Solar Panels for Barns — Turn an Idle Roof Into 30 Years of Income
MCS-certified solar for every barn roof — steel portal sheds, grain stores, livestock and poultry buildings, traditional and listed barns, and barn conversions. Permitted-development checks, asbestos re-roof options, and grid connection handled.
- MCS Certified
- NICEIC
- RECC
- TrustMark
- IWA-Backed
ACCREDITED FOR UK SOLAR INSTALLATION
Your barn roof is the best solar site you own
A barn roof is the most under-used energy asset in the British countryside. The UK has hundreds of thousands of agricultural and converted barns — steel-frame portal sheds, grain stores, cattle and poultry buildings, traditional stone and timber barns, and barn-conversion homes — and the large, simple, often south-facing roof planes that make a barn a barn also make it close to ideal for solar PV. Unlike a house roof broken up by dormers and chimneys, a portal-frame barn offers a single clear span of 200–3,000 m² with no shading and an existing supply already on site. The economics are unusually strong because barns tend to pair a big roof with a real on-site electrical load: grain dryers, ventilation fans, milking and cooling plant, feed systems, lighting, and increasingly EV and battery charging. Add 100% Annual Investment Allowance for the working-barn owner, the Smart Export Guarantee for surplus, and permitted-development rights for most agricultural roofs, and a barn solar install frequently pays back in 4–7 years while turning a maintenance liability into a 30-year income. This site is about the barn itself — every roof type, every use, from a 6 kW conversion to a 500 kW poultry array.
- Every barn roof type covered — steel portal, grain store, livestock, poultry, traditional/listed, and conversions — each sized and costed differently.
- Listed and traditional barns a speciality: heritage statements, discreet design, conservation-officer engagement, ground-mount alternatives where needed.
- Asbestos-cement roof? We deliver combined strip-and-reclad-plus-PV so one project solves both.
- We pull half-hourly meter data and design to your real load — not a one-size template.
A barn is a big, clear, unshaded roof over a real load
From first call to a working barn roof
A clear, honest process — we tell you early if your barn doesn't suit solar.
- 01Day 1–7
Free desk feasibility
Send a roof photo, your postcode and a recent bill. We model the system, check your barn against permitted-development limits, and share an indicative proposal.
- 02Week 2–4
Barn survey
We confirm roof structure and check for asbestos cement, then finalise the design and a fixed-price proposal. Listed or traditional barns get a heritage-led design.
- 03Month 1–4
Planning & grid
We handle any Listed Building Consent or planning, and submit the G99 grid-connection application to the rural DNO straight away to start that clock.
- 04Month 2–4
Install & commission
On the roof for 3–15 days depending on size, around your farming calendar and biosecurity. Commissioning, handover, and monitoring switched on.
Every barn roof, sized and costed on its own terms
Steel portal, grain store, livestock, poultry, listed or converted — each is a different project. Pick yours.
Best canvas for PV Steel-Frame Portal Barns
30–300 kW · 5-yr payback · £24,000–£270,000
Grain Stores & Crop Barns
50–500 kW · 6-yr payback · £40,000–£450,000
Livestock & Cattle Barns
20–200 kW · 6-yr payback · £18,000–£185,000
Fastest payback Poultry & Pig Units
50–500 kW · 4.5-yr payback · £40,000–£450,000
Traditional & Listed Barns
6–40 kW · 8-yr payback · £7,000–£40,000
Barn Conversions & Smallholdings
4–20 kW · 8-yr payback · £6,000–£22,000
180 kW on a Shropshire broiler-shed complex
A family poultry enterprise running three broiler sheds with continuous ventilation, heating and lighting, and a six-figure annual electricity bill. Two large clear-span steel roofs facing close to south, re-clad in 2016.
Barn specialist vs a general solar installer
| Barn specialist (us) MCS, barn-focused | General installer Mostly domestic roofs | DIY kit Self-fit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knows agricultural permitted-development limits | Sometimes | ||
| Listed & traditional barn heritage design | |||
| Asbestos-cement roof + re-clad handling | Sometimes | ||
| Rural DNO / G99 export-limited design | Sometimes | ||
| Structural appraisal of barn frame | |||
| MCS-certified (SEG export eligible) | |||
| Sized to your real load, not roof area | Sometimes |
Barn solar in your county
We install on barns across England, Wales and Scotland. Pick your area for local barn, farming and grid-connection detail.
Kent
South East. Barn & agricultural solar across Kent.
Devon
South West. Barn & agricultural solar across Devon.
Lancashire
North West. Barn & agricultural solar across Lancashire.
Cheshire
North West. Barn & agricultural solar across Cheshire.
Somerset
South West. Barn & agricultural solar across Somerset.
Gloucestershire
South West. Barn & agricultural solar across Gloucestershire.
Barn solar questions
The questions barn owners actually ask us.
How much do solar panels for a barn cost in the UK?
It depends on roof size and use. A small traditional or converted-barn system (6–20 kW) runs roughly £7,000–£22,000. A working agricultural barn — steel portal shed, livestock building — at 30–200 kW is typically £24,000–£185,000. Large grain stores and poultry units at 200–500 kW reach £180,000–£450,000. Cost per kW falls with size: around £900–£1,200/kW under 30 kW, £750–£950/kW from 50–250 kW, and £700–£850/kW above 300 kW.
Do I need planning permission to put solar panels on my barn?
Usually not. Rooftop solar on a working agricultural building is normally Permitted Development under Class A, Part 14 of the GPDO 2015, as long as panels don't protrude more than 0.2 m above the roof and capacity/siting limits are met — no planning application required. The exceptions are listed barns, conservation areas, National Parks, AONBs and the Broads, where Listed Building Consent or planning permission applies. We confirm your barn's exact status and handle any application.
Can I put solar panels on a listed barn?
Often yes, with the right approach. Listed status removes Permitted Development, so you'll need Listed Building Consent and usually planning permission, supported by a heritage statement. We design sensitively — discreet siting on a secondary or rear slope, low-profile in-plane mounting, all-black panels — and engage the conservation officer early. Where the historic roof genuinely can't take PV, we model a nearby ground-mount array as an alternative.
What about asbestos cement barn roofs?
Asbestos cement (very common on barns built before 2000) can't be drilled or loaded with panels, and only a licensed contractor may remove it under CAR 2012. The usual solution is a combined strip-and-reclad to modern profiled steel followed by PV on the new roof — and the solar business case often part-funds the re-roof you needed anyway.
Which barn type gives the best return on solar?
Poultry and pig units, then dairy/livestock barns. They pair a huge clear-span roof with a high, near-constant on-site load (ventilation, heating, lighting, cooling, feed), so 85%+ of generation is used on site and payback can dip below 5 years. Grain stores have big roofs but a seasonal load, so they need a battery or export-led design. Traditional and converted barns pay back more slowly (around 8 years) but still stack up, especially with a heat pump or EV charger to feed.
Will solar work on a barn that doesn't use much electricity?
Yes, designed correctly. A low-load barn exports more, so we size to the Smart Export Guarantee tariff and look at shifting nearby load — EV charging, a battery, a heat pump, water heating — into daylight hours. For a field barn or stable block, off-grid or export-led designs both work; we model the options and tell you which earns its keep.