Yorkshire
Solar panels in York, designed on a free call.
Twelve panels (6.36 kWp) here make about 6,110 kWh a year for £6,360 installed, designed around your roof on a free 30-minute video call.
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Sunlight in York, in numbers
York's best month is May, at 122.7 kWh per kWp; December manages 31.6. Over the year that comes to 961 kWh per kWp, level with our Yorkshire county estimate.
Generation per kWp, month by month
Show the monthly figures
| Month | kWh/kWp |
|---|---|
| January | 33.4 |
| February | 49.7 |
| March | 84.1 |
| April | 109 |
| May | 123 |
| June | 113 |
| July | 119 |
| August | 108 |
| September | 88.5 |
| October | 60.8 |
| November | 41.1 |
| December | 31.6 |
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 961, York is 4% above it.
How York compares
York is one of 122 Yorkshire towns we track, and it ranks 42nd of 122 for solar yield. The House of Commons Library settlement data classes it as a large town of 147,951 people. At 961 kWh per kWp a year, a typical 12 panel system here pays for itself in around 7.3 years on the 12p scenario: £868 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 York'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.
York is its own local planning authority area, and its House of Commons Library settlement class is 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.
Generation is modelled from PVGIS satellite data for York's own coordinates (53.95841, -1.09116), using the same 26.32p/kWh import value and £1,000 per kWp installed pricing as every Clearline estimate; the methodology is on our help page.
Northern Powergrid and your York connection
The distribution network operator (DNO) for York is Northern Powergrid, which runs the North East England licence area.
G98 is the simple route. If the inverter, plus any battery, stays at or under 3.68kW per phase, Northern Powergrid only has to be told within 28 days after the system is commissioned.
Above that, G99 means applying before the work is booked. Northern Powergrid publishes a guaranteed standard of 45 working days to quote for a low voltage generation connection.
Sources: NESO DNO licence areas (3 May 2024); Northern Powergrid, generation connections page, checked 25 September 2026. G98 vs G99, explained.
Adding a heat pump or an EV charger in York
A heat pump in York
Heating demand peaks when solar is weakest. In York, a 12-panel system makes about 200 kWh in December and 210 kWh in January, a fraction of its 780 kWh in May, which is why a heat pump here is costed on its tariff first.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, open in England and Wales, takes £7,500 off an air source or ground source heat pump, or £2,500 off an air-to-air unit. Homes on oil or LPG with no mains gas get £1,500 more until March 2027 (gov.uk, checked 28 September 2026).
Charging an EV in York
York's May output, about 780 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.
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.
What else is true of York
City of York Council's housing evidence, covering around 90,587 properties across the local authority, identifies terraced houses built before 1945 as one of its main older property types, sitting alongside more modern housing further from the centre. In a city with York's historic core, that mix means a roof's age and its position relative to the centre often matter as much as its size when working out what a system can generate.
York sits in Northern Powergrid territory, whose own published figure for a standard low voltage generation quotation is 45 working days, with most single home systems using the quicker 28-day G98 route instead. City of York Council is the planning authority, and with 35 conservation areas and a historic core this dense, its own guidance flags that Article 4 directions can remove permitted development rights on some properties, so a specific address is always worth checking first.
The council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has set an ambition for York to be a net-zero carbon city by 2030, a target reflected in its own planning and housing evidence work. York Community Energy, working with Solar for Schools, has already fitted 1.15MWp of panels across nine York schools, including Clifton Green Primary, Huntington Primary Academy and Archbishop Holgate's School, cutting their electricity bills directly.
Planning authority: City of York Council
Sources: york.gov.uk · york.gov.uk
Solar panel servicing and repair in York
If a system in York is underperforming, start with the guides below: repair benchmarks, service scope, and the inverter question.
Common questions about solar in York
How much energy would 12 solar panels make in York?
York averages 2.63 peak sun hours a day, which PVGIS turns into 961 kWh per kWp a year. On a 12-panel, 6.36 kWp roof that is about 6,110 kWh, 69% of it between April and September.
Is solar more expensive in York?
Prices on this site are the same everywhere: £1,000 per kWp installed, which puts a 12-panel system at £6,360 in York, and a Duracell Dura16 installed with solar at £4,450 on top. The local part is generation, about 6,110 kWh a year here, which is what drives payback.
Who is the network operator in York, and do I need a G99 application?
The operator is Northern Powergrid. 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. Northern Powergrid publishes a guaranteed standard of 45 working days to quote for a low voltage generation connection. Your design call checks which route yours needs.
What could I earn from exporting in York?
On the 12p export scenario, a 12-panel system in York sends about 5,175 kWh a year to the grid, worth around £621. The export rates table compares what each supplier pays.
How does solar perform in York in the winter months?
December is the weakest month in York: about 200 kWh from 12 panels, against 780 kWh in May. The panels still generate on bright winter days; they just cover a smaller share of what the house uses.
How York compares with its neighbours
The six closest towns we publish, run through the identical PVGIS query as York.
| Town | kWh per kWp a year | vs York |
|---|---|---|
| York | 961 | this town |
| Huntington | 962 | +1 kWh |
| Haxby | 960 | −1 kWh |
| Wetherby | 958 | −3 kWh |
| Selby | 966 | +5 kWh |
| Pocklington | 967 | +6 kWh |
| Sherburn in Elmet | 969 | +8 kWh |
Same PVGIS v5.2 query for every town. Small differences are within year-to-year weather; more than about 30 kWh per kWp apart is geography.
Also for York: Solar panels in York from OVO Solar & Battery
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Guides worth reading before your call
Sourced, dated and written by us. The same ground we cover on your free call.
What the January price cap means for solar, and what it does not
The whole-bill forecast is gas-led. What solar actually competes with is smaller, and mostly unpublished.
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 →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 →Are heat pumps worth it? The real 2026 numbers
Electricity costs 3.3x gas per kWh. A heat pump is about 3x as efficient. The numbers nearly cancel out.
Read the guide →Choosing a tariff when you have solar, a battery and an EV
Solar, battery and EV want different tariffs. How to work out which one to protect.
Read the guide →How to check an MCS certificate is genuine, before the deposit leaves your account
A logo proves nothing. Certification is business specific, technology specific and checkable.
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.