Drone Roof Surveys in Leicester & Leicestershire
We're Energy Concerns, a family-run installer based in LE9 on the edge of Leicester, led day-to-day by our owner, Todd Stephens. Before we quote for solar — or for roof work — we like to actually see your roof properly. So our team flies a survey drone over it. No ladders leaning on your gutters, no scaffold bill just to have a look, no guesswork from the pavement. The photographs tell us whether your tiles are sound, exactly how much roof you have to work with, and how much sun it catches. This page explains how it works across Leicester, Leicestershire and roughly 30 miles beyond.
Get Your Free QuoteHow much does a drone roof survey cost in Leicester?
Nothing, when it's part of our free solar survey — and for most Leicester and Leicestershire homes, it is. We fly a camera drone over your roof to photograph tile condition, take accurate measurements and map orientation and shading, all without ladders or scaffold. The same photographs feed two decisions: whether the roof needs attention before panels go on, and how many panels it can realistically carry. We cover roughly 30 miles around Leicester.
Why we put a drone up before we quote
The honest answer: you can't price a roof properly from the pavement. Binoculars miss cracked tiles. A ladder only shows you one edge. And putting scaffold up just to have a look means you're paying for access before anyone has told you anything useful. That's why our team surveys roofs across Leicester and Leicestershire by drone. In a few minutes we get sharp, close-up photographs of every face of your roof — including the awkward hidden slopes over extensions and the back elevations you can't see from the road. Nobody walks on your tiles, nothing leans against your guttering, and there's no scaffold bill for a job that might not even go ahead. Because we're an owner-led firm, the person pricing your work is often the same person looking at the photographs. When we tell you a roof is sound enough to carry solar panels for the next 25 years — or that it isn't — we're saying it with the evidence open in front of us. And you see the photographs too, which is how it should be.
What the drone survey covers
Every flight is planned to answer the same set of questions, whether you're thinking about solar, a re-roof, or both:- Tile condition — slipped, cracked or delaminating tiles, worn ridge and hip lines, failed pointing, old patch repairs.
- Flashings, valleys and chimneys — the junctions where roofs actually leak, photographed close-up.
- Visible structural signs — sagging or dipping in the roofline, and what can be seen of timbers at the eaves, verges and bargeboards. A drone can't see inside your loft, so where we suspect an issue we check the loft on the same visit.
- Accurate measurements — true roof dimensions, pitch and usable area, so any solar layout is designed on real numbers rather than estimates from an aerial map.
- Orientation and shading — which way each roof face points and what shades it through the day: chimneys, dormers, trees and neighbouring buildings.
Part of our free solar survey — what actually happens
The drone flight isn't a separate service you book and pay for — it's built into the free survey we carry out for every solar, battery and re-roofing enquiry. Here's the shape of a typical visit: you get in touch through our quote form, we agree a time, and one of our own team comes out — never a subcontractor, because we don't use any. We talk through what you're hoping to achieve, look at your consumer unit and electricity usage, then put the drone up. The flight itself takes minutes; we're generally done well within the hour altogether. Afterwards we design around what's actually there: panel layout, expected generation for your specific roof faces, and any roof work that ought to happen first. Then you get a written quote with no pressure and no follow-up salesperson — we're a family firm in LE9, not a call centre. If the photographs show your roof isn't right for solar, we'll tell you that too, and you'll still have a genuinely useful set of roof photos for your trouble.
One survey, two decisions: re-roofing, solar, or both
This is where the drone survey earns its keep. The same set of photographs feeds two decisions at once: does the roof need work, and what solar can it carry? Because our own in-house team does both the re-roofing and the solar installation — same firm, same accountability, zero subcontractors — we can plan them as one job. That matters practically and financially. Doing a re-roof and a solar install as separate projects means paying for scaffold twice; combining them means one scaffold serving both, which typically saves £500–£1,000+ depending on the property. It also means your panels go onto a roof we know is sound, with decades of life in it, rather than onto tiles that will need disturbing in five years. One thing we're always straight about: the VAT treatment differs. The solar and battery installation qualifies for 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, but general re-roofing work is standard-rated at 20% — anyone telling you a whole combined job is VAT-free is misleading you. We set both parts out clearly in the quote so you can see exactly what you're paying for.
On-roof, in-roof or flat: what the photos tell us about your options
The survey usually points to one of three routes.- On-roof panels — the standard approach: panels mounted on rails above sound tiles. Quickest and usually the most cost-effective where the roof is in good condition.
- In-roof (integrated) panels — panels sit within the roofline in GSE-type trays, replacing the tiles over that area. If the drone shows your roof needs replacing anyway, this is the moment to do it: the panels become part of the new roof, no brackets penetrate the tiles, and the finish is much cleaner. Expect slightly lower output than on-roof — typically a few per cent, because there's less airflow cooling the panels — which we factor honestly into your generation figures.
- Flat roofs — panels on ballasted or A-frame mounts angled at around 10–15°. Ballasted systems need no roof penetrations at all, but weight and wind loading have to be checked properly, which is exactly what the survey assesses.
The numbers behind the photographs
A drone survey is only useful if it turns into honest numbers, so here are the ones we work from. Roofs in Leicester and the wider East Midlands typically generate around 950–1,050 kWh per year for each kilowatt of panels installed — so a well-oriented 4kW system produces roughly 3,800–4,200 kWh annually, which is more electricity than the average UK home uses in a year. A 4kW installation generally costs around £6,000–£8,000 installed, with 0% VAT applying to solar and battery work until 31 March 2027. Payback for most homes lands somewhere around six to nine years, depending on how much of the generation you use yourself and your tariff. Anything you export can earn through the Smart Export Guarantee — and that's one reason our MCS certification matters, because SEG payments require an MCS-certified installation. What the drone adds to all of this is precision: instead of quoting from a satellite photo and hoping, we design from your actual roof dimensions, your actual orientation and your actual shading, so the generation estimate on your quote reflects your house rather than a national average.
Where we fly — Leicester, Leicestershire and 30 miles around
We're based in LE9, just outside Leicester, and we survey and install across a radius of roughly 30 miles. That covers the whole of Leicestershire — Leicester itself, Hinckley, Loughborough, Coalville, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, Lutterworth, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Wigston, Oadby, Syston, Glenfield, Broughton Astley, Countesthorpe and the villages in between — and reaches into neighbouring counties too, taking in towns such as Nuneaton, Rugby, Swadlincote and Bedworth. Being genuinely local matters more than people expect with drone work. Flights depend on the weather, and because we're twenty minutes up the road rather than two hours down the motorway, rescheduling around a windy morning is easy — we simply come back. It also means the roofs we photograph are roof types we know well: Victorian terraces off Narborough Road, 1930s semis in the suburbs, village properties with older clay tiles, and the new-build estates going up around the county. If you're not sure whether you're inside our patch, just ask — the honest answer is that if you're within about half an hour's drive of Leicester, you almost certainly are.
The team behind the drone
Energy Concerns is a family business, owned and led by Todd Stephens, and everyone who turns up at your property works directly for us — we don't subcontract the survey, the roofing or the installation to anyone. The team that photographs your roof is the team that stands behind what those photographs are used for, which is exactly how accountability should work. We're MCS certified, RECC members, NAPIT registered and TrustMark approved — the certifications that matter for a solar installation done properly, and the MCS piece specifically is what unlocks Smart Export Guarantee payments on anything your panels export. But honestly, the thing we'd rather you judge us on is how the survey feels: no hard sell, no inflated generation promises, no glossing over a tired roof to get a solar deal signed. If the drone shows a problem, you'll see the photograph and hear the plain version of what it means. If everything's sound, we'll tell you that and get on with designing your system. Book your free survey through our quote form and we'll take it from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the drone roof survey free?
Yes — it's part of the free survey we carry out for every solar, battery and re-roofing enquiry across Leicester and Leicestershire. There's no separate charge and no obligation. We don't run it as a standalone commercial drone service; it exists to help you (and us) make good decisions about your roof and your solar options.
Do you need ladders or scaffolding to survey my roof?
No — that's the point. The drone photographs every face of your roof from the air, so nothing touches your tiles or gutters and there's no scaffold cost just to inspect. Scaffold only enters the picture if you go ahead with work — and if that work combines re-roofing with solar, one shared scaffold typically saves £500–£1,000+ compared with doing the two jobs separately.
What happens if the survey shows my roof needs work before solar?
We show you the photographs and explain what we found in plain terms. Because our own team does re-roofing in-house alongside solar installations, we can quote for both as one coordinated job — often with in-roof panels fitted as part of the new roof. Bear in mind the VAT differs: the solar and battery installation is 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, while re-roofing work is standard-rated at 20%.
Are you allowed to fly a drone over my house?
Yes, with proper planning. Every flight is checked against UK drone rules and local airspace restrictions before we fly, and we won't fly in strong wind or heavy rain — we simply rearrange, which is easy because we're local. In the rare case that a property sits inside a restricted zone, we'll talk through the alternatives when we book your visit.
Do I need to be at home for the survey?
For the drone flight itself, not strictly — it all happens outside. But the visit is far more useful when you're there, because we'll also want to talk through your electricity usage, look at your consumer unit and answer your questions on the spot. We'll arrange a time that suits you, and there's nothing you need to do to prepare.
Can you survey flat roofs and outbuildings too?
Yes. Flat roofs are often good solar candidates — panels go on ballasted or A-frame mounts angled at around 10–15°, and ballasted systems need no roof penetrations at all. The survey checks exactly what a flat roof needs checking for: available area, weight-bearing and wind exposure. Garages, extensions and single-storey outbuildings all get photographed as part of the same flight.