Solar panels in Manchester
PVGIS climate data puts Manchester at roughly 861 kWh per kWp each year, so a typical 6 kWp roof makes around 5,166 kWh. Greater Manchester's Warm Homes: Local Grant area-based scheme lists solar PV and battery storage among eligible energy performance improvements for low-income households in selected areas. Compared with the United Kingdom reference point on our country page, Manchester produces 8% less per kWp. Worldwide it ranks 40th of the 41 cities we cover. The best month, May, yields 4.2 times the worst, January. Year-one savings come to about GBP 967, for a simple payback of 13.2 years.
Month by month in Manchester
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 | 158 | 3.1% |
| February | 261 | 5.1% |
| March | 455 | 8.8% |
| April | 608 | 11.8% |
| May | 658 | 12.7% |
| June | 643 | 12.5% |
| July | 629 | 12.2% |
| August | 566 | 10.9% |
| September | 472 | 9.1% |
| October | 330 | 6.4% |
| November | 220 | 4.3% |
| December | 166 | 3.2% |
- Best month: May (658 kWh). Weakest: January (158 kWh), a 4.2x difference.
- May, June, July produce 37.4% of the year; January, November, December produce 10.5%.
- Year-to-year variation: about 173 kWh (3.3%, one standard deviation).
- Sunlight reaching the panels: 1,096 kWh per m² a year.
Local rules and support in Manchester
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.
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Warm Homes: Local Grant area-based scheme includes solar PV
Greater Manchester's Warm Homes: Local Grant area-based scheme lists solar PV and battery storage among eligible energy performance improvements for low-income households in selected areas. Owner-occupied homes must be rated EPC D to G, and owner occupiers can receive 100% of the cost up to £15,000 for energy performance improvements (up to £30,000 in total with low carbon heating).
Source: Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) Area Based Scheme (checked 2026-09-25)
How Manchester compares
Manchester ranks 3 of 4 for yield among the cities we model in the United Kingdom, and 40 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 (GBP) |
|---|---|---|
| London | 988 | 10.2 yrs |
| Birmingham | 940 | 10.8 yrs |
| Manchester | 861 | 13.2 yrs |
| Glasgow | 835 | 13.6 yrs |
| National reference point (country page) | 939 | 10.8 yrs |
Closest yield abroad: Hamburg (955 kWh per kWp), Utrecht (991 kWh per kWp), Amsterdam (992 kWh per kWp).
What moves the payback in Manchester
Power you use yourself is worth the retail price (£0.28 per kWh); power you export earns £0.15. 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% | £900 | 14.5 yrs |
| 30% (our default) | £967 | 13.2 yrs |
| 50% | £1,100 | 10.1 yrs |
| 70% | £1,232 | 8.8 yrs |
- Net system cost after incentives: £10,500 for 6 kWp.
- Incentive modelled: No capital grant; 0% VAT on residential PV to 31 Mar 2027 (embedded in price), then reverts to 5%. Export via Smart Export Guarantee..
- 25-year net savings at our default: £21,979.
Best panel angle in Manchester
At latitude 53.48°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 | 861 |
| PVGIS optimum | 39° | south (176°) | 863 |
The optimum adds 0.2% a year over the standard roof in Manchester. 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 the United Kingdom picture on our United Kingdom solar page, or the national incentives in our United Kingdom 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)
- the United Kingdom tariff and incentive inputs (see DATA_SOURCES.md) (checked 2026-06-21)
- the United Kingdom tariff and incentive inputs (see DATA_SOURCES.md) (checked 2026-06-21)
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority: Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) Area Based Scheme (checked 2026-09-25)
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