The UK’s £14.2bn ‘Sunlight Salary’: what UK households could save from the roofs over their heads

BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM, September 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- ● New analysis of more than 15 million rooftops finds that the average home analysed could save £946 a year by investing in solar and battery storage, turning the roof into a home improvement that helps cut its running costs
● Research challenges UK’s grey-skies solar myth, with average potential savings above £800 in every UK nation
● Homeowners can now discover their own roof’s ‘Sunlight Salary’ using free AI tool Emily

UK households could be missing out on a collective £14.2 billion a year in potential energy bill savings from the roofs over their heads, according to a major new analysis of more than 15 million UK homes.

The UK Rooftop Valuation Report calculates that the average home analysed could achieve a £946 annual “Sunlight Salary” from the energy bill savings generated by an optimised solar and battery system.

Produced by solar SaaS company GreenSketch, the research used a proprietary AI to model the projected financial performance of solar and battery systems at more than 15 million individual addresses across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Rather than applying a standard solar set-up to regional averages, the analysis modelled each identifiable rooftop individually and paired solar with battery storage, allowing GreenSketch to estimate both household savings and the total financial value of the UK’s residential rooftop opportunity.

The research lands as solar becomes increasingly accessible to British households as small plug-in solar systems have just become legal for consumers to buy and install. GreenSketch expects that familiarity with home generation will encourage more homeowners to explore the greater savings available from professionally designed solar and battery systems.

Despite the UK’s frequent grey skies, the analysis finds meaningful potential across the country. The data also shows that rooftop solar value follows a geographical pattern. Southern regions, such as South West Wales and South East England, deliver higher average annual savings than the national average (£1,001 and £991 respectively). In Northern Ireland, the strongest returns are clustered in the east rather than simply the south due to its coastal characteristics, showing that local weather patterns and geography can matter as much as latitude.

The findings challenge the common assumption that the UK simply isn't sunny enough for solar. Solar panels generate electricity from daylight rather than requiring constant direct sunshine, while batteries allow households to store more of the electricity generated during the day to use when they need it.

For renovation obsessed Brits accustomed to investing in kitchens, bathrooms and extensions, the report makes the case for thinking about the roof differently too. Investing in solar and battery storage is a home improvement designed not just to change how a property looks or feels, but how much it costs to run, helping households make better use of the energy their home can generate and future-proof it for an increasingly electrified way of life.

GreenSketch describes the potential annual saving generated by a rooftop as its “Sunlight Salary” putting a financial number on the unused energy potential sitting above millions of UK homes.

Prashant Aggarwal, CEO of GreenSketch, said: "UK Homeowners spend a huge amount of time and money improving their homes and a roof is typically seen as something to be maintained. This research flips that thinking to treat roofs as an energy and financial asset, capable of generating their own ‘Sunlight Salary’.

"Solar and battery storage is an investment in the home that can help bring down its running costs today while preparing it for the way we'll use energy in the future. The £14.2 billion figure shows the scale of that opportunity nationally, but for a homeowner the number that really matters is their own: what could my roof generate, how much could I save, what would it cost and how long would it take to pay back?”

The report comes as GreenSketch launches in the UK with Emily, the AI agent, accessed by homeowners through its consumer platform EnergyBrain.

Homeowners can use Emily for free on EnergyBrain, entering their own address to receive a personalised initial estimate of solar generation, storage, annual savings, investment and payback period. It takes factors including the physical characteristics of the roof and local solar generation into account and presents different solar and battery options.

Homeowners can then connect with installers to develop the final design and obtain a quote, meaning they can begin the process already knowing more about the potential costs and savings for their particular home.

GreenSketch is developed by OSW Group, one of Australia’s largest solar distributors, and its platform is already used by more than 4,000 solar installers globally.

Discover your roof’s Sunlight Salary at https://uk.energybrain.com/ and view the report here.

Partners
The report was developed in collaboration with Tongwei and Fox ESS, who add:
Jose Zhao, Senior Director of EU Marketing & Sales, Tongwei:
“As the first and only photovoltaic company to be included in the Fortune Global 500, Tongwei has consistently upheld its corporate vision of “For Better Life” and remains committed to delivering high-tech, high-quality photovoltaic products to customers and end users worldwide.
Tongwei believes that GreenSketch and Emily, as leading industry information platforms and AI-powered tools, are well positioned to provide solar professionals and consumers across the UK and Europe with an enhanced and differentiated photovoltaic product experience. Through this collaboration, Tongwei also looks forward to enabling more users to access and benefit from innovative, high-value solar solutions.”

Justin Claxton, UK CEO & Co-Founder, Fox ESS
“As the market leader for residential energy storage in the UK, Fox ESS remains committed to advancing the nation's -and the global- transition towards smarter, more sustainable energy through innovative energy storage and management solutions. Fox ESS and GreenSketch have a long-standing partnership, starting with its official launch in Australia in March 2026. We believe GreenSketch and their AI agent, Emily, with their intelligent platform and AI-powered capabilities, are well-positioned to help solar professionals and consumers across the UK make more informed decisions about their energy solutions. Through our continued collaboration, Fox ESS looks forward to enabling more users to access smarter, higher-value energy solutions.”

Sofía Costa Navarro
The Wilful Group
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