areas, including the substantial Central Conservation Area, which covers around 599 hectares and is divided into 19 individual character areas. |
| Areas with extra planning control | The seven conservation areas include Central Cheltenham, Cudnall Street in Charlton Kings, Bafford in Charlton Kings, Poets in St Mark’s, Prestbury, Swindon Village and St Mary’s in Charlton Kings. Cheltenham currently has one Article 4 direction in St Paul’s, but this relates specifically to changing a dwelling into a house in multiple occupation rather than installing solar panels. |
| City net zero target | 2030. Cheltenham Borough Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and committed to making both the council and the borough carbon neutral by 2030. |
Panels run on daylight rather than heat, which is why the sunshine figure matters more than temperature. The Met Office’s 1991 to 2020 average for Cheltenham records just over 1,542 hours of sunshine a year. The difference between July, at around 201 hours, and December, at around 53 hours, shows how generation changes through the seasons and is one reason we usually recommend considering a battery alongside the panels.
Planning is particularly relevant in Cheltenham because of the scale and character of its historic areas. The town has seven conservation areas, and its Central Conservation Area covers the town centre and much of the surrounding Victorian and Edwardian suburbs. Living in one does not automatically prevent you from having solar panels, but the position of the array and the status of the property need to be considered carefully. Cheltenham’s only current Article 4 direction relates to houses in multiple occupation in St Paul’s, so it should not be treated as a town-wide restriction on solar permitted development.
How Much Do Solar Panels Cost in Cheltenham?
For most Cheltenham homeowners, the right solar and battery system depends on the property, energy use and how much electricity you want to generate and store. As a guide, a full system is typically a five-figure investment, with payback often falling within 5 to 7 years.
A typical four-bedroom home may save around £500 to £700 a year on electricity, although the actual figure will vary with system size, usage patterns and energy prices.
We do not publish fixed package prices because we do not sell standard packages. Every system is designed around the home, so we assess the roof, your electricity use, your family’s habits and the best system layout before providing a firm quotation.
What we can tell you before the survey:
0% VAT
Domestic solar and battery installations carry zero-rate VAT until 31 March 2027. This directly reduces the overall cost of your installation.
Export payments
Because we are MCS certified, your system qualifies for the Smart Export Guarantee. Your supplier pays you for electricity you send back. We handle the certification side.
How you pay
A deposit of up to 25% confirms the order. The balance is due on completion, before we release commissioning and certification. The survey and the quote cost nothing.
What You Need to Know
We are not the cheapest installer in Cheltenham and we do not try to be. We use premium equipment from Viridian Solar, SunPower Elite, SolarEdge, SigEnergy and Tesla, and that is what makes savings of 80 to 98% achievable.
Your payback depends far more on how much electricity you use than on the size of the array. A household running an EV, a heat source or two people working from home could help reduce the payback period further.
Solar, Battery Storage and EV Charging for Cheltenham Homes
We install six things, and most Cheltenham customers take two or three of them as one system. Taken together, these are one system, not four purchases. See how the whole-home setup fits together.
On-roof solar panels
The standard fit, mounted on brackets above the tiles. Works on the pitched roofs that make up much of Cheltenham’s housing stock.
In-roof solar panels
Panels set flush into the roof line instead of sitting on top. Worth asking about in conservation areas and on properties where appearance is part of the planning conversation.
Ground-mounted solar
For homes with the garden space and a roof that will not take an array.
Home battery storage
SigEnergy and Tesla Powerwall. Stores what you generate in the day for use in the evening. Can be retrofitted to panels fitted by someone else.
EV charging
A home charger wired into the same system, so you can use more of the energy generated by your solar panels to charge your car, reducing your reliance on the grid.
Commercial solar
For business premises across the city, quoted and installed by the same team.
How to Choose a Solar Installer in Cheltenham
Four key checks can help you choose the right solar installer.
Check they are MCS certified.
Not simply as a badge of accreditation, but because without it your system will not qualify for export payments under the Smart Export Guarantee. Ask for the certificate number and look it up on the MCS register yourself. Ours is NIC1758.
Ask who is actually doing the work.
Ask for a design, not a package.
A real proposal names the panels, the inverter, the battery capacity and the expected output for your roof at your orientation. Your quote should be tailored to your property, energy usage and individual requirements.
Check the consumer protections.
Look for RECC and TrustMark registration, ask how long the workmanship warranty runs, and ask what happens if the company stops trading. RECC gives you an independent dispute route that does not depend on the installer being cooperative.
Why Cheltenham Homeowners Choose Stratford Energy
Three reasons come up in almost every conversation we have with customers in the city.
Premium equipment, designed for the property.
We only fit premium supplier kit, with manufacturer warranties running up to 40 years and our own 5 year workmanship warranty on top. Every Cheltenham property is different, which is why we design each solar system around your home and energy requirements.
Local and accountable.
We are around 31 miles away with 25 people on the payroll, in-house MCS certified engineers and friendly Renewable Energy Experts on the other end of the phone. National installers sell the job and subcontract the work. If your system needs attention in the years following installation, having reliable ongoing support can make all the difference.
Protected long term.
MCS certified under NIC1758, RECC registered, TrustMark endorsed, NICEIC Domestic Installer and Approved Contractor. Four independent bodies, each providing additional protection and support should you need it.
Solar Panel Regulations and Certification in Cheltenham
Most Cheltenham installations need no planning permission at all, but the town’s historic buildings and seven conservation areas mean there are exceptions worth knowing about before you commit.
In many cases, you can install solar panels on your home without applying for planning permission. The rules can change if your property is listed or sits in a conservation area, so the individual address and proposed position of the panels still need to be checked.
For most houses, roof-mounted solar panels fall under permitted development. In simple terms, this means you can usually install them without making a planning application.
There are still some basic rules. The panels should not sit higher than the top of the roof and should stay close to the roof surface. Different limits apply to panels installed on flat roofs.
Living in a conservation area does not automatically stop you from having solar panels.
Roof-mounted panels are often still allowed, but there can be tighter restrictions on where they are positioned. Cheltenham has seven conservation areas, including a Central Conservation Area covering around 599 hectares and much of the town’s Victorian and Edwardian suburbs, so this is something we check as part of the survey.
An Article 4 direction is an extra local planning rule that removes some of the rights homeowners would normally have to make changes without permission.
Cheltenham currently has one Article 4 direction, covering part of St Paul’s. It removes permitted development rights for changing a dwelling house into a house in multiple occupation. It does not create a general Article 4 restriction on domestic solar panels.
We therefore check the planning position for the individual property rather than assuming that an Article 4 restriction applies to solar because a home is in Cheltenham.
If your home is listed, you will normally need both planning permission and listed building consent before solar panels can be installed.
We check this during the survey so you know what is required before moving ahead.
Stratford Energy is MCS certified under NIC1758.
MCS is the recognised quality standard for small-scale renewable energy installations. An MCS certified installation is also required if you want to apply for the Smart Export Guarantee and receive payments for eligible electricity exported back to the grid.
You can check an installer’s MCS status on the official MCS register before committing to any work.
Domestic solar and battery installations are zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027.
Will Solar Panels Work on Your Cheltenham Home?
Yes, solar panels work well on many homes in Cheltenham. The main factors are your roof’s direction, pitch, available space and how much shade it gets during the day.
South-facing roofs often produce the most electricity, but east- and west-facing roofs can also be suitable. If your roof has heavy shading, limited space or planning restrictions, this may affect the type of solar panel system that can be installed, but with the latest technology and years of installing residential solar systems in Cheltenham, we can help you find the best system for your property.
A home survey is the best way to confirm what will work for your property and how much electricity your system could generate.
Solar is likely to work well for you if:
- You own your home and plan to stay in it for at least five years
- Your roof faces anywhere from east through south to west, without heavy shading from trees or a taller neighbouring building
- Your electricity bill is over £100 a month
- Someone is home during the day, or you are willing to add a battery so evening use is covered
- You have an electric vehicle, or expect to
Solar may not be the right option for your property if:
- Your only usable roof faces north and is shaded for most of the day
- You are moving within two or three years, since the payback runs to 5 to 7
- Your roof requires repair or replacement before installation – or we can install a integrated in-roof system
- You are renting, in which case the conversation needs to start with your landlord
Cheltenham has many homes that can be well suited to solar panels, but the roof designs vary considerably. Large Regency and early Victorian villas and terraces around Pittville have a very different character from the Arts and Crafts influenced homes in the Poets area of St Mark’s, while later suburban homes in areas such as Hatherley and Warden Hill offer different roof sizes and layouts again.
The design needs to make the best use of the available roof while taking account of the property’s architectural and planning context.
What Happens If Solar Isn’t Right for Your Home?
The survey is free, with no obligation to proceed. We use it to assess your home, energy use and what type of system could suit you best. That might include solar panels, battery storage or an EV charger, depending on your property and how you use electricity. If you choose to go ahead, your installation is supported by a 5-year workmanship warranty.
Equipment is covered by the relevant manufacturer warranty, and Stratford Energy can manage warranty claims on your behalf. You also have a 14-day cancellation period from signing under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, with access to independent dispute resolution through RECC if required.
What We’ll Need to Give You a Quote
There are four key things you’ll need to share with us:
- A recent electricity bill, or your annual kWh figure if you know it
- A rough idea of when you use power: daytime, evenings, or both
- Access to the roof space and loft for the survey
- Whether you have an electric vehicle, or plan to get one
The survey itself takes about an hour. We check roof condition, pitch, orientation, shading through the day, your consumer unit and where a battery could sit. Following the assessment, you’ll receive a detailed written proposal tailored to your property and energy requirements.
Solar Panel FAQs for Cheltenham Homeowners
These are the questions we are asked most often. If yours is not here, call us on 01789 262 411 or use the contact form.
Yes. We install solar panels, battery storage and EV chargers across Cheltenham and the surrounding area. Stratford Energy’s own Cheltenham records show 30 solar systems installed locally, and our published residential case study includes Mervin’s Cheltenham installation. Our base is in Stratford-upon-Avon, around 31 miles away, and we have been fitting renewable energy systems across the region for over 15 years.
Every system is quoted after a survey, so we do not publish fixed prices. What we can say is that a typical 4-bedroom home saves £500 to £700 a year and sees payback in 5 to 7 years. Domestic solar and battery installations carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, and the survey and quotation are free.
Yes, better than most people assume. The Met Office 30-year average for Cheltenham is 1,542.78 hours of sunshine a year. Panels run on daylight rather than heat, so grey days still generate. The real variable is seasonality: July averages 200.62 hours of sunshine and December averages 52.82, which is why we usually recommend considering a battery alongside the panels.
Usually not. Roof-mounted solar panels on houses are normally permitted development when they meet the relevant conditions. Cheltenham has seven conservation areas, however, and listed buildings and some historic properties require additional consideration. The borough’s only current Article 4 direction relates to the conversion of homes into houses in multiple occupation in St Paul’s rather than solar panels. We check the individual planning position before installation.
Most residential installations are completed in one to two days on site. From first call to switch-on usually runs a few weeks, depending on equipment lead times and network approvals. Cheltenham is around 31 miles from our Stratford-upon-Avon base, keeping the town within straightforward reach of our in-house installation team.
Yes. Retrofitting a battery to an existing array is one of the more common jobs we do. We install systems including Tesla Powerwall and can integrate battery storage with an existing solar installation where the equipment and system design are suitable.
Yes, and it is usually cheaper to do it in one visit. Wiring the charger in alongside the solar and battery means the car can charge from your own generation instead of the grid. You pick the charger style and power output when the system is designed.
We are MCS certified under NIC1758, which you can check on the MCS register, and we are also RECC registered, TrustMark endorsed and NICEIC approved. Our residential workmanship warranty runs 5 years. Equipment faults go through the manufacturer warranty and we handle those claims for you. If a dispute cannot be settled directly, RECC provides an independent resolution route.
A typical 4-bedroom Cheltenham home saves £500 to £700 a year, and a premium solar and battery system can cut a bill by 80 to 98%. The figure depends on how much electricity you use and when you use it. Savings estimates come from recognised modelling software and are indicative until we have surveyed your property.
Solar Panel Installation Across Gloucestershire and Nearby
Places we cover around Cheltenham include Pittville, Montpellier, Lansdown, Leckhampton, Charlton Kings, Prestbury, St Mark’s, Hatherley, Warden Hill, Benhall, The Reddings, St Paul’s, Fairview and Swindon Village, along with communities around the edge of the borough.
Get a Free Solar Quote for Your Cheltenham Home
Tell us your postcode and roughly how much you spend on electricity, and we’ll take it from there. Your home survey is free, with no obligation to proceed.
Prefer to explore your options first? Use our online system builder to see what a solar and battery setup for your home could look like, with no contact details required.
Prefer to speak to someone? Speak to one of our Renewable Energy Experts 01789 262 411.
