Solar panels in Berlin
PVGIS climate data puts Berlin at roughly 1,022 kWh per kWp each year, so a typical 6 kWp roof makes around 6,132 kWh. Since 1 January 2023, Berlin's Solargesetz requires PV on new buildings with more than 50 square metres of usable floor area and on existing buildings when the roof is substantially rebuilt. Two verified local rules and their sources are listed below. Output peaks in June (766 kWh) and bottoms out in December (165 kWh). Year-one savings come to about EUR 1,004, for a simple payback of 8.1 years. Year to year, output varies by about 6% (one standard deviation over 2005 to 2023).
Month by month in Berlin
Modelled output of a 6 kWp system at 35° facing south (towards the equator), from PVGIS climate data (PVGIS-SARAH3, 2005 to 2023).
| Month | kWh | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 189 | 3.1% |
| February | 325 | 5.3% |
| March | 528 | 8.6% |
| April | 704 | 11.5% |
| May | 763 | 12.4% |
| June | 766 | 12.5% |
| July | 751 | 12.2% |
| August | 704 | 11.5% |
| September | 598 | 9.7% |
| October | 414 | 6.8% |
| November | 226 | 3.7% |
| December | 165 | 2.7% |
- Best month: June (766 kWh). Weakest: December (165 kWh), a 4.6x difference.
- May, June, July produce 37.2% of the year; January, November, December produce 9.5%.
- Year-to-year variation: about 343 kWh (5.6%, one standard deviation).
- Sunlight reaching the panels: 1,322 kWh per m² a year.
Local rules and support in Berlin
Rules set by the city or its region, on top of the national scheme. Each one was checked against the official source on the date shown.
- State of Berlin
Berlin solar mandate (Solargesetz Berlin)
Since 1 January 2023, Berlin's Solargesetz requires PV on new buildings with more than 50 square metres of usable floor area and on existing buildings when the roof is substantially rebuilt. New buildings must cover at least 30 percent of the gross roof area and existing buildings at least 30 percent of the net roof area.
Source: Senatsverwaltung, Land Berlin (berlin.de), Weitere Informationen zum Solargesetz Berlin (checked 2026-09-25)
- State of Berlin
SolarPLUS S grants for owner-occupied homes
Berlin's SolarPLUS programme restarted with a new structure on 8 January 2026. Its SolarPLUS S strand targets solar systems on owner-occupied homes and pays flat amounts for meter cabinets, PV systems with battery storage and heritage-compatible solar systems.
Source: SolarCity Berlin / Land Berlin (berlin.de), Förderprogramm SolarPLUS (checked 2026-09-25)
How Berlin compares
Berlin ranks 2 of 4 for yield among the cities we model in Germany, and 29 of 41 across every country on Solar Figures. Within one country the prices are the same, so a payback gap between these cities comes from sunshine alone.
| City | kWh per kWp / yr | Payback (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Munich | 1,097 | 7.5 yrs |
| Berlin | 1,022 | 8.1 yrs |
| Cologne | 1,003 | 8.3 yrs |
| Hamburg | 955 | 8.7 yrs |
| National reference point (country page) | 1,013 | 8.2 yrs |
Closest yield abroad: Gdańsk (1,028 kWh per kWp), Warsaw (1,014 kWh per kWp), Brussels (1,009 kWh per kWp).
What moves the payback in Berlin
Power you use yourself is worth the retail price (€0.37 per kWh); power you export earns €0.078. So the share you use at home, by running appliances in daylight or adding a battery, changes the payback. The system cost stays the same in every row (a battery would add to it).
| Used at home | Year-1 savings | Payback |
|---|---|---|
| 20% | €827 | 10.1 yrs |
| 30% (our default) | €1,004 | 8.1 yrs |
| 50% | €1,359 | 5.9 yrs |
| 70% | €1,714 | 4.6 yrs |
- Net system cost after incentives: €7,800 for 6 kWp.
- Incentive modelled: 0% VAT (Nullsteuersatz), embedded in net cost.
- 25-year net savings at our default: €25,489.
Best panel angle in Berlin
At latitude 52.52°N, PVGIS finds the fixed tilt and direction that maximise yearly output. Our figures use a common 35° roof; the table shows what the optimum adds.
| Setup | Tilt | Facing | kWh per kWp / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard roof (used on this page) | 35° | south | 1,022 |
| PVGIS optimum | 40° | south (176°) | 1,025 |
The optimum adds 0.3% a year over the standard roof in Berlin. Most of a roof's value comes from its direction: a roof facing away from the equator loses far more than a few degrees of tilt.
See the full Germany picture on our Germany solar page, or the national incentives in our Germany solar guide.
Sources and method
Figures computed 2026-09-25 for a 6 kWp system, 35° tilt, 14% system losses, terrain shading on. An estimate, not a quote: your installer's quote will be exact.
- PVGIS 5.3 PVcalc (PVGIS-SARAH3), European Commission JRC (checked 2026-09-25)
- Germany tariff and incentive inputs (see DATA_SOURCES.md) (checked 2026-07-25)
- Germany tariff and incentive inputs (see DATA_SOURCES.md) (checked 2026-07-25)
- Senatsverwaltung, Land Berlin (berlin.de): Weitere Informationen zum Solargesetz Berlin (checked 2026-09-25)
- SolarCity Berlin / Land Berlin (berlin.de): Förderprogramm SolarPLUS (checked 2026-09-25)
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