The spread across the country is narrower than most people expect. The spread across mountings, in one garden, is far wider.
| How it is mounted | Output a year | Share of the roof figure |
|---|---|---|
| Pitched roof, due south at 35 degrees | 760 kWh | 100% |
| Free-standing frame, due south at 30 degrees | 754 kWh | 99% |
| Vertical south-facing wall | 564 kWh | 74% |
| Vertical east-facing wall | 391 kWh | 51% |
That relationship holds at every point in the dataset, not just this one. If there is ground with an open view of the southern sky, you do not need a roof to get roof output, and you avoid the surface question entirely.
Thirteen points across the United Kingdom, all queried the same way on the same day. This one comes sixth.
| Comparison | Ideal roof | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Best point in the dataset, Brighton | 897 kWh | +137 |
| Neighbouring region, Birmingham | 752 kWh | -8 |
| This region, Nottingham | 760 kWh | 0 |
| Neighbouring region, Leeds | 736 kWh | -24 |
| Lowest point in the dataset, Inverness | 628 kWh | -132 |
The whole national range is about 43 per cent. Turning a panel from south to east in a single garden costs roughly half. Which of those two numbers you can do anything about is the point.
| The figure assumes | Reality |
|---|---|
| Clear sky above the panel all day | Shading costs more than every regional difference on this page put together |
| One city standing for a whole region | Nottingham is not Lincolnshire and neither is Northamptonshire |
| Generation equals benefit | Only what you use at the moment it is made counts, and storage is outside the approved class |
| One device | That is the household limit, so this is a total and not a starting point |
Method: PVGIS API v5_2, 0.8 kWp, 14 per cent system losses, crystalline silicon, building-integrated, queried 13 September 2026. Anyone can repeat it and get the same answer.