Solar Panels and Irish Building Regulations: What’s Allowed in 2025?

If you are thinking about installing solar panels on your Irish home in 2025, it is important to know what current building regulations and planning rules allow. Recent changes have made solar installations easier for many homeowners, but there are still some conditions depending on where you live and the type of property. This article explains what is permitted under Irish regulations today and what to watch out for before planning your solar installation.

For help estimating how much power you might generate under your roof type and Irish climate, you may also want to read our article Solar Panel Efficiency in Ireland.

What Changed: 2022 Regulations and What They Mean for 2025

In October 2022, the regulations governing solar panel installations were significantly updated under the Planning and Development (Exempted Development) (No. 3) Regulations 2022. These changes remain in force as of 2025. gov.ie+2gov.ie+2

Here is what the updated rules mean for homeowners:

• For houses, regardless of location, you can now install solar panels on rooftops without any limit on area and without a requirement for planning permission. The previous cap (12 m² or 50% of roof area) has been removed.
• Rooftop installations on certain non-domestic buildings (business premises, farms, industrial buildings, community buildings, etc.) are also generally exempt from planning permission, though some limits or conditions may apply in specified zones.
• For free-standing ground-mounted systems or wall-mounted panels, exemptions may still apply, but they usually come with size limits or other conditions such as minimum private open space around them.

In simple terms: for most domestic homes in Ireland today, installing rooftop solar is much easier and more flexible than it used to be.

What You Still Need to Check Before Installing

Even with the relaxed rules there remain some important restrictions and caveats:

• If your property is a protected structure or within an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA), the general exemptions may not apply. In such cases you should check with your Local Authority before installing.
• For ground-mounted systems: size and location restrictions often demand installations remain small and out of public view (e.g. behind the house, certain minimum distance from boundaries).
• For non-standard roofs (flat roofs, commercial roofs, complex buildings), there may be extra conditions especially near aviation sites or in so-called Solar Safeguarding Zones. In those cases rooftop solar may still require planning permission or have roof-area limits.
• Electrical, structural and building-safety regulations also apply, even if planning permission isn't needed, the installation must follow building regulations and safety standards.

So while the rules make solar much more accessible, you should still check your property’s status and suitability before installing.

What This Means for Irish Homeowners in 2025

• Most homeowners can now install solar panels on their roofs without needing to apply for planning permission — whether you want a small array or full roof coverage.
• If you know the orientation and pitch of your roof is good, and there’s no shading or conservation-area restrictions, you can go ahead with fewer bureaucratic barriers.
• You still need to consider practical factors like roof strength, compliance with building and electrical standards, and whether your property qualifies under the exemptions (e.g. not a protected structure).
• If your roof isn’t suitable or you have limited roof space, ground-mounted or free-standing solutions remain possible but require more care and checking of size/placement rules.

If you want to explore how roof orientation or solar panel performance affects output, also check out our article Best Orientation and Angle for Solar Panels in Ireland.

Steps to Take Before You Install

Before you move forward with a solar installation in 2025, consider the following checklist:

• Confirm whether your property is subject to any protected status (heritage listing, ACA, etc.)
• Review roof type, orientation, shading, pitch, and structural suitability
• Decide whether rooftop or ground-mounted panels are more appropriate (based on roof space, garden space, shading, etc.)
• Ensure installer compliance with building regulations and electrical safety standards
• If you plan to add battery storage or EV charging in future, think about system design and capacity. We can assess and help design a system that matches your home

Interested in a hassle-free solar installation that is fully compliant with 2025 building regulations and tailored to your home? Contact us today for a free site survey and quotation. We help Irish homeowners design and install compliant, high-performance solar systems. Safely, efficiently, and without paperwork headache.