Nearly 6 million UK households live in flats, and another 4 million rent from private landlords. For them, rooftop solar has been a non-starter, no roof space, no landlord permission, no individual ownership. That is changing.
As reported by Solar Power Portal, Australia’s Allume Energy has brought its SolShare system to the UK, a technology that lets one rooftop array power multiple homes. The company already has installations in Victoria and New South Wales, and now plans to target UK apartment blocks and housing associations.
How shared solar works for UK homes
SolShare sits between the building’s solar panels and the individual flat meters. Instead of exporting all generation to the grid, the system diverts power to whichever flats are drawing electricity at that moment. Each household gets a share of the solar output proportional to its real-time demand, tracked via smart meters.
No new wiring inside flats is needed. The building needs a single rooftop installation, typically 4-8 kW per 10-20 flats, and a compatible smart meter at each dwelling. Ofgem has already approved the model for use under the Smart Export Guarantee, meaning households can also sell surplus back to the grid.
The catch is cost. A typical shared solar installation for a block of 20 flats might run £15,000-£25,000, according to industry estimates, though Allume has not published UK pricing. That works out at roughly £750-£1,250 per flat, less than half the cost of a standalone 4 kW system.
Who qualifies, and who doesn’t
Housing associations and local authorities are the obvious first movers. They own the roof and the building, and can install SolShare without negotiating with dozens of individual leaseholders. Private landlords with multiple properties in a single block could also benefit, though they would need consent from the freeholder.
Owner-occupiers in converted flats are in a grey area. If the building has a shared roof and a single freeholder, that freeholder must agree. But the Energy Saving Trust notes that the Shared Ownership leasehold model already allows for communal renewables if the lease permits it.
What this misses: no dedicated UK grant for shared solar exists yet. The ECO scheme can fund insulation and heating measures but rarely covers solar for flats. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme only covers heat pumps. Households will likely need to lobby their housing association or landlord to apply for commercial green finance, or wait for the government to extend the Solar Together scheme to multi-occupancy buildings.
What it costs a typical 3-bed semi, in a block
Take a typical 20-flat block in Manchester, each flat using 2,500 kWh a year. A 10 kW shared array could generate around 8,500 kWh annually. After distribution losses and real-time sharing, each flat might receive 350-400 kWh of free solar power, roughly 15% of its total usage.
At current electricity rates of 24.5p per kWh (Ofgem price cap, October 2024), that saves each flat £85-£100 a year. Over a 25-year panel lifespan, that is £2,125-£2,500 per flat, more than the typical upfront cost per household. But the savings depend on the building’s orientation, shading, and how well the flats’ usage patterns match solar generation.
EPC impact is real. A block moving from an EPC rating of D to C could see its energy costs drop by 20-30%, which is exactly what the government’s Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards now demand for rental properties by 2028. Housing associations that install shared solar may avoid costly fabric upgrades elsewhere.
The bottom line for UK homeowners: if you live in a flat and want solar, stop waiting for a standalone system. Talk to your landlord or management company. Show them the Allume case study from Australia where a 50-flat block cut collective bills by 22% in the first year. The technology is here. The regulatory path is open. The missing piece is demand.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The roof is usually owned by the freeholder or management company. You need their consent to install the array and the SolShare system. However, you can present them with data showing that shared solar typically pays back within 8-12 years and improves the building's EPC rating.
Not yet. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme and ECO do not currently cover shared solar. Some housing associations have used commercial green loans or the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. The government's Solar Together scheme is for individual homes only, but campaigners are pushing for an extension to multi-occupancy buildings.
