Inverness-shire
Solar panels in Cradlehall, sized to your roof.
A 12-panel roof in Cradlehall makes about 5,150 kWh a year and costs £6,360 installed; a free 30-minute video call sizes it to yours.
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- Free 30-minute video design call
- Priced before anyone visits
- Installed by our MCS-certified, fully insured teams
Cradlehall's solar year
From 14.3 kWh per kWp in December to 115.3 in May: a roof in Cradlehall makes 8.1 times as much in its best month as in its darkest, and 809 kWh per kWp across the year.
Generation per kWp, month by month
Show the monthly figures
| Month | kWh/kWp |
|---|---|
| January | 18 |
| February | 38.3 |
| March | 67.5 |
| April | 99.3 |
| May | 115 |
| June | 104 |
| July | 107 |
| August | 91.6 |
| September | 76 |
| October | 51 |
| November | 26.7 |
| December | 14.3 |
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 809, Cradlehall is 13% below it.
How Cradlehall compares
Small towns rarely get published solar figures, so here are the numbers for Cradlehall. It is one of 4 Inverness-shire towns we track, and it ranks joint 2nd of 4 for solar yield, a town of 12,825 people in the House of Commons Library settlement data. PVGIS gives its roofs 809 kWh per kWp a year, 2.22 peak sun hours a day averaged across the seasons, and the standard 12 panel model turns that into £752 of year one benefit, £247 of it from your own generation and £505 from export at 12p.
Treat these as calibration rather than a quote. The calculator below runs the same model, opened on Cradlehall'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.
Highland is the planning authority covering Cradlehall, 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 Cradlehall at 57.48598, -4.1428 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 Cradlehall
On NESO's licence-area map, Cradlehall is in North Scotland, which Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) operates. That makes SSEN the network operator for any system fitted here.
Most home systems stay within 3.68kW per phase of inverter output, which puts them on G98, a notification to SSEN within 28 days of switch-on. Panel count does not decide it; the inverter and any battery do.
A bigger inverter or battery output needs a G99 application in advance. SSEN says it can take up to 45 working days to issue a quotation for a generation connection above 3.68kW per phase and up to 50kW.
Sources: NESO DNO licence areas (3 May 2024); SSEN, micro-generation connections page, checked 25 September 2026. G98 vs G99, explained.
Heat pumps and EV charging in Cradlehall
A heat pump in Cradlehall
A heat pump does most of its work from November to February. Over those four months, 12 panels in Cradlehall make about 620 kWh, against 2,660 kWh from May to August, so winter heating runs mostly on grid electricity and the tariff matters more than the roof.
Scottish homes apply through Home Energy Scotland rather than the Boiler Upgrade Scheme: up to £7,500 in grant for a heat pump, up to £7,500 more as an optional interest-free loan, and a £1,500 uplift for rural and island homes (checked 28 September 2026).
Charging an EV in Cradlehall
A 12-panel roof in Cradlehall makes about 730 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.
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 Cradlehall
Faults, servicing and ageing inverters follow the same economics in Cradlehall as anywhere else, and the guides below price them plainly.
Solar in Cradlehall: your questions answered
What does a solar panel system produce in Cradlehall?
Each kWp of panels in Cradlehall makes 809 kWh a year on PVGIS figures, so a typical 12-panel system produces around 5,150 kWh, from about 90 kWh in December up to 730 kWh in May.
What would 12 solar panels cost in Cradlehall?
£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 Cradlehall differs is output: about 5,150 kWh a year from that system.
Would a system in Cradlehall need approval from the network operator?
Cradlehall is on Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks' network (North Scotland licence area). Systems up to 3.68kW per phase of inverter output follow G98: SSEN is notified within 28 days of commissioning, with no approval needed first. Anything larger needs a G99 application before installation. SSEN says it can take up to 45 working days to issue a quotation for a generation connection above 3.68kW per phase and up to 50kW. Our G98 vs G99 guide explains both routes.
How much would export pay on a system in Cradlehall?
It is exported. With typical use and no battery, about 4,209 kWh of the 5,150 kWh a 12-panel system makes in Cradlehall goes to the grid, around £505 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 Cradlehall in winter?
It works, but the year is lopsided. 73% of a Cradlehall roof's output lands between April and September; the four months from November to February give about 620 kWh on a 12-panel system. Payback is worked out on the whole year, not the winter.
How Cradlehall compares with its neighbours
How the towns nearest Cradlehall compare on the same PVGIS settings, closest first.
| Town | kWh per kWp a year | vs Cradlehall |
|---|---|---|
| Cradlehall | 809 | this town |
| Westhill | 810 | +1 kWh |
| Balloch | 809 | level |
| Inbhir Nis | 807 | −2 kWh |
| Nairn | 845 | +36 kWh |
| Forres | 840 | +31 kWh |
| Elgin | 873 | +64 kWh |
PVGIS v5.2 for each town centroid, identical assumptions throughout. A few kWh either way is weather-year noise; a spread beyond about 30 kWh per kWp is real geography.
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 Cradlehall homeowners
Sourced, dated and written by us. The same ground we cover on your free call.
Are solar panels worth it in 2026? Here is the actual maths
Roughly £1,000 per kWp installed, offsetting electricity at 26.32p a unit. The real arithmetic.
Read the guide →Tesla Powerwall 3 against the alternatives, and where each one wins
The strongest single box in the market, and the houses it is still wrong for.
Read the guide →Charging an EV from your own solar
Every surplus kWh is 3.6 to 5 miles. Whether that beats a 7p overnight rate is arithmetic.
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 →What the Smart Export Guarantee actually is
The scheme obliges suppliers to pay above zero, and leaves the rate to them.
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.