Sussex
Solar panels in Southwater, sized to your roof.
A 12-panel roof in Southwater makes about 6,920 kWh a year and costs £6,360 installed; a free 30-minute video call sizes it to yours.
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What a roof in Southwater can generate
PVGIS puts Southwater at 1,088 kWh per kWp a year, 5% below our Sussex 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 | 41.5 |
| February | 56.6 |
| March | 94.2 |
| April | 123 |
| May | 130 |
| June | 133 |
| July | 134 |
| August | 118 |
| September | 102 |
| October | 69.6 |
| November | 48.8 |
| December | 39.2 |
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: Southwater makes 1,088 kWh per kWp a year, and the mean of our 85 county PVGIS estimates (our GB average) is 925, so Southwater is 18% above it.
How Southwater compares
Small towns rarely get published solar figures, so here are the numbers for Southwater. It is one of 33 Sussex towns we track, and it ranks joint 27th of 33 for solar yield, a town of 10,694 people in the House of Commons Library settlement data. PVGIS gives its roofs 1,088 kWh per kWp a year, 2.98 peak sun hours a day averaged across the seasons, and the standard 12 panel model turns that into £965 of year one benefit, £247 of it from your own generation and £718 from export at 12p.
These are starting numbers, not a quote. The calculator below opens on Southwater'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.
Southwater sits within Horsham, 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.
The figures use PVGIS for the centre of Southwater (51.03091, -0.35233), a 26.32p/kWh import price and £1,000 per kWp installed; see the help page for the full method.
Connecting solar to the Southwater network
UK Power Networks owns and runs the local electricity network in Southwater, as part of its South 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: UK Power Networks is notified within 28 days of commissioning and nothing has to be approved first.
A bigger inverter or battery output needs a G99 application in advance. 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 Southwater
A heat pump in Southwater
Solar and a heat pump pull in opposite directions through the year: Southwater's roofs make 1,180 kWh from November to February on a 12-panel system, and 3,270 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 Southwater
A 12-panel roof in Southwater makes about 850 kWh in July. 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).
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 Southwater
Guidance is nationwide, so the benchmarks hold in Southwater: repair costs, service scope, and when the inverter is the real fault.
Southwater solar questions
What could a roof in Southwater generate?
PVGIS puts a roof in Southwater at 1,088 kWh per kWp a year, 2.98 peak sun hours a day averaged across the seasons. A 12-panel, 6.36 kWp system makes about 6,920 kWh a year, most of it between April and September.
How much are solar panels in Southwater?
The price does not move by postcode. At £1,000 per kWp installed, 12 panels (6.36 kWp) come to £6,360 in Southwater before a battery. What Southwater changes is the return, about 6,920 kWh a year from that system, and your design call prices your actual roof.
Do I need permission from the DNO for solar in Southwater?
Usually not in advance. UK Power Networks, the network operator for Southwater, 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. 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. "See our DNO explainer.
How much can I earn from exporting solar in Southwater?
With typical use and no battery, a 12-panel system in Southwater exports about 5,983 kWh a year. At 12p per kWh that is roughly £718; 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 Southwater?
Yes, at a lower level. PVGIS gives Southwater 39.2 kWh per kWp in December and 41.5 in January, so a 12-panel system makes about 250 kWh and 260 kWh in those months, against 850 kWh in July. Winter output mostly covers daytime use rather than exporting.
How Southwater compares with its neighbours
The six closest towns we publish, run through the identical PVGIS query as Southwater.
| Town | kWh per kWp a year | vs Southwater |
|---|---|---|
| Southwater | 1,088 | this town |
| Horsham | 1,061 | −27 kWh |
| Billingshurst | 1,079 | −9 kWh |
| Storrington | 1,126 | +38 kWh |
| Crawley | 1,035 | −53 kWh |
| Cranleigh | 1,050 | −38 kWh |
| Burgess Hill | 1,113 | +25 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 Southwater: Solar panels in Southwater 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 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 →GivEnergy in administration: what owners should do now
The sourced timeline, the warranty position, and the owner's checklist for this month.
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 →The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, explained
A fixed amount, claimed on your behalf by our installation teams, with a real deadline on the £9,000 version.
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 →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.