Kent
Solar panels in Rochester, priced before anyone visits.
Twelve panels (6.36 kWp) here make about 6,630 kWh a year for £6,360 installed, designed around your roof on a free 30-minute video call.
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- Free 30-minute video design call
- Priced before anyone visits
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Sunlight in Rochester, in numbers
PVGIS puts Rochester at 1,043 kWh per kWp a year, 3% below our Kent 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 | 38 |
| February | 51.5 |
| March | 87.9 |
| April | 118 |
| May | 125 |
| June | 126 |
| July | 129 |
| August | 114 |
| September | 99.9 |
| October | 68.9 |
| November | 47.8 |
| December | 36.9 |
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 1,043, Rochester is 13% above it.
How Rochester compares
Rochester is one of 44 Kent towns we track, and it ranks joint 35th of 44 for solar yield. The House of Commons Library settlement data classes it as a large town of 69,968 people. At 1,043 kWh per kWp a year, a typical 12 panel system here pays for itself in around 6.8 years on the 12p scenario: £930 of year one benefit against £6,360 installed, £247 of that benefit from cutting 26.32p imports with your own generation.
These are starting numbers, not a quote. The calculator below opens on Rochester'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.
Planning applications here go through Medway; nationally, the House of Commons Library classes Rochester as a large 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.
The figures use PVGIS for the centre of Rochester (51.3858, 0.49493), a 26.32p/kWh import price and £1,000 per kWp installed; see the help page for the full method.
The network operator for Rochester
UK Power Networks owns and runs the local electricity network in Rochester, as part of its South 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.
Larger systems go through G99 instead, applied for before installation. On timing: 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.
Adding a heat pump or an EV charger in Rochester
A heat pump in Rochester
In December, the darkest month here, 12 panels in Rochester make about 230 kWh. That is when a heat pump runs hardest, so its running cost in Rochester comes down to the tariff and the flow temperature rather 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 Rochester
Summer is where a car earns its place. In July, 12 panels in Rochester make about 820 kWh, against roughly 70 kWh a typical home uses in daylight that month on our calculator's typical-use settings, so there is surplus a smart charger can put into the car instead of exporting it.
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.
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 Rochester
If a system in Rochester is underperforming, start with the guides below: repair benchmarks, service scope, and the inverter question.
Rochester solar questions
How much energy would 12 solar panels make in Rochester?
Rochester averages 2.86 peak sun hours a day, which PVGIS turns into 1,043 kWh per kWp a year. On a 12-panel, 6.36 kWp roof that is about 6,630 kWh, 68% of it between April and September.
What does a typical solar system cost in Rochester?
Solar is priced at £1,000 per kWp installed wherever you live, so a 12-panel, 6.36 kWp system costs £6,360 in Rochester, exactly as it would anywhere else, before any battery. Location changes what the system makes, not what it costs: here that is about 6,630 kWh a year. The final figure comes from your roof on the design call.
Who is the network operator in Rochester, and do I need a G99 application?
The operator is UK Power Networks. Most home systems use the G98 route, a notification within 28 days of switch-on for up to 3.68kW per phase, so nothing waits on the network. Above that, G99 applies and has to be granted 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. Your design call checks which route yours needs.
What happens to the solar I do not use in Rochester?
Around £684 a year at 12p per kWh, for the roughly 5,697 kWh a 12-panel system in Rochester exports with typical use. Rates vary by supplier and some need their own tariff; the export rates table is dated and sourced.
How does solar perform in Rochester in the winter months?
December is the weakest month in Rochester: about 230 kWh from 12 panels, against 820 kWh in July. The panels still generate on bright winter days; they just cover a smaller share of what the house uses.
How Rochester compares with its neighbours
The six closest towns we publish, run through the identical PVGIS query as Rochester.
| Town | kWh per kWp a year | vs Rochester |
|---|---|---|
| Rochester | 1,043 | this town |
| Chatham | 1,043 | level |
| Gillingham (Medway) | 1,047 | +4 kWh |
| Hoo St Werburgh | 1,057 | +14 kWh |
| Snodland | 1,051 | +8 kWh |
| Gravesend | 1,053 | +10 kWh |
| Larkfield | 1,059 | +16 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.
Also for Rochester: Solar panels in Rochester from OVO Solar & Battery
Also near Rochester
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 solar actually costs in 2026, and where every pound goes
Around £8,677 average, £1,550 to £1,800 per kW. Where every pound actually goes.
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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.