What Is a Solar Site Survey? Cost, Process & What's Included

Nearly every problem we see on a solar, battery or EV project traces back to the same root cause: someone quoted the job without properly understanding the site. Wrong cut-out photo, missed earthing issue, cable route that turned out to be impossible, roof that wouldn't take the array without reinforcement. By the time these problems surface, scaffold is up, the customer is anxious, and the fix costs several times what it would have cost to catch upfront.

A qualified solar site survey is the single cheapest insurance policy you can buy on a renewable energy project. This guide covers what a survey actually captures, how much one costs in the UK, how long it takes, and where it fits into the wider DNO application process.

What is a solar site survey?

A solar site survey is a structured technical assessment of a property carried out by a qualified electrical surveyor before a solar PV, battery storage, EV charger or heat pump system is designed. It captures the electrical, structural and photographic detail needed to design a system that will actually work on that specific site, quote it accurately, and submit a DNO application that won't bounce back with requests for information.

It's not a sales visit. It's not a rooftop selfie with a phone. It's a standardised walk-through of the incoming supply, the consumer unit, the roof, the cable routes, and every piece of existing generation and load on the property, documented in a report that customers, engineers and DNO design engineers can all read and rely on.

Although "solar site survey" is the phrase most people search for, the same qualified electrical assessment underpins every renewable technology we survey. The rest of this guide covers what's included for solar, and then how the same survey extends to battery storage, EV chargers and heat pumps, either individually or combined into one visit.

We also survey batteries, EV chargers and heat pumps

Solar PV is the most-requested survey, but the same surveyor covers every technology that connects to (or draws from) the electrical supply. Each type has its own additional focus on top of the standard electrical assessment:

The same qualified electrical surveyor carries out all of the above, so whether you're quoting a solar-only job, an EV charger for a fleet depot, or a full solar + battery + heat pump retrofit, the assessment approach and report format stay consistent.

What does a site survey include?

Every survey follows the same standardised checklist regardless of the technology. On the electrical side that means:

• The existing electrical supply and phase (single or three-phase)
• The meter, cut-out and service head, with photographs
• The main fuse rating, where it can be safely read
• The consumer unit's condition, spare ways and RCD arrangement
• The earthing arrangement and main protective bonding
• Any existing solar PV, battery storage or other generation on site
• Available capacity and any electrical constraints likely to affect design

On the structural, physical and routing side:

• Roof type, construction, orientation, pitch and usable area
• Shading, obstructions, chimney stacks, roof lights and vents
• Loft access and scaffolding requirements
• Practical cable routes and approximate cable lengths
• Proposed inverter, battery and EV charger locations
• Site measurements, boundaries and access notes
• Photographic and video records of everything above

The output is a single structured digital report that pulls all of this together, with any potential upgrade requirements clearly flagged before anyone commits to a quotation.

How much does a solar site survey cost in the UK?

Site survey pricing in the UK sits in fairly predictable bands. Here's what a fixed-price site survey typically costs, based on our own current pricing:

Two things to watch for when comparing quotes. First, "free surveys" from installers are almost always sales visits, not qualified electrical assessments, and they rarely produce a document the DNO can use. Second, watch how travel is priced. Our surveys include mainland UK travel in the fixed quote, so the price you see is the price you pay.

For a full breakdown by tier, see our site surveys pricing page.

How long does a solar site survey take?

On site, most domestic surveys take between 45 and 90 minutes, depending on complexity. A single-technology solar-only visit is at the shorter end; a combined solar, battery and EV visit sits at the longer end because there are simply more measurements, cable routes and equipment locations to capture. Commercial and C&I surveys are scoped individually and often need half a day or more, particularly on sites with multiple supplies or existing generation.

The report itself is typically delivered within 3 working days of the visit. A remote desktop assessment usually turns around within 2 working days because there's no on-site component to schedule.

Site survey vs desktop assessment: which do you need?

A desktop site assessment and a full on-site survey solve different problems. Understanding which one you need first can save both time and money.

Choose a desktop assessment when you need a fast feasibility screen: is this site worth pursuing at all? Is the DNO region likely to accept the export? Is the roof orientation and shading remotely viable? A £95 desktop assessment answers those questions in 2 working days without anyone leaving the office. It's ideal for lead generators, brokers and installers triaging a pipeline of enquiries.

Choose an on-site survey when you're ready to design and quote the job. You need a qualified electrician on site to actually look inside the consumer unit, photograph the cut-out, measure cable routes, and check the earthing arrangement. No amount of satellite imagery will tell you whether the incoming supply can support the export you're proposing.

On larger commercial and utility-scale projects it's common to run both, in sequence: a desktop assessment first to confirm the site is worth pursuing, then a full physical survey once the customer has committed.

Why every DNO application should start with a survey

Most DNO application rejections are preventable, and most preventable rejections come from bad site information. We've written separately about the eight most common reasons DNO applications get rejected, and at least four of them (LOA vs MPAN mismatches, missing cut-out photos, wrong export capacity, missing equipment declarations) are directly caused by rushed or incomplete site assessment.

A qualified survey solves that at the beginning of the project, not after the DNO has already come back asking for more information. The cut-out photo is already in the report. The MPAN has been verified against the customer's bill. The existing generation on site has been recorded. The proposed inverter and battery arrangement is documented against the actual consumer unit. The application effectively writes itself.

If you'd like us to also submit the G98 or G99 application afterwards, we can build it directly from the survey. No back-and-forth chasing missing photos, no follow-up visits to check the cut-out rating you forgot to note down. Just one clean handover from survey to submission.

Who books solar site surveys?

Site surveys are useful in more scenarios than most installers realise:

• Installers outsource surveys so their electricians stay on the tools. Every job gets a qualified report without hiring in-house.
• Developers and EPC contractors use surveys as independent site assessments for commercial solar, battery and EV projects, particularly where they need the electrical detail for a grid-connection application.
• Homeowners and businesses book a survey before approaching installers, so they can compare quotes on the basis of real site information rather than guesswork.
• Lead generators and brokers validate leads with a desktop assessment or on-site survey before passing them to installers, improving conversion and reducing wasted visits.

What to look for in a site survey provider

If you're going to outsource surveys, a few things separate a genuine technical service from a sales visit in disguise:

• An electrically qualified surveyor. BS 7671 18th Edition as a minimum, with inspection and testing qualifications where relevant, and hands-on installation experience. A camera and a clipboard is not a survey.
• Fixed pricing, not hourly rates. You should know the total cost before the surveyor gets in the van.
• A structured digital report, not a PDF of loose photos. Consistent format, section by section, so different projects can be compared on the same basis.
• Professional indemnity cover. Ours is £5M. Ask for a certificate before booking.
• Nationwide coverage without silly travel surcharges. Rural jobs are the ones that most need a proper survey; a provider that only covers the M25 isn't much use.

The bottom line

The cost of a solar site survey is small. The cost of not doing one, discovered halfway through the install when scaffold is already up and the customer is on the phone, is not small.

If you're planning a solar, battery, EV or heat pump project, a qualified site survey is the least glamorous but highest-return step in the whole process. It makes the design accurate, the quote credible, the DNO application clean, and the install day predictable. That's a lot of value for £95 to £495.

You can see full survey pricing, coverage and how to book on our site surveys page, or read our step-by-step DNO application process guide to see how a good survey feeds straight into a first-time approval.