Professional from start to finish
Thoroughly professional throughout — from the initial consultation and quote, through to installation and commissioning. A pleasure to do business with.
Conservation areas and listed buildings need planning savvy — we run pre-app checks for every Edinburgh job.
A typical 4kWp solar install in Edinburgh generates around 3,600 kWh/year — saving roughly £1,008/year at current electricity prices. Fully installed: £6,500–£8,500.
Edinburgh is the toughest solar market in the Central Belt — and we love it. Tenement roofs, conservation-area planning, listed-building stock and dense terraced layouts mean off-the-shelf quotes routinely fall over. Ecoaim has installed across every EH postcode from the Old Town to Cramond, and we run pre-application planning checks on every Edinburgh quote so the cost we promise is the cost you pay.
Every Edinburgh commercial array above 3.68 kW/phase needs a G99 connection agreement (typical 6-12 week turnaround); dense city-centre substations can be export-constrained, so an export-capacity check runs at survey stage and a larger array may need an export-limitation device.
City of Edinburgh Council planning. Conservation areas cover roughly 40% of central Edinburgh — pre-app advice for any visible-elevation work is standard. Listed Building Consent required for installs on Category A/B/C listed properties. Our planning lead handles all pre-app dialogue.
Conservation areas to watch: New Town, Old Town, Stockbridge, Marchmont, Bruntsfield, Dean Village, Grange, Morningside.
Visible-elevation installs in any of these usually require pre-application dialogue with the planning department. We handle this on every conservation-area quote — there is no extra charge for it.
| Postcode | kWh/kWp/yr | Local note |
|---|---|---|
| EH1-EH3 | 870 | Central conservation zones — yields slightly lower due to shading + lower-pitch rear roofs. |
| EH4 | 905 | Cramond / Barnton — open aspect detached homes hit Central Belt average. |
| EH9-10 | 895 | South Edinburgh tenement and semi. Conservation factor lowers ideal install size. |
| EH12-14 | 905 | West Edinburgh suburbia — standard yields. |
| EH16-17 | 900 | South-east Edinburgh — strong yields. |
Pre-app cleared in 18 days. Install across 2 days including scaffolding. SP Energy Networks G99 issued in 7 weeks. Customer is netting roughly £180/month off her electricity bill compared with the year prior.
30 minutes from Livingston HQ via the A8 / M8. Most install crews are on-site for 08:00 starts; warranty callouts are typically same-day or next-day.
Edinburgh-specific planning knowledge is genuinely rare among Scottish installers. Most subcontract to crews that have never dealt with City of Edinburgh Conservation Officers. We hold the pre-app templates, the listed-building permitted-development knowledge and the rear-of-roof solar design experience to turn an Edinburgh quote into an Edinburgh install.
Edinburgh Castle (conservation zone reference) · Arthur’s Seat and Holyrood Park (south-facing roofs nearby) · Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh · Murrayfield Stadium · Edinburgh Airport (within 12 mins of Livingston HQ).
Often yes — rear-of-roof installs on non-front-facing aspects are usually permitted under PDR (Permitted Development Rights). Front-of-roof or visible-elevation installs typically need full planning. We run a pre-app check on every quote so you know before signing.
A typical 4 kWp tenement install is 1-2 days including scaffolding. Larger 6-10 kWp detached installs are 2-3 days. Planning pre-app adds 14-21 days where required.
SP Energy Networks. G98 notifications (under 3.68 kW per phase) are typically same-day; G99 applications (3.68 kW+) take 6-12 weeks. We handle all DNO paperwork.
A 30 kWp commercial system in Edinburgh typically costs £24,000–£32,000 installed, a 100 kWp system £75,000–£95,000, and a 250 kWp warehouse roof £150,000–£190,000. Edinburgh businesses can claim the 100% Annual Investment Allowance and 0% VAT (until March 2027), cutting the net cost by roughly a third for profitable companies.
Most Edinburgh commercial installs pay back in 5–7 years, and faster — often inside 4 years — for high daytime-load sites such as manufacturing at Sighthill/Newbridge, cold storage, hotels and retail. Edinburgh's ~860–900 kWh/kWp yield is slightly above the Scottish average, which helps returns.
Most flat-roof commercial PV across the EH postcodes is permitted development. But the Old Town and New Town World Heritage Site and conservation areas (Leith, Stockbridge, Morningside, Dean Village) plus listed buildings need City of Edinburgh Council planning and/or listed-building consent. Ecoaim runs the conservation check at design stage and files any consent on your behalf.
Edinburgh's distribution network operator is SP Energy Networks (SP Distribution licence area, distributor ID 18). Every commercial install above 3.68 kW per phase needs a G99 connection agreement before commissioning. Ecoaim submits and manages the G99 with SP Energy Networks — typical turnaround 6–12 weeks — and runs an export-capacity check first, as some dense city-centre substations need an export limitation device.
No. Edinburgh's drier east-coast climate gives ~860–900 kWh per kWp per year — slightly above the Scottish average and only marginally below the UK figure. Because commercial demand peaks during weekday daytime, a well-designed array on an EH flat roof self-consumes most of its output, so the latitude has little bearing on the business case.
Thoroughly professional throughout — from the initial consultation and quote, through to installation and commissioning. A pleasure to do business with.
All the communication was great and everyone has been great to deal with. The installation was done quickly and neatly with no problems at all.
Six months in and my October bill came in at £18. Couldn't be happier with the service from Duncan and the team.
The heat pump install was smooth, HES grant was handled for us, and the house is warmer than ever.
Pelican charger installed in a morning, OZEV grant claimed on my behalf. First-rate.
Knew their stuff on the Octopus Flux tariff and got us set up to export when prices peak. Highly recommend.
Quality components, no shortcuts. Panel warranty paperwork sorted on the day.
They flagged the conservation area before survey and got pre-app clearance. Saved us a headache.
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No high-pressure sales. No commission-driven scripts. Just a no-obligation survey + transparent quote — covering every postcode in Scotland's Central Belt.
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