Use the explorer below, then read on for the full table and what the numbers mean. Every figure comes from one source, PVGIS 5.3, run for central Manchester (53.48° N, 2.24° W) with 1 kW of panels and 14% system losses, which is the standard allowance for cables, the inverter, heat and dirt.
Roof yield explorer · PVGIS data for Manchester
How much would your roof make?
Pick the way your roof faces, its pitch and a system size. The figures are PVGIS 5.3 estimates for central Manchester with 14% system losses: an indicative result, not a survey.
A 4 kW system is about ten 400-watt panels. Small terraced roofs often take 2.5 to 4 kW.
3,1013,101 kWh a year
- 124% of the 2,500 kWh a typical home uses in a year (Ofgem). Some of it is used in the house and the rest is exported.
- 100% of what the best-placed Manchester roof makes per kW (886 kWh against 888).
- Indicative install cost at the North West average: £7,050 (DESNZ 2025/26 average per kW times your size; our arithmetic, and quotes vary).
Source: PVGIS 5.3, European Commission Joint Research Centre, satellite data 2005-2023, pulled 3 November 2026 for 53.48° N, 2.24° W. Costs: DESNZ solar PV cost data, North West, 2025/26. Shading from chimneys, dormers or a neighbour's extension is not in these figures.
Every direction and pitch
The table gives kWh a year for each kilowatt of panels. A flat roof with panels laid flat makes 745. Most pitched roofs in the city fall between 30° and 45°.
| Roof faces | 20° | 30° | 35° | 40° | 45° |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South | 852 | 880 | 886 | 888 | 885 |
| South-east | 822 | 839 | 842 | 841 | 835 |
| South-west | 814 | 828 | 830 | 827 | 821 |
| East | 738 | 726 | 717 | 707 | 693 |
| West | 727 | 712 | 702 | 690 | 675 |
| North-east | 642 | 592 | 567 | 543 | 519 |
| North-west | 635 | 583 | 558 | 534 | 510 |
| North | 600 | 530 | 494 | 459 | 425 |
Three things stand out. First, the best Manchester roofs are close together: anywhere from south-east to south-west at 30° to 40° is within about 7% of the best. Second, east and west roofs lose roughly a fifth, which is less than many people expect. Third, steepness matters more on a north slope than anywhere else, because a steep north face turns away from the sun.
Month by month
Manchester's output is strongly seasonal. On the best roof, April to September produce 69% of the year's electricity, and the four darkest months, November to February, only 16%.
| Month | kWh per kW | For a 4 kW system |
|---|---|---|
| January | 28 | 112 |
| February | 46 | 184 |
| March | 79 | 316 |
| April | 105 | 420 |
| May | 112 | 448 |
| June | 109 | 436 |
| July | 106 | 424 |
| August | 96 | 384 |
| September | 81 | 324 |
| October | 58 | 232 |
| November | 39 | 156 |
| December | 30 | 120 |
That seasonality is the main reason a battery helps less in December than in June, and why a household that uses more electricity in winter will still import most of it. Our guide to batteries in Manchester goes into sizing.
How to read the numbers
The explorer gives generation, not savings. What a household saves depends on how much of that electricity it uses at the moment it is made, the tariff it pays, and what its supplier pays for the rest. A home that is empty all day uses less of its own solar than one with someone at home, so treat the comparison with Ofgem's typical 2,500 kWh as a sense of scale only.
Shading
PVGIS knows the sky, not your street. Chimney stacks, dormers, a neighbour's extension or a tree can cut output, and a shaded panel can drag down others wired with it. An installer should assess shading on site; ask how they have allowed for it.
Your exact location
The figures are for the city centre. Across the Manchester City Council area the difference is small, a few per cent at most, because the whole city sits under much the same sky. Hill ground on the Pennine side of Greater Manchester is cloudier, as the Met Office averages for Rochdale show.
Checking an installer's figure
An MCS installer must give you an estimate of yearly generation. If it is much higher than the explorer's figure for your direction and pitch, ask how it was worked out. The installer guide lists the other things a Manchester quote should show, and the cost guide shows what a given size cost in the North West in 2025/26.
Which way do Manchester roofs face?
On a terraced street the roof direction is set by the street. A row running east to west has one slope facing south and one north; a row running north to south has slopes facing east and west. That is why two friends a few streets apart in Levenshulme can get very different answers from the explorer. Look at a map: the front of your house faces the street, and the main roof slopes face front and back.
Semis built between the wars, common in Burnage and across Wythenshawe, often have hipped roofs that slope four ways. The best face may be the front, the back or the side; an installer may split panels across two faces, which our guide to east and west roofs explains. Flat-roofed blocks, common in the city centre wards, can tilt panels to suit, subject to the freeholder and the planning limits.
For a typical terraced roof, the fastest test is the back bedroom window. If the afternoon sun comes in there, the rear slope faces somewhere between south and west, and the explorer will show it is worth a closer look.