Somerset
Solar panels in Chard, with the numbers shown.
About 6,680 kWh a year from 12 panels in Chard, £6,360 installed, with your system designed on a free 30-minute video call.
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What a roof in Chard can generate
PVGIS puts Chard at 1,050 kWh per kWp a year, 1% above our Somerset county estimate. 68% of it arrives between April and September, peaking in May.
Generation per kWp, month by month
Show the monthly figures
| Month | kWh/kWp |
|---|---|
| January | 40.5 |
| February | 56.3 |
| March | 92.2 |
| April | 122 |
| May | 128 |
| June | 126 |
| July | 128 |
| August | 113 |
| September | 96.8 |
| October | 64.8 |
| November | 46.5 |
| December | 35.9 |
Source: PVGIS v5.2 (European Commission JRC), SARAH3 database, 1 kWp, 14% system loss, 35 degree pitch, due south, checked September 2026.
Against Great Britain as a whole: Chard makes 1,050 kWh per kWp a year, and the mean of our 85 county PVGIS estimates (our GB average) is 925, so Chard is 14% above it.
How Chard compares
Small towns rarely get published solar figures, so here are the numbers for Chard. It is one of 21 Somerset towns we track, and it ranks 2nd of 21 for solar yield, a town of 14,616 people in the House of Commons Library settlement data. PVGIS gives its roofs 1,050 kWh per kWp a year, 2.88 peak sun hours a day averaged across the seasons, and the standard 12 panel model turns that into £936 of year one benefit, £247 of it from your own generation and £689 from export at 12p.
These are starting numbers, not a quote. The calculator below opens on Chard's own PVGIS figure; change the panels, the battery or the export rate and it reruns. The design call replaces every assumption with your roof and your bills.
Chard sits within Somerset, its local planning authority, and the House of Commons Library classes it 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.
Modelled for Chard at 50.87482, -2.95983 on PVGIS data, with imports valued at 26.32p/kWh and solar at £1,000 per kWp installed. Sources and assumptions: help page.
Connecting solar to the Chard network
Chard sits in National Grid Electricity Distribution's South West England licence area, so NGED is the network operator (DNO) any solar panels or battery here are registered with.
G98 is the simple route. If the inverter, plus any battery, stays at or under 3.68kW per phase, NGED only has to be told within 28 days after the system is commissioned.
A bigger inverter or battery output needs a G99 application in advance. NGED's guaranteed standards give 45 working days for a low voltage generation quotation, with £80 paid for each working day late.
Sources: NESO DNO licence areas (3 May 2024); NGED, guaranteed standards of performance table, checked 25 September 2026. G98 vs G99, explained.
Adding a heat pump or an EV charger in Chard
A heat pump in Chard
Solar and a heat pump pull in opposite directions through the year: Chard's roofs make 1,140 kWh from November to February on a 12-panel system, and 3,150 kWh from May to August. The heating season leans on the grid, so off-peak rates do the heavy lifting.
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 Chard
From April to September, 68% of a Chard roof's yearly output arrives, peaking at about 820 kWh in May on 12 panels. A car parked at home in daylight can soak up what the house, at around 70 kWh of daytime use that month, cannot.
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).
What the named kit costs, installed
Every system is designed around your roof on the free call before anything is fitted.
Solar panel servicing and repair in Chard
Guidance is nationwide, so the benchmarks hold in Chard: repair costs, service scope, and when the inverter is the real fault.
Common questions about solar in Chard
What could a roof in Chard generate?
PVGIS puts a roof in Chard at 1,050 kWh per kWp a year, 2.88 peak sun hours a day averaged across the seasons. A 12-panel, 6.36 kWp system makes about 6,680 kWh a year, most of it between April and September.
How much are solar panels in Chard?
The price does not move by postcode. At £1,000 per kWp installed, 12 panels (6.36 kWp) come to £6,360 in Chard before a battery. What Chard changes is the return, about 6,680 kWh a year from that system, and your design call prices your actual roof.
Do I need permission from the DNO for solar in Chard?
Usually not in advance. NGED, the network operator for Chard, only needs a G98 notification within 28 days of commissioning for systems up to 3.68kW per phase. Bigger inverter or battery outputs need G99 approval first. NGED's guaranteed standards give 45 working days for a low voltage generation quotation, with £80 paid for each working day late. "See our DNO explainer.
How much can I earn from exporting solar in Chard?
With typical use and no battery, a 12-panel system in Chard exports about 5,741 kWh a year. At 12p per kWh that is roughly £689; a supplier paying more, or a battery that keeps more for the evening, changes the figure. See the export rates table.
Do solar panels work in winter in Chard?
Yes, at a lower level. PVGIS gives Chard 35.9 kWh per kWp in December and 40.5 in January, so a 12-panel system makes about 230 kWh and 260 kWh in those months, against 820 kWh in May. Winter output mostly covers daytime use rather than exporting.
How Chard compares with its neighbours
Same satellite dataset, same assumptions, so the differences are real geography rather than modelling noise.
| Town | kWh per kWp a year | vs Chard |
|---|---|---|
| Chard | 1,050 | this town |
| Taunton | 1,026 | −24 kWh |
| Honiton | 1,060 | +10 kWh |
| Seaton | 1,084 | +34 kWh |
| Bridport | 1,105 | +55 kWh |
| Wellington | 1,008 | −42 kWh |
| Yeovil | 1,041 | −9 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 Chard: Solar panels in Chard from OVO Solar & Battery
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Further reading for Chard
Sourced, dated and written by us. The same ground we cover on your free call.
Microinverters, optimisers or a plain string inverter: who needs what
Shade and roof layout decide this. An honest triage of the three approaches.
Read the guide →Tesla Powerwall 3 vs Duracell Dura16: which fits your home?
The two packages we actually price, compared on the numbers that decide it.
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 →How an air source heat pump actually works
It moves heat rather than making it. The cycle, the efficiency numbers and the trade-offs.
Read the guide →The price cap explained, and what it does to solar payback
The cap limits unit rates, not bills. That changes what solar payback means.
Read the guide →How to check an MCS certificate is genuine, before the deposit leaves your account
A logo proves nothing. Certification is business specific, technology specific and checkable.
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.