Durham
Solar panels in Chester-le-Street, with the numbers shown.
A 12-panel roof in Chester-le-Street makes about 5,950 kWh a year and costs £6,360 installed; a free 30-minute video call sizes it to yours.
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Chester-le-Street's solar year
Chester-le-Street's best month is May, at 122 kWh per kWp; December manages 27.8. Over the year that comes to 936 kWh per kWp, level with our Durham county estimate.
Generation per kWp, month by month
Show the monthly figures
| Month | kWh/kWp |
|---|---|
| January | 30.7 |
| February | 48.5 |
| March | 82.2 |
| April | 108 |
| May | 122 |
| June | 111 |
| July | 118 |
| August | 104 |
| September | 87.7 |
| October | 57.8 |
| November | 38.4 |
| December | 27.8 |
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 936, Chester-le-Street is 1% above it.
How Chester-le-Street compares
Small towns rarely get published solar figures, so here are the numbers for Chester-le-Street. It is one of 35 Durham towns we track, and it ranks joint 27th of 35 for solar yield, a town of 24,185 people in the House of Commons Library settlement data. PVGIS gives its roofs 936 kWh per kWp a year, 2.57 peak sun hours a day averaged across the seasons, and the standard 12 panel model turns that into £849 of year one benefit, £247 of it from your own generation and £602 from export at 12p.
Treat these as calibration rather than a quote. The calculator below runs the same model, opened on Chester-le-Street'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.
County Durham is the planning authority covering Chester-le-Street, which the House of Commons Library classes 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 Chester-le-Street's own coordinates (54.85907, -1.5805), 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 Chester-le-Street
Northern Powergrid owns and runs the local electricity network in Chester-le-Street, as part of its North East England licence area.
What decides the paperwork is the inverter and battery output, not the number of panels. Up to 3.68kW per phase, a system follows G98: Northern Powergrid is notified within 28 days of commissioning and nothing has to be approved first.
Anything bigger is a G99 case and is applied for first. 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 Chester-le-Street
A heat pump in Chester-le-Street
A heat pump does most of its work from November to February. Over those four months, 12 panels in Chester-le-Street make about 920 kWh, against 2,900 kWh from May to August, so winter heating runs mostly on grid electricity and the tariff matters more 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 Chester-le-Street
From April to September, 70% of a Chester-le-Street roof's yearly output arrives, peaking at about 780 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.
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 Chester-le-Street
Faults, servicing and ageing inverters follow the same economics in Chester-le-Street as anywhere else, and the guides below price them plainly.
Chester-le-Street solar questions
What does a solar panel system produce in Chester-le-Street?
Each kWp of panels in Chester-le-Street makes 936 kWh a year on PVGIS figures, so a typical 12-panel system produces around 5,950 kWh, from about 180 kWh in December up to 780 kWh in May.
What would 12 solar panels cost in Chester-le-Street?
£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 Chester-le-Street differs is output: about 5,950 kWh a year from that system.
Would a system in Chester-le-Street need approval from the network operator?
Chester-le-Street is on Northern Powergrid's network (North East England licence area). Systems up to 3.68kW per phase of inverter output follow G98: Northern Powergrid is notified within 28 days of commissioning, with no approval needed first. Anything larger needs a G99 application before installation. Northern Powergrid publishes a guaranteed standard of 45 working days to quote for a low voltage generation connection. Our G98 vs G99 guide explains both routes.
How much would export pay on a system in Chester-le-Street?
It is exported. With typical use and no battery, about 5,016 kWh of the 5,950 kWh a 12-panel system makes in Chester-le-Street goes to the grid, around £602 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 Chester-le-Street in winter?
It works, but the year is lopsided. 70% of a Chester-le-Street roof's output lands between April and September; the four months from November to February give about 920 kWh on a 12-panel system. Payback is worked out on the whole year, not the winter.
How Chester-le-Street compares with its neighbours
The six closest towns we publish, run through the identical PVGIS query as Chester-le-Street.
| Town | kWh per kWp a year | vs Chester-le-Street |
|---|---|---|
| Chester-le-Street | 936 | this town |
| Birtley | 944 | +8 kWh |
| Fence Houses | 948 | +12 kWh |
| Shiney Row and Penshaw | 959 | +23 kWh |
| Washington | 952 | +16 kWh |
| Houghton-le-Spring | 953 | +17 kWh |
| Stanley | 945 | +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 Chester-le-Street: Solar panels in Chester-le-Street 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.
How to clean solar panels, and whether you need to at all
Cleaning is oversold and pigeon mesh is undersold. The numbers behind both.
Read the guide →Adding a battery to solar panels you already own
Retrofitting a battery to working solar is straightforward. The paperwork is where people trip up.
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 →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 →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 →HIES explained: what the badge actually protects, and when
What HIES protects: deposits up to 25 percent capped at 5,000 pounds, and your workmanship guarantee.
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.