Essex
Solar panels in Braintree, sized to your roof.
A 12-panel roof in Braintree makes about 6,770 kWh a year and costs £6,360 installed; a free 30-minute video call sizes it to yours.
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Braintree's solar year
PVGIS puts Braintree at 1,065 kWh per kWp a year, level with our Essex county estimate. 68% of it arrives between April and September, peaking in July.
Generation per kWp, month by month
Show the monthly figures
| Month | kWh/kWp |
|---|---|
| January | 40.1 |
| February | 55.2 |
| March | 92 |
| April | 120 |
| May | 127 |
| June | 127 |
| July | 129 |
| August | 115 |
| September | 101 |
| October | 71 |
| November | 49.4 |
| December | 38 |
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 1,065, Braintree is 15% above it.
How Braintree compares
Among the places we publish figures for, Braintree is one of 46 Essex towns we track, and it ranks 21st of 46 for solar yield. It is a medium town in the House of Commons Library classification, with 44,951 residents, and its roofs see 2.92 peak sun hours a day across the year. That drives the standard 12 panel model to 6,773 kWh of generation, of which around 5,837 kWh is exported at 12p for £700 a year, with £247 saved on electricity you would otherwise buy at 26.32p.
Treat these as calibration rather than a quote. The calculator below runs the same model, opened on Braintree'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 in Braintree go to its own council, and the House of Commons Library classes it as a medium 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 Braintree's own coordinates (51.88029, 0.5578), 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.
Who runs the grid in Braintree
The distribution network operator (DNO) for Braintree is UK Power Networks, which runs the East England licence area.
For a typical home the paperwork is light: a system of up to 3.68kW per phase goes through G98, which means UK Power Networks is notified within 28 days of switch-on rather than asked beforehand.
Anything bigger is a G99 case and is applied for first. Ofgem's guaranteed standard for a low voltage generation connection quotation is 45 working days, with £80 paid for each working day late, and it binds UK Power Networks as it does every network operator.
Sources: NESO DNO licence areas (3 May 2024); Ofgem, Distributed Generation Standards Direction guidance, checked 27 September 2026. G98 vs G99, explained.
Heat pumps and EV charging in Braintree
A heat pump in Braintree
A heat pump does most of its work from November to February. Over those four months, 12 panels in Braintree make about 1,160 kWh, against 3,170 kWh from May to August, so winter heating runs mostly on grid electricity and the tariff matters more than the roof.
Grant support in England comes from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: £7,500 for an air source or ground source heat pump, £2,500 for air-to-air, and an extra £1,500 until March 2027 where the home is heated by oil or LPG off the gas grid (gov.uk, checked 28 September 2026).
Charging an EV in Braintree
A 12-panel roof in Braintree makes about 820 kWh in July. A typical home uses around 70 kWh of that in daylight (the calculator's typical-use settings), which leaves most of the month's output for an EV or for export.
The calculator above includes a 7.4kW smart charger from £1,100 installed. Renters and flat owners with off-street parking can claim 75% of a chargepoint's cost, up to £500 per socket, until 31 March 2027 (gov.uk, checked 28 September 2026).
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 Braintree
Faults, servicing and ageing inverters follow the same economics in Braintree as anywhere else, and the guides below price them plainly.
Braintree solar questions
What does a solar panel system produce in Braintree?
Each kWp of panels in Braintree makes 1,065 kWh a year on PVGIS figures, so a typical 12-panel system produces around 6,770 kWh, from about 240 kWh in December up to 820 kWh in July.
What would 12 solar panels cost in Braintree?
£6,360 for 12 panels (6.36 kWp), the same as in every other place we cover, because solar is priced at £1,000 per kWp installed rather than by area. A battery adds its own installed price on top. Where Braintree differs is output: about 6,770 kWh a year from that system.
Would a system in Braintree need approval from the network operator?
Braintree is on UK Power Networks' network (East England licence area). Systems up to 3.68kW per phase of inverter output follow G98: UK Power Networks is notified within 28 days of commissioning, with no approval needed first. Anything larger needs a G99 application before installation. Ofgem's guaranteed standard for a low voltage generation connection quotation is 45 working days, with £80 paid for each working day late, and it binds UK Power Networks as it does every network operator. Our G98 vs G99 guide explains both routes.
How much would export pay on a system in Braintree?
It is exported. With typical use and no battery, about 5,837 kWh of the 6,770 kWh a 12-panel system makes in Braintree goes to the grid, around £700 a year at 12p. A battery keeps more of it for the evening; the export rates table shows what suppliers pay.
Is solar worth it in Braintree in winter?
It works, but the year is lopsided. 68% of a Braintree roof's output lands between April and September; the four months from November to February give about 1,160 kWh on a 12-panel system. Payback is worked out on the whole year, not the winter.
How Braintree compares with its neighbours
The six closest towns we publish, run through the identical PVGIS query as Braintree.
| Town | kWh per kWp a year | vs Braintree |
|---|---|---|
| Braintree | 1,065 | this town |
| Great Notley | 1,062 | −3 kWh |
| Halstead | 1,062 | −3 kWh |
| Witham | 1,075 | +10 kWh |
| Great Dunmow | 1,055 | −10 kWh |
| Tiptree | 1,077 | +12 kWh |
| Chelmsford | 1,061 | −4 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 Braintree: Solar panels in Braintree from OVO Solar & Battery
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.
What is a DNO, and why does a company you have never heard of get a say in your solar?
The company that owns your street's cables decides what solar you can connect.
Read the guide →How much a battery saves by charging on cheap night rates
What charging at 8.5p and using at 26.32p is actually worth over a year.
Read the guide →Smart charge point regulations, explained
Why your charger arrives pre-set to charge overnight, and why it waits before it starts.
Read the guide →Are air source heat pumps any good? What owners actually report
The UK's largest survey found 80% of heat pump owners satisfied, against 70% for gas boilers.
Read the guide →Which tariffs are actually built for battery charging
A battery buys cheap and uses dear. The tariff decides how much that is worth.
Read the guide →What MCS certification actually is, and why your export payments depend on it
The badge that decides whether your solar earns export payments. It cannot be added later.
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.