Sunsave Solar Panels Review (2026): Price, Wait Times & Verdict
Sunsave sells solar panels and a battery the way a phone company sells a handset: nothing upfront and a fixed monthly payment, from £69 a month for 20 years. It calls this the UK’s first solar subscription. You own the system from day one, and monitoring, insurance and a replacement battery and inverter are included. This review covers what Sunsave really costs over the full term, what the monthly fee pays for, who can get it, how the quote and installation work, what happens if you move, the reviews, and how it compares with paying a local installer.
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Before you sign a 20-year agreement, it’s worth knowing what the same system costs to buy. We introduce you to one vetted, MCS-certified installer who surveys your home and puts a fixed price in writing. It’s free and takes about two minutes.
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- A free home survey, with your roof measured and checked for shade
- A written, itemised quote that names every panel, battery and inverter
- A cash price to set against a Sunsave monthly figure
- Clear advice on what the system will really generate and save
Upgrade my current system
- Add a battery and use your own power in the evening
- Add an EV charger that runs on your spare solar
- Replace a tired inverter before it costs you a summer
- A health check on older panels, with honest advice on what’s worth fixing
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About this review
This is an independent review. The facts come from what Sunsave publishes on its own website and from published customer reviews, all checked on 6 October 2026. We haven’t bought or tested a Sunsave installation, and the rating is our opinion. Sunsave Plus is a regulated credit agreement, and nothing here is financial advice.
Going Solar UK earns a fee from the installers we introduce readers to. Sunsave isn’t one of them, and we have no relationship with Sunsave. If you work for Sunsave and something here is out of date or wrong, contact us and we’ll correct it.
Our rating
Our rating
Sunsave solar panels
★★★★☆ Nothing upfront and 20 years of cover, at about twice the amount borrowed
The bottom line: a good way to pay monthly. Add up the 20-year total, then compare it with a cash price before you sign.
Compare with a local MCS quote →What is Sunsave?
Sunsave is a London-based solar company founded by Alick Dru and Ben Graves. It launched its main product, Sunsave Plus, in January 2024 and describes it as “the UK’s first solar subscription”. It sells two things:
- Sunsave Plus. Solar panels and a battery with £0 upfront and £0 deposit, paid for monthly over 10 or 20 years. The price includes design, installation, monitoring, maintenance and insurance.
- Sunsave Standard. The ordinary way to buy. You pay upfront and own the system, with prices from £6,200.
The word “subscription” needs a little care. Sunsave Plus isn’t a rental and it isn’t one of the old “rent-a-roof” deals where a company owned the panels on your house. You own the system from the day it’s installed. What you sign is a fixed-sum loan for the equipment, plus a monthly fee for monitoring and maintenance. The loan is provided by Sunsave Energy Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
| Sunsave company details | From its website |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Sunsave Group Limited, company number 13741813 |
| Installer and credit broker | Sunsave UK Limited, company number 13941186, FCA reference 1008450 |
| Lender | Sunsave Energy Limited, company number 13952135, FCA reference 979494 |
| Registered address | 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ |
| Funding | £113 million announced in July 2025: £13 million of investment led by Norrsken VC and IPGL, and a £100 million lending facility from Crédit Agricole. It also received £2.2 million from the government’s Green Home Finance Accelerator |
| Accreditations it lists | MCS, RECC, EPVS, NAPIT, TrustMark, Flexi-Orb and Which? Trusted Trader |
You can check the two FCA reference numbers yourself on the Financial Services Register. That’s worth two minutes before signing any credit agreement (MCS certification explained).
What Sunsave solar panels cost
Sunsave advertises Sunsave Plus “from £69/month”. Every system is designed for the house, so your figure will differ. This is the representative example Sunsave publishes:
| Sunsave Plus: the published example | Figure |
|---|---|
| Amount borrowed | £8,063 |
| Upfront payment and deposit | £0 |
| Interest rate | 5.9% a year, fixed |
| Representative APR | 8.6% |
| Term | 240 monthly payments (20 years) |
| Monthly payment | £69 |
| Made up of | £57 loan repayment plus a £12 monitoring and maintenance fee |
Sunsave gives the monthly figure. Here’s what it adds up to over the full term. These totals are our own arithmetic from Sunsave’s example:
| Over 20 years | Our sums |
|---|---|
| Loan repayments, 240 × £57 | £13,680 |
| Monitoring and maintenance fees, 240 × £12 | £2,880 |
| Total paid, 240 × £69 | £16,560 |
| Amount borrowed | £8,063 |
| Difference | £8,497 |
How to read the £16,560
You pay about twice the amount borrowed. That isn’t hidden, and it isn’t unusual for a 20-year loan. A mortgage works the same way. And the extra £8,497 isn’t all interest. It also pays for 20 years of monitoring and insurance, and for a replacement battery and inverter, which most cash buyers will have to pay for themselves at some point. The fair question is whether those extras are worth it to you. We work through that below.
Three more points on price:
- The payment is fixed. Sunsave says it doesn’t rise each year. That makes it easier to budget for than energy bills.
- Other reviewers quote £69–£99 a month as the usual range, and one puts a typical three-bedroom home at about £95. Bigger systems cost more.
- There’s a 10-year option with higher monthly payments and less interest overall. Ask for both to be quoted.
Does it pay? By our sums, a 4kW system with a battery saves a typical household about £1,000–£1,200 a year at October 2026 electricity prices. Against payments of £828 a year, that leaves you a little ahead from the start, and further ahead if electricity prices rise while your payment stays fixed. Sunsave’s own pages give net savings of between £324 and £685 a year for typical customers, depending on the page. Ask for the figure worked out for your home, with the assumptions shown (solar panel payback, solar panel cost, 4kW solar with a battery).
What the monthly payment covers: the Sunsave Guarantee
This is the part that sets Sunsave apart. The “Sunsave Guarantee” runs for the full 20 years. According to Sunsave’s website, updated in June 2026, it includes:
| Cover | What Sunsave says | Our view |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | 24/7 remote monitoring, with alerts if something goes wrong | Useful. Many faults on ordinary systems go unnoticed for months |
| Replacement battery | A free battery upgrade when capacity falls below 70% of the original, which it expects after 10–12 years | The most valuable part. A new battery costs £3,500–£5,500 today |
| Replacement inverter | A free replacement if output falls below 80% of the original | Worth £800–£1,500 at today’s prices |
| Insurance | Insured by Aviva against theft, vandalism, natural catastrophe and fire | Many home insurers cover panels anyway, so check your own policy too |
| Repairs | Remote fixes first, then an engineer visit within two weeks | Call-out fees are capped at £200 a year plus VAT, so visits aren’t always free |
| Downtime cover | Credit against your payments if the system is out of action for a long period | Fair |
| Panels | A 30-year performance warranty on the panels | Standard for good panels |
Two things are not covered, by Sunsave’s own list: fitting or replacing bird protection, and cleaning the panels (pigeon proofing solar panels, do solar panels need cleaning?). And the guarantee is tied to the agreement. If you pay off the whole balance early, the guarantee ends. Sunsave says you can repay up to 98% and keep it, as long as you’re still paying at least £1 a month.
For how this compares with normal cover, see solar panel warranties explained and inverter replacement cost.
What panels and batteries does Sunsave fit?
Sunsave’s product pages describe the equipment as “best-in-class” without naming brands. Its installations page shows LONGi solar panels and GivEnergy batteries, both of which are solid, mainstream choices (LONGi review, GivEnergy battery review).
- Every system includes a battery. Sunsave Plus is sold as solar and storage together.
- The design is done for your roof, so the number of panels and the battery size vary.
- You don’t choose the brands in the way you can with an independent installer.
Kit can change from month to month with any installer. Before you sign, ask for the make and model of the panels, the battery and the inverter in writing, with the battery’s usable capacity in kWh. You’re committing for 20 years, so it’s reasonable to know exactly what’s going on the roof (best solar batteries, are solar batteries worth it?).
Got a Sunsave monthly figure?
A vetted local installer will give you a cash price for the same size system, with every part named in writing. Then you can see exactly what the 20 years of cover is costing you.
Compare With a Local MCS Quote →Who can get Sunsave Plus?
| Requirement | What Sunsave says |
|---|---|
| Where you live | England, Scotland or Wales, according to its main website. One partner page says England and Wales only, so check for your postcode |
| Ownership | You must own the property |
| Age | At least one applicant aged 18 to 65 |
| Affordability | You must pass an affordability assessment, which starts with a soft credit check |
| Joint applications | Up to two applicants |
| Your roof | It has to suit the design. Reviews show some roof types are turned down |
The age limit matters. A lot of people who want solar are retired, and a 20-year agreement that needs an applicant of 65 or under will rule some of them out. Renters can’t apply either. If that’s you, see how to finance solar panels for other routes, or free solar panels: who actually qualifies.
A soft credit check doesn’t affect your credit score. A full application for credit normally leaves a record. Ask at which stage that happens.
The Sunsave quote, installation and wait times
This is the process as Sunsave describes it:
- Answer questions online about your home.
- A free remote consultation, with a design made for your roof.
- Installation. Sunsave says it handles everything “from site survey to scaffolding”.
- Track your savings in your online account.
| Stage | What Sunsave says, or what to expect |
|---|---|
| Consultation | Remote. Nobody visits at this stage |
| Site survey | Included, after the consultation |
| Network approval | Needed before fitting for nearly every battery system. Usually two to eight weeks |
| Time on site | “Less than 48 hours” typically |
| Sign-up to installation | Not published |
Sunsave doesn’t publish a wait time from signing up to installation. Demand has been high. In September 2024 the trade press reported that more than 7,000 households had joined its waiting list in about nine months. So ask for an expected installation date before you sign, and ask when the first payment is taken (how long does solar installation take?).
Because the first design is done remotely, the site survey is the point where things can change. Ask what happens to the monthly price if the surveyor finds shade, a weak roof or a fuse board that needs upgrading.
Moving house and paying it off early
Twenty years is a long time, and most people will move at least once. Sunsave sets out two options:
| Transfer it to the buyer | Pay it off | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | The buyer takes over the agreement and the guarantee | You settle the balance, usually from the sale, and the buyer gets the system outright |
| Conditions | The buyer has to pass Sunsave’s eligibility check | None |
| Fee | £75 administration fee | No early repayment fee, and no future interest or fees to pay |
| The guarantee | Carries on for the buyer | Ends when the balance is cleared in full |
No early repayment fee is a real point in Sunsave’s favour. You can also make part-payments as often as you like. Sunsave says it sends a settlement figure within seven days of being asked.
The risk to think about is a buyer who doesn’t want the agreement or can’t pass the check. In that case you’d need to clear the balance from the sale. Sunsave’s page on moving doesn’t say whether anything is registered against the property, so ask, and tell your conveyancer early. More on selling a home with panels is in solar panels and home value.
Sunsave Standard: buying outright
If you have the money, Sunsave will also sell you a system the ordinary way.
- Price: from £6,200, with an example system on its site at £8,865.
- Payment: typically a 15% deposit when you sign and the rest after installation.
- Included: design, site survey, scaffolding, installation, a battery and a monitoring account.
- Workmanship warranty: five years, with a RECC insurance-backed guarantee behind it.
Those prices are competitive. The workmanship warranty is the weaker point, because many local installers give ten years. And the 20-year Sunsave Guarantee, which is the main reason to choose Sunsave, belongs to Sunsave Plus (how to choose a solar installer).
Octopus, British Gas and Hive: who is Sunsave linked to?
People search for the “Octopus Sunsave solar panel subscription”. We couldn’t find one. Here’s what we did find.
- Sunsave and Octopus are separate companies. Neither company’s website describes a joint subscription. A trade press article in September 2024 called Sunsave an “Octopus Energy partner”, but we couldn’t find a current partnership.
- You can use an Octopus tariff with a Sunsave system. You own the panels, so you can choose any supplier and any export tariff. Sunsave says it takes no cut of what you earn from exporting. It also publishes its own guides to Octopus’s solar tariffs (Intelligent Octopus Go, SEG tariffs compared).
- Octopus sells solar panels itself. See our Octopus solar review.
- British Gas and Hive are Sunsave’s partners. “Hive Solar with Sunsave Plus” is the same Sunsave subscription, reached through British Gas. Sunsave’s site says British Gas and Hive act as introducers and are paid a fixed referral fee. Customers who come that way are offered up to 25% off their electricity for 12 months on a British Gas tariff, and British Gas’s export tariff at 12p per kWh (Hive solar review, British Gas solar review).
So if you were offered a “solar subscription” through British Gas or Hive, the contract is with Sunsave. If someone offers you an Octopus-branded Sunsave subscription, ask them to show you where it appears on Octopus’s own website.
Sunsave solar panels reviews
| Where | Score | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 4.7 out of 5 from 425 reviews, with 90% five-star and 4% one-star, when we checked on 6 October 2026 | A strong score. All the reviews are about solar, since that’s all Sunsave does |
| Which? Trusted Traders | Endorsed, with 4.6 out of 5 from 15 reviews | A small number of reviews, but Which? vets the business before endorsing it |
| Financial Conduct Authority | Authorised as a lender and a credit broker | Complaints about the credit agreement can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they aren’t resolved |
What customers praise
In the positive reviews we read, the same things come up: friendly and knowledgeable installation teams, clear explanations with no pressure, good communication, and seeing lower bills straight away. Several mention the monitoring as reassuring.
Critical reviews
Critical reviews are a small minority. We read two recent ones. One reviewer felt they were contacted too often by phone, text and email before their appointment. Another was unhappy that Sunsave couldn’t work with their type of roof after asking for photos more than once. Sunsave had replied publicly to both, explaining its process. These are individual customers’ own accounts, which we haven’t verified, and two reviews can’t tell you how a company performs overall.
One thing no review can tell you yet is how the 20-year guarantee works out in practice. Sunsave Plus only launched in 2024, so nobody has reached the point where a battery is replaced. That’s not a criticism. It’s just too early to know. Read the most recent reviews on Trustpilot yourself before you decide.
Sunsave vs buying from a local installer
This is the comparison that matters. The figures for Sunsave are from its published example. The local figures are our typical 2026 prices.
| Sunsave Plus | Buying from a local MCS installer | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | £0 | £9,000–£11,500 for 4kW with a 5kWh battery |
| Total paid over 20 years | £16,560 in the example | The purchase price, plus repairs as they come up |
| Replacement battery | Included once | £3,500–£5,500 at today’s prices, probably once in 20 years |
| Replacement inverter | Included once | £800–£1,500, probably once in 20 years |
| Monitoring and insurance | Included | Monitoring is usually free through the app. Insurance is usually on your home policy |
| Choice of panels and battery | Sunsave’s design | Your choice |
| Workmanship warranty | Ask for the length in writing. Repairs are handled under the 20-year guarantee | Often 10 years |
| If you move | Transfer it or pay it off | Nothing to do |
| Age limit | An applicant aged 18–65 | None |
Put simply: a cash buyer who pays £10,000 today and then replaces a battery and an inverter over 20 years might spend £14,300–£17,000 in all, at today’s prices. That’s in the same range as Sunsave’s £16,560. So in our view Sunsave Plus isn’t expensive for what it includes. What you’re really paying for is not having to find the money at the start, and not having to deal with repairs.
Two cautions on that comparison. Battery prices have been falling, so a replacement in 2037 may well cost less than it does today. And the systems may not be the same size, so compare like with like. That’s the reason to get a cash quote for the same number of panels and the same battery before you sign.
If you can pay cash, buying is usually cheaper. If you’d need to borrow anyway, compare Sunsave’s 8.6% APR with what your bank would charge for a personal loan, and remember a bank loan doesn’t come with a replacement battery. This isn’t financial advice (how to finance solar panels, are solar panels worth it?).
Other companies we’ve reviewed: Heatable, which advertises 0% finance, Utilita, which also has a monthly plan, E.ON, BOXT and Naked Solar, all compared in solar panel companies UK.
Compare with a local MCS quote
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Get My Local MCS Quote →Sunsave or SunSaver? Two different things
If you searched for “sunsaver solar panels” with an R on the end, you may be looking for something else. Neither of these has any connection with Sunsave, the UK solar company:
- Morningstar SunSaver. A solar charge controller, such as the SunSaver 10, used with small 12-volt panels on boats, caravans and off-grid cabins. It’s a component, not a panel (solar battery chargers).
- FAFCO SunSaver. Plastic solar panels that heat swimming pool water, made by an American company. They produce warm water, not electricity (solar thermal vs solar PV).
The rest of this page is about Sunsave, without the R.
Sunsave solar panels: pros and cons
Pros
- £0 upfront and £0 deposit
- Fixed monthly payment for the whole term
- You own the system from day one
- Free replacement battery and inverter
- 24/7 monitoring and Aviva insurance
- No early repayment fees
- FCA-regulated lender
- 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot, and a Which? Trusted Trader
Cons
- About twice the amount borrowed over 20 years
- An applicant must be aged 18–65
- Panels and battery aren’t named on its product pages
- No wait time published
- Guarantee ends if you repay in full
- Call-out fees of up to £200 a year plus VAT
- Bird protection and cleaning aren’t covered
- Five-year workmanship warranty if you buy outright
Verdict: is Sunsave worth it?
4.1 / 5. Sunsave Plus is a serious, properly regulated way to get solar and a battery with nothing to pay upfront, and in our view the 20-year guarantee is one of the most complete aftercare packages we’ve seen. For a homeowner under 65 who doesn’t have £10,000 spare and wants a fixed monthly cost, it deserves a close look.
In our scoring it loses marks for the total cost, for not naming its kit or its wait time on its product pages, and for the age limit. None of those is a reason to avoid it. They’re reasons to do three things before you sign. Multiply the monthly payment by the number of months. Ask for the panel, battery and inverter models and an installation date in writing. And get one cash price for the same system, so you know what the convenience is costing (solar panel installers near me).
New to solar, or ready to upgrade what you’ve got?
Either way, one vetted, MCS-certified installer visits, tells you plainly what will work on your roof and puts a fixed price in writing, so you have a real figure to compare. We’re paid by the installer, never by you.
- ✓MCS certified
- ✓HIES or RECC member
- ✓Fully insured
- ✓Checked before they can quote
Solar for the first time
- Free home survey, including a shade check on your roof
- A written quote with every part and warranty named
- A cash price you can set against any monthly plan
- Your details go to one installer, not a list of five
Upgrade my current system
- A battery priced in writing, sized to what you generate
- An EV charger that uses your spare solar first
- A new inverter if yours is past its best
- The network paperwork handled for you
Free · No obligation · One vetted MCS installer
Sunsave solar panels: frequently asked questions
Is Sunsave any good?
In our view, yes, for the right buyer. Sunsave Plus gives you solar panels and a battery for £0 upfront, with 20 years of monitoring, Aviva insurance and a free replacement battery and inverter. The lender is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Sunsave scored 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot when we checked in October 2026. The main drawback is the total cost over 20 years. We rate it 4.1 out of 5.
How much do Sunsave solar panels cost?
Sunsave Plus starts from £69 a month with nothing upfront. In Sunsave’s representative example, £8,063 is borrowed at 5.9% a year fixed, 8.6% APR representative, and repaid in 240 monthly payments of £69. By our arithmetic that totals £16,560 over 20 years. Each payment is £57 of loan repayment and a £12 monitoring and maintenance fee. Buying outright through Sunsave Standard starts from £6,200.
Do you own the solar panels with Sunsave Plus?
Yes. Sunsave says you own the system from the day it’s installed. Sunsave Plus is a fixed-sum loan for the equipment plus a monthly monitoring and maintenance fee. It is not a roof lease or a rental, and you keep all the savings and any export payments.
Is there an Octopus Sunsave solar panel subscription?
We couldn’t find one. Sunsave and Octopus Energy are separate companies, and neither website describes a joint subscription. You can use an Octopus tariff with a Sunsave system, because you own the panels and choose your own supplier. Sunsave’s partners are British Gas and Hive, which introduce customers to the same Sunsave Plus subscription.
What happens to Sunsave Plus if I move house?
Sunsave gives two options. You can transfer the agreement to the buyer, who must pass an eligibility check, for a £75 administration fee. Or you can pay off the balance, usually from the sale, with no early repayment fee and no future interest to pay. If you clear the balance in full, the 20-year Sunsave Guarantee ends.
Who can get Sunsave Plus?
You need to own your home in England, Scotland or Wales, according to Sunsave’s main website, and at least one applicant must be aged 18 to 65. You must pass an affordability assessment, which starts with a soft credit check. Up to two people can apply jointly. Your roof also has to be suitable.
How long does Sunsave take to install?
Sunsave says the installation itself typically takes less than 48 hours. It doesn’t publish a wait time from signing up to installation. Nearly every battery system also needs approval from the local electricity network first, which usually takes two to eight weeks. Ask for an expected date before you sign.
What do Sunsave solar panels reviews say?
Sunsave scored 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 425 reviews when we checked on 6 October 2026, with 90% five-star and 4% one-star. It is also a Which? Trusted Trader. Positive reviews praise the installation teams, clear explanations and lower bills. The critical reviews we read concerned the amount of contact before an appointment and a roof Sunsave couldn’t work with.
Going Solar UK is an introduction service, not an installer or a credit broker, and has no connection with Sunsave, Octopus Energy, British Gas, Hive, Aviva, Morningstar or FAFCO. Prices, the representative example, the Sunsave Guarantee, eligibility, moving-home terms, company details and accreditations are from Sunsave’s website, checked on 6 October 2026, and can change. Twenty-year totals are our own arithmetic using Sunsave’s published example. The Trustpilot score and star breakdown are as shown on Trustpilot on 6 October 2026, and the Which? score is as shown on Which? Trusted Traders. Customer reviews mentioned here are those customers’ own accounts, which we have not verified. Funding details are from Sunsave’s July 2025 announcement. The waiting list figure is from trade press in September 2024. The rating and the comparisons are our opinion, based on the published information. If anything here is inaccurate or out of date, contact us and we will correct it. Local installer prices, replacement costs and savings are typical 2026 UK estimates with 0% VAT, which applies until 31 March 2027, and savings use the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026. We have not tested a Sunsave installation. This is not financial advice. A credit agreement is a long-term commitment, so read it in full, check the lender on the Financial Services Register and take independent advice if you’re unsure.