Nationwide
Average number of sunshine hours per year in the UK
The United Kingdom has an average of approximately 1.350 hours of sunshine annually. That’s about 17% of all time. While this is not a huge amount, it is still enough to make investing in solar panels worthwhile. The lack of sunshine is due to the UK’s maritime moist and temperate climate, known for its mild winters and changeable summers. Precipitation can fall throughout the year, and so it is often cloudy.
However, the average of 1.350 sunshine hours each year on average does not mean that every region benefits equally from the sun. There are large regional differences, so the yield of solar panels in Brighton can differ significantly from that of Newcastle.
Large regional differences in sunshine hours
Between the different counties in the UK there are relatively large differences in the average number of sunshine hours. On average, a household along the southern coast benefits from hundreds of extra hours of sunshine compared to a household further inland. Underneath the line, this can have a significant impact on the output of solar panels. On a cloudy day, your solar panels will still generate solar energy thanks to diffused light, but that yield is lower than on a sunny day.
Generating energy on cloudy days
So let’s assume you’re living in an area with a low average number op sunshine hours. Why would you still consider solar panels? Soly’s solar panels are designed for maximum energy in low-light conditions. This effectively means that even on a cloudy day, your solar panels from Soly will still generate a significant amount of energy. In short, even if you live in a region with low average sunshine hours, you can still take full advantage of solar panels and on top of that enjoy a short payback period.
