Durham
Solar panels in Birtley, designed on a free call.
A 12-panel roof in Birtley makes about 6,000 kWh a year and costs £6,360 installed; a free 30-minute video call sizes it to yours.
Get my free quote
Three details. We call or text within one working day to book your free 30-minute design call, on video or by phone if you prefer.
or call 07782 219224
- Free 30-minute video design call
- Priced before anyone visits
- Installed by our MCS-certified, fully insured teams
Sunlight in Birtley, in numbers
PVGIS puts Birtley at 944 kWh per kWp a year, 1% above our Durham county estimate. 69% of it arrives between April and September, peaking in May.
Generation per kWp, month by month
Show the monthly figures
| Month | kWh/kWp |
|---|---|
| January | 32.7 |
| February | 49.5 |
| March | 82.6 |
| April | 108 |
| May | 122 |
| June | 111 |
| July | 118 |
| August | 104 |
| September | 88 |
| October | 58.5 |
| November | 40.2 |
| December | 28.9 |
Source: PVGIS v5.2 (European Commission JRC), SARAH3 database, 1 kWp, 14% system loss, 35 degree pitch, due south, checked September 2026.
Our GB average is 925 kWh per kWp a year, the mean of the 85 county PVGIS estimates we publish; at 944, Birtley is 2% above it.
How Birtley compares
Small towns rarely get published solar figures, so here are the numbers for Birtley. It is one of 35 Durham towns we track, and it ranks 20th of 35 for solar yield, a town of 14,329 people in the House of Commons Library settlement data. PVGIS gives its roofs 944 kWh per kWp a year, 2.59 peak sun hours a day averaged across the seasons, and the standard 12 panel model turns that into £855 of year one benefit, £247 of it from your own generation and £608 from export at 12p.
Treat these as calibration rather than a quote. The calculator below runs the same model, opened on Birtley's own yield, and prices a 12 panel system at £6,360 installed before any battery. Your free design call reworks every number for your actual roof, its shading and your usage.
Planning applications here go through Gateshead; nationally, the House of Commons Library classes Birtley as a small town.
The charger is in the installed price but left out of payback: charging savings depend on your mileage and tariff, which the design call models properly.
Your real roof and usage, worked through on a free 30-minute video call. Use the full form or leave three details below.
Price this for your roof
Three details. We call or text within one working day to book your free 30-minute design call, on video or by phone if you prefer.
Generation is modelled from PVGIS satellite data for Birtley's own coordinates (54.89512, -1.57516), using the same 26.32p/kWh import value and £1,000 per kWp installed pricing as every Clearline estimate; the methodology is on our help page.
Northern Powergrid and your Birtley connection
Birtley sits in Northern Powergrid's North East England licence area, so Northern Powergrid is the network operator (DNO) any solar panels or battery here are registered with.
Below 3.68kW per phase of inverter and battery output, the G98 route applies: the installation is notified to Northern Powergrid within 28 days of commissioning, with no prior approval.
Above that, G99 means applying before the work is booked. Northern Powergrid publishes a guaranteed standard of 45 working days to quote for a low voltage generation connection.
Sources: NESO DNO licence areas (3 May 2024); Northern Powergrid, generation connections page, checked 25 September 2026. G98 vs G99, explained.
Heat pumps and EV charging in Birtley
A heat pump in Birtley
In December, the darkest month here, 12 panels in Birtley make about 180 kWh. That is when a heat pump runs hardest, so its running cost in Birtley comes down to the tariff and the flow temperature rather than the roof.
In England, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump and £2,500 towards an air-to-air one, with £1,500 more until March 2027 for homes heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas (gov.uk, checked 28 September 2026).
Charging an EV in Birtley
Birtley's May output, about 780 kWh from 12 panels, is several times the 70 kWh or so a typical home uses in daylight that month on our calculator's settings. Daytime charging turns that surplus into miles.
Renters and flat owners with private off-street parking can get 75% off a chargepoint and its installation, up to £500 per socket, until 31 March 2027 (gov.uk, checked 28 September 2026). The calculator above adds a 7.4kW smart charger from £1,100 installed.
Installed prices, the same in every town
Every system is designed around your roof on the free call before anything is fitted.
Solar panel servicing and repair in Birtley
The same sourced benchmarks apply in Birtley as everywhere we cover: honest repair pricing and what a service should include.
Birtley solar questions
How much electricity do solar panels make in Birtley?
About 6,000 kWh a year from 12 panels (6.36 kWp), on PVGIS satellite data for Birtley: 944 kWh per kWp, or 2.59 peak sun hours a day on average. May is the strongest month, at about 780 kWh.
Is solar more expensive in Birtley?
Prices on this site are the same everywhere: £1,000 per kWp installed, which puts a 12-panel system at £6,360 in Birtley, and a Duracell Dura16 installed with solar at £4,450 on top. The local part is generation, about 6,000 kWh a year here, which is what drives payback.
Which DNO covers Birtley, and what does it need from me?
Northern Powergrid covers Birtley. A home system of up to 3.68kW per phase is notified to Northern Powergrid within 28 days of commissioning under G98, and nothing waits on approval. Larger outputs need a G99 application before work starts. Northern Powergrid publishes a guaranteed standard of 45 working days to quote for a low voltage generation connection.
What could I earn from exporting in Birtley?
On the 12p export scenario, a 12-panel system in Birtley sends about 5,067 kWh a year to the grid, worth around £608. The export rates table compares what each supplier pays.
How much solar does Birtley get in December?
December is the low point: about 180 kWh from a 12-panel system in Birtley, on PVGIS data, rising to 780 kWh in May. From November to February the same system makes about 960 kWh in total, which is why a battery charged off-peak does more of the work in winter.
How Birtley compares with its neighbours
The six closest towns we publish, run through the identical PVGIS query as Birtley.
| Town | kWh per kWp a year | vs Birtley |
|---|---|---|
| Birtley | 944 | this town |
| Washington | 952 | +8 kWh |
| Chester-le-Street | 936 | −8 kWh |
| Gateshead | 942 | −2 kWh |
| Shiney Row and Penshaw | 959 | +15 kWh |
| Fence Houses | 948 | +4 kWh |
| Stanley | 945 | +1 kWh |
Same PVGIS v5.2 query for every town. Small differences are within year-to-year weather; more than about 30 kWh per kWp apart is geography.
Also for Birtley: Solar panels in Birtley from OVO Solar & Battery
Also near Birtley
See a number before you speak to anyone
Answer a few questions about your roof and usage and see an instant solar and battery estimate. No email needed to see the result.
Guides worth reading before your call
Sourced, dated and written by us. The same ground we cover on your free call.
How long do solar panels last? 25 to 30 years, in practice
The panels outlast the inverter by a wide margin. Plan for that, not for cleaning.
Read the guide →Inside a home battery: capacity, power and losses
Usable capacity, kW output, round trip losses and chemistry, in plain terms.
Read the guide →What it really costs to charge an EV at home versus in public
Home off-peak charging costs a fraction of the public price. The arithmetic, and the tariff it depends on.
Read the guide →Heat pump running costs versus a gas boiler, assumptions shown
Four numbers decide it: seasonal efficiency, flow temperature, tariff and heat demand.
Read the guide →Choosing a tariff when you have solar, a battery and an EV
Solar, battery and EV want different tariffs. How to work out which one to protect.
Read the guide →NAPIT, NICEIC and competent person schemes: who tells building control about your solar
Solar work is notifiable. A competent person scheme means your installation team notifies, not you.
Read the guide →Get my free quote
Takes about two minutes. We call or text within one working day to book your free 30-minute video design call at a time that suits you. We design it around your roof and your numbers, and our MCS-certified, fully insured installation teams install it.