Solar Wizard provides an unbiased assessment to help more people make informed decisions about installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

National charity, the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) today (19 June) launches Solar Wizard, an innovative online tool supporting homeowners, community organisations and local authorities across the UK to evaluate their rooftop solar potential quickly and easily. Find it here https://solarwizard.org.uk/

Solar Wizard provides an unbiased assessment to help more people make informed decisions about installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Solar Wizard has two user experience interfaces:
Homeowners (public facing) With Solar Wizard, you can quickly look up any building in England, Wales, and Scotland, based on its postcode. It's totally free and users just enter their postcode to receive an easy summary of how much energy solar panels on their roof could generate, how much it could cost to get them installed and how quickly they could earn this back through savings on energy bills (the payback period). The report can be customised based on actual energy usage and there's information and next steps if people want to explore more about installing solar panels.

Building selection and economic modelling Visualise solar potential with interactive maps. Parish and town councils alongside larger district, unitary and county authorities can understand the viability of PV for their buildings and can assess the contribution rooftop solar could make to their climate emergency responses.

Solar Wizard also offers an interactive map interface that displays solar potential across entire areas. This map interface is a paid service offering additional functionality for users to select multiple buildings and run financial modelling. The buildings in the area with the best potential for solar can be easily identified and summary data can be downloaded. Users can also run financial modelling looking at potential investment, payback periods, rate of return and more. Find out more about this service and our methodology here.

"Transforming how we generate and use energy is crucial for tackling climate change, but many people don't know where to start and there is a lot of misinformation and mistrust about solar panels and other technologies." Says Jacob Hall, local area engagement project manager at CSE. "Solar Wizard breaks down these barriers by providing everyone with a free, quick, and easy way to assess their solar potential right at their fingertips."
"Our mapping interface is designed to support local authorities on their decarbonisation journeys. The map highlights those buildings with the best solar potential and supports business case development through the financial modelling as shown for Birmingham."
With less than 5% of UK homes currently using solar panels, there is huge potential to expand this commercially viable low-carbon technology. Solar Wizard was created by CSE to encourage wider adoption of solar power by simplifying the process of understanding if installing panels makes sense for a building.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) is a charity supporting people and organisations across the UK to tackle the climate emergency and end the suffering caused by cold homes. We do this by sharing our knowledge, practical experience, and policy insights. For over 40 years, we've helped communities and local councils to understand energy issues, set priorities and put plans into action. We support people to take effective action on energy in their homes. Our research and analysis is focused on making the energy system greener, smarter and fairer. Find out more at www.cse.org.uk