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Devon

Solar panels in Torquay, designed on a free call.

A 12-panel roof in Torquay makes about 6,730 kWh a year and costs £6,360 installed; a free 30-minute video call sizes it to yours.

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Sunlight in Torquay

Sunlight in Torquay, in numbers

PVGIS puts Torquay at 1,058 kWh per kWp a year, 8% above our Devon county estimate. 69% of it arrives between April and September, peaking in May.

Map showing Torquay in Devon A simplified outline map of Devon with neighbouring counties shown faintly, and a pin marking the location of Torquay.
Torquay in Devon

Generation per kWp, month by month

Torquay, 1,058 kWh per kWp a year
Torquay, monthly generation per kWp Bar chart, twelve months January to December. Peak May at 131 kWh/kWp. Lowest December at 35.9 kWh/kWp. Full values are in the table below this chart. 150 0 JFMAMJJASOND 131
Show the monthly figures
Torquay, monthly generation per kWp - monthly figures (kWh/kWp)
MonthkWh/kWp
January39.8
February53.8
March90.8
April120
May131
June129
July130
August116
September99
October66.9
November45.5
December35.9

Source: PVGIS v5.2 (European Commission JRC), SARAH3 database, 1 kWp, 14% system loss, 35 degree pitch, due south, checked September 2026.

6,730kWh a year, 12 panels
830kWh in May, the peak
230kWh in December

Our GB average is 925 kWh per kWp a year, the mean of the 85 county PVGIS estimates we publish; at 1,058, Torquay is 14% above it.

How Torquay compares

Among the places we publish figures for, Torquay is one of 23 Devon towns we track, and it ranks 12th of 23 for solar yield. It is a medium town in the House of Commons Library classification, with 52,266 residents, and its roofs see 2.90 peak sun hours a day across the year. That drives the standard 12 panel model to 6,729 kWh of generation, of which around 5,792 kWh is exported at 12p for £695 a year, with £247 saved on electricity you would otherwise buy at 26.32p.

These are starting numbers, not a quote. The calculator below opens on Torquay'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 Torbay; nationally, the House of Commons Library classes Torquay as a medium town.

12 panels
530W panels. Most semi-detached roofs take 10 to 16 on one pitch.
Add a battery?
Installed prices. The named packages are the ones running on our current offers; the Duracell prices are for an installation alongside solar.
Electricity use
Export rate scenario
EV charger?
Estimated benefit, year one
£942
£78 a month · payback 6.8 yrs
System price, installed
£6,360
Simple payback
6.8 yrs
Generates a year
6,729 kWh
Exported
5,792 kWh at 12p
Where the money comes from
Solar you use, Export income, Off-peak shifting,

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.

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Your design call is with Niall or Vince, our residential energy consultants.

The figures use PVGIS for the centre of Torquay (50.47867, -3.52747), a 26.32p/kWh import price and £1,000 per kWp installed; see the help page for the full method.

Local grid

NGED and your Torquay connection

National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) owns and runs the local electricity network in Torquay, as part of its South 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 NGED is notified within 28 days of switch-on rather than asked beforehand.

Above that, G99 means applying before the work is booked. NGED's guaranteed standards give 45 working days for a low voltage generation quotation, with £80 paid for each working day late.

Sources: NESO DNO licence areas (3 May 2024); NGED, guaranteed standards of performance table, checked 25 September 2026. G98 vs G99, explained.

Three Tesla Powerwall battery units mounted side by side on a rendered exterior wall
Three Tesla Powerwall units, wall-mounted and ready to go.
Beyond solar

Adding a heat pump or an EV charger in Torquay

A heat pump in Torquay

In December, the darkest month here, 12 panels in Torquay make about 230 kWh. That is when a heat pump runs hardest, so its running cost in Torquay 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).

How heat pumps work

Charging an EV in Torquay

Torquay's May output, about 830 kWh from 12 panels, is several times the 70 kWh or so a typical home uses in daylight that month on our calculator's settings. Daytime charging turns that surplus into miles.

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.

EV charging explained

FAQs

Common questions about solar in Torquay

How much electricity do solar panels make in Torquay?

About 6,730 kWh a year from 12 panels (6.36 kWp), on PVGIS satellite data for Torquay: 1,058 kWh per kWp, or 2.90 peak sun hours a day on average. May is the strongest month, at about 830 kWh.

Is solar more expensive in Torquay?

Prices on this site are the same everywhere: £1,000 per kWp installed, which puts a 12-panel system at £6,360 in Torquay, and a Duracell Dura16 installed with solar at £4,450 on top. The local part is generation, about 6,730 kWh a year here, which is what drives payback.

Which DNO covers Torquay, and what does it need from me?

National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) covers Torquay. A home system of up to 3.68kW per phase is notified to NGED within 28 days of commissioning under G98, and nothing waits on approval. Larger outputs need a G99 application before work starts. NGED's guaranteed standards give 45 working days for a low voltage generation quotation, with £80 paid for each working day late.

What could I earn from exporting in Torquay?

On the 12p export scenario, a 12-panel system in Torquay sends about 5,792 kWh a year to the grid, worth around £695. The export rates table compares what each supplier pays.

How much solar does Torquay get in December?

December is the low point: about 230 kWh from a 12-panel system in Torquay, on PVGIS data, rising to 830 kWh in May. From November to February the same system makes about 1,110 kWh in total, which is why a battery charged off-peak does more of the work in winter.

How Torquay compares with its neighbours

Same satellite dataset, same assumptions, so the differences are real geography rather than modelling noise.

TownkWh per kWp a yearvs Torquay
Torquay1,058this town
Paignton1,085+27 kWh
Newton Abbot1,051−7 kWh
Teignmouth1,032−26 kWh
Kingsteignton1,063+5 kWh
Brixham1,098+40 kWh
Totnes1,067+9 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 Torquay: Solar panels in Torquay from OVO Solar & Battery

All of Devon

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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.

Installations can only go ahead for homeowners, as the system is fixed to the property. Do carry on if you own it, or you are about to.
Flats and apartments usually share a roof, which rules most installations out. Send your details anyway and we will tell you honestly what is possible.
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