Lancashire
Solar panels in Cottam, sized to your roof.
About 5,920 kWh a year from 12 panels in Cottam, £6,360 installed, with your system designed on a free 30-minute video call.
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or call 07782 219224
- Free 30-minute video design call
- Priced before anyone visits
- Installed by our MCS-certified, fully insured teams
Cottam's solar year
Cottam's best month is May, at 122.7 kWh per kWp; December manages 27. Over the year that comes to 931 kWh per kWp, 8% above our Lancashire county estimate.
Generation per kWp, month by month
Show the monthly figures
| Month | kWh/kWp |
|---|---|
| January | 28.2 |
| February | 50.5 |
| March | 82.1 |
| April | 110 |
| May | 123 |
| June | 114 |
| July | 115 |
| August | 102 |
| September | 83.7 |
| October | 58.3 |
| November | 37.5 |
| December | 27 |
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: Cottam makes 931 kWh per kWp a year, and the mean of our 85 county PVGIS estimates (our GB average) is 925, so Cottam is 1% above it.
How Cottam compares
Small towns rarely get published solar figures, so here are the numbers for Cottam. It is one of 109 Lancashire towns we track, and it ranks joint 35th of 109 for solar yield, a town of 7,611 people in the House of Commons Library settlement data. PVGIS gives its roofs 931 kWh per kWp a year, 2.55 peak sun hours a day averaged across the seasons, and the standard 12 panel model turns that into £845 of year one benefit, £247 of it from your own generation and £598 from export at 12p.
These are starting numbers, not a quote. The calculator below opens on Cottam'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.
Preston is the planning authority covering Cottam, 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.
Modelled for Cottam at 53.78526, -2.76151 on PVGIS data, with imports valued at 26.32p/kWh and solar at £1,000 per kWp installed. Sources and assumptions: help page.
Who runs the grid in Cottam
The distribution network operator (DNO) for Cottam is Electricity North West, which runs the North West 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 Electricity North West 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 Electricity North West 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.
Adding a heat pump or an EV charger in Cottam
A heat pump in Cottam
A heat pump does most of its work from November to February. Over those four months, 12 panels in Cottam make about 910 kWh, against 2,890 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 Cottam
A 12-panel roof in Cottam makes about 780 kWh in May. 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.
If you rent, or own a flat, and have private off-street parking, the government chargepoint grant covers 75% of the cost, capped at £500 a socket, until 31 March 2027 (gov.uk, checked 28 September 2026). The calculator above prices a 7.4kW smart charger from £1,100 installed.
The packages, priced before anyone visits
Every system is designed around your roof on the free call before anything is fitted.
Solar panel servicing and repair in Cottam
Faults, servicing and ageing inverters follow the same economics in Cottam as anywhere else, and the guides below price them plainly.
Cottam solar questions
What does a solar panel system produce in Cottam?
Each kWp of panels in Cottam makes 931 kWh a year on PVGIS figures, so a typical 12-panel system produces around 5,920 kWh, from about 170 kWh in December up to 780 kWh in May.
What would 12 solar panels cost in Cottam?
£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 Cottam differs is output: about 5,920 kWh a year from that system.
Would a system in Cottam need approval from the network operator?
Cottam is on Electricity North West's network (North West England licence area). Systems up to 3.68kW per phase of inverter output follow G98: Electricity North West 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 Electricity North West as it does every network operator. Our G98 vs G99 guide explains both routes.
How much would export pay on a system in Cottam?
It is exported. With typical use and no battery, about 4,984 kWh of the 5,920 kWh a 12-panel system makes in Cottam goes to the grid, around £598 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 Cottam in winter?
It works, but the year is lopsided. 70% of a Cottam roof's output lands between April and September; the four months from November to February give about 910 kWh on a 12-panel system. Payback is worked out on the whole year, not the winter.
How Cottam compares with its neighbours
How the towns nearest Cottam compare on the same PVGIS settings, closest first.
| Town | kWh per kWp a year | vs Cottam |
|---|---|---|
| Cottam | 931 | this town |
| Fulwood | 909 | −22 kWh |
| Preston | 889 | −42 kWh |
| Penwortham | 909 | −22 kWh |
| Kirkham | 973 | +42 kWh |
| Longton | 931 | level |
| Bamber Bridge | 890 | −41 kWh |
Each row is a PVGIS v5.2 run at that town's centre with the same settings. Treat gaps of a few kWh as noise and gaps over about 30 kWh per kWp as real differences in sunshine.
Also for Cottam: Solar panels in Cottam 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.
Reading for Cottam homeowners
Sourced, dated and written by us. The same ground we cover on your free call.
How long does a solar inverter last, and when does replacing it make sense?
The one component you should expect to replace, and the decision tree when it goes.
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 →Three phase and EV charging: what actually changes
Three phase buys 22kW charging. Most cars cannot use it, and load balancing usually solves the real problem.
Read the guide →Sizing a heat pump: what a proper survey covers
Sized by calculation, not by rule of thumb. What the survey covers, and what guessing costs.
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 →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.