Which way should plug-in solar panels face?
The short answer
South and tilted is best. A north wall makes about a fifth as much.
Direction matters far more than where in Britain you live. Across 13 places from Brighton to Inverness, a south-facing kit makes between 70% and 100% of the best figure. In one place, changing the direction moves it between 20% and 100%. Upright on a south-facing balcony still makes about 73%.
Most savings figures for plug-in solar assume the panels face south on a tilted frame. Many balconies and walls do not. We asked the European Commission’s solar model, PVGIS, for every direction at one place and for 13 places across Britain, and worked out what a typical two-panel kit would make and save in each. These are the real numbers, including the bad ones.
Every direction, in one place
London, with a two-panel kit of 930W, 40% of what it makes used at home, electricity at 26.32p per kWh and a kit price of £449.
| Where the panels face | kWh per kWp a year (PVGIS) | Share of the best | 930W kit makes | Saves a year | Pays back in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South, tilted frame (35°) | 1,019 | 100% | 948 kWh | £100 | 4.5 years |
| South, steep balcony rail (60°) | 977 | 96% | 909 kWh | £96 | 4.7 years |
| South, low tilt (20°) | 976 | 96% | 908 kWh | £96 | 4.7 years |
| Flat, facing straight up | 845 | 83% | 786 kWh | £83 | 5.4 years |
| East, tilted | 818 | 80% | 761 kWh | £80 | 5.6 years |
| West, tilted | 787 | 77% | 732 kWh | £77 | 5.8 years |
| Upright on a south wall or balcony | 743 | 73% | 691 kWh | £73 | 6.2 years |
| North-east, tilted | 633 | 62% | 589 kWh | £62 | 7.2 years |
| North, tilted | 541 | 53% | 503 kWh | £53 | 8.5 years |
| Upright on an east wall | 521 | 51% | 485 kWh | £51 | 8.8 years |
| Upright on a west wall | 499 | 49% | 464 kWh | £49 | 9.2 years |
| Upright on a north-east wall | 313 | 31% | 291 kWh | £31 | 14.7 years |
| Upright on a north-west wall | 302 | 30% | 281 kWh | £30 | 15.2 years |
| Upright on a north wall | 202 | 20% | 188 kWh | £20 | 22.7 years |
PVGIS 5.3, European Commission Joint Research Centre, queried at London (51.507 N, 0.128 W) for 1 kWp with 14% system losses. Directions re-queried and saved on 7 October 2026; the 60 and 20 degree south rows on 26 September 2026. Savings at 26.32p per kWh, the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026.
South-facing, in 13 places
The same kit on a south-facing tilted frame, from the sunniest place to the least sunny. December and July are kWh per kWp in that month.
| Place | kWh per kWp a year (PVGIS) | December | July | 930W kit makes | Saves a year | Pays back in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton | 1,156 | 39 | 145 | 1,075 kWh | £113 | 4.0 years |
| Plymouth | 1,121 | 36 | 136 | 1,043 kWh | £110 | 4.1 years |
| Cardiff | 1,042 | 32 | 129 | 969 kWh | £102 | 4.4 years |
| Norwich | 1,031 | 35 | 124 | 959 kWh | £101 | 4.4 years |
| London | 1,019 | 36 | 123 | 948 kWh | £100 | 4.5 years |
| Birmingham | 968 | 33 | 118 | 900 kWh | £95 | 4.7 years |
| Leeds | 952 | 32 | 116 | 885 kWh | £93 | 4.8 years |
| Newcastle | 947 | 27 | 116 | 881 kWh | £93 | 4.8 years |
| Edinburgh | 903 | 22 | 113 | 840 kWh | £88 | 5.1 years |
| Aberdeen | 887 | 21 | 113 | 825 kWh | £87 | 5.2 years |
| Manchester | 886 | 28 | 108 | 824 kWh | £87 | 5.2 years |
| Glasgow | 853 | 19 | 111 | 793 kWh | £84 | 5.4 years |
| Inverness | 810 | 14 | 107 | 753 kWh | £79 | 5.7 years |
PVGIS 5.3, south-facing at 35 degrees, 1 kWp, 14% losses, queried 26 September 2026 for each place. 40% used at home, 26.32p per kWh, £449 kit.
What the numbers mean
- If the only spot you have faces north, the answer is usually no. A kit hung on a north wall in London saves about £20 a year, so a £449 kit takes about 23 years to pay for itself, before the panels lose any performance with age.
- An upright south-facing balcony is fine. It loses about a quarter of the output, and pays back in about 6.2 years on these figures.
- East and west walls are borderline. About half the best output. Whether that is worth it depends on the price you pay and whether someone is home to use the power.
- The north of Britain is not ruled out. A south-facing kit in Inverness makes about 70% of what one in Brighton makes. Winter is where the gap shows: in December Inverness gets about 14 kWh per kWp against 39 in Brighton.
Check your own home
Our savings calculator uses the same data. Put in the first half of your postcode and the direction your panels would face, and it gives the figure for the nearest of these 13 places. It also names the electricity network operator you need to tell when you switch a kit on. Your postcode never leaves your browser.
How we worked it out
- Sunshine. PVGIS 5.3 gives the long-term average yearly output of 1 kWp of panels at a given place, tilt and direction, with standard 14% system losses. It is an average, not a forecast for any one year.
- The kit. Two panels totalling 930W. The 15 two-panel kits in our kit tracker carry 800W to 1,260W of panels, and 10 of them have 890W, 910W, 920W or 930W. The inverter limits output to 800W and PVGIS does not model that, so on bright summer middays a real kit makes slightly less than shown.
- Used at home. A kit without a battery only saves money on electricity used in the home while it is being made. We use 40% as a middle figure. This is an assumption, not a measurement, and it moves the answer as much as the weather does.
- Price and payback. 26.32p per kWh, the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026; people on fixed deals pay different rates. £449 is the default kit price in our calculator; kits on sale ran from £336 to £999 when we checked on 7 October 2026. Payback is the kit price divided by the yearly saving, ignoring panel ageing and future price changes.
- Other places and directions. Directions other than south were measured at London only. Our calculator applies the London ratio to other places: one panel on a north wall in Manchester comes out at about £9 a year on that basis, which is an estimate, not a direct query.
- Not included. Shading from trees, buildings or railings, dirt, snow and panel ageing. Any of these makes the real figure lower.
Free to use. You are welcome to quote these figures and tables. Please credit Plug & Play Solar Kits with a link to this page. Questions or corrections: hello@plugandplaysolarkits.co.uk.
Questions people ask
Is plug-in solar worth it on a north-facing balcony?
Usually not. On PVGIS figures a north wall makes about 20% of what a south-facing tilted frame makes, so a two-panel kit in London saves about £20 a year and takes around 23 years to pay back at £449. A tilted frame facing north does better, about 53%, but still well short of south.
Is east or west better for plug-in solar?
On a tilted frame in London, east makes slightly more than west on PVGIS figures (818 against 787 kWh per kWp a year). The difference is small. What matters more is when you use power: west-facing panels make more in the late afternoon, when many households are home.
Do panels hung upright on a balcony still work?
Yes. Upright and facing south, a kit makes about 73% of the best figure in London. Facing east or west, about 51% and 49%. Tilting the panels outwards, if your balcony and lease allow it, moves the figure towards the top of the table.