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Solar panels in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire and the Humber

Roofs in Kingston upon Hull get about 958 hours of usable sunlight a year — less than 95% of the cities we've measured. Here's what that means in cost, savings and payback, using real rooftop data rather than a national average.

958Sun hours / yr
8Panels typical
£5,440Installed cost
12.5 yrPayback
Solar is reasonable in Kingston upon Hull, not spectacular. A 12.5-year payback still beats most savings accounts over the panel's 25-year life, but it is not the slam dunk you'll see advertised.
What you are paid for exported power matters more here than sunshine. Under the Smart Export Guarantee your supplier sets an absolute export rate, and published rates range from about 3p to 15p per kWh — a fivefold spread. We assume a conservative 12p against the 26.1p you pay to import, so exported power is worth roughly 46% of what you save by using it yourself. Switching to a better SEG tariff is usually the cheapest way to improve these numbers — it costs nothing and needs no new hardware.

Check your specific roof in Kingston upon Hull → City averages are a starting point; your own roof's size, pitch and shading change the answer a lot.

What a typical Kingston upon Hull solar system costs

A 8-panel system (3.2 kW) is about right for an average Kingston upon Hull home using 2,500 kWh a year. It would produce roughly 2,606 kWh annually and offset 100% of that usage.

Estimated economics by system size in Kingston upon Hull, at 26.1p/kWh
SystemSizekWh/yr Net costSaves/yrPayback
8 panels3.2 kW 2,606£5,440 £436 12.5 yrs
12 panels4.8 kW 3,909£8,160 £592 13.8 yrs
16 panels6.4 kW 5,212£10,880 £749 14.5 yrs
20 panels8 kW 6,514£13,600 £905 15 yrs
26 panels10.4 kW 8,469£17,680 £1,140 15.5 yrs

How we worked this out for Kingston upon Hull

Every number on this page comes from these seven steps. Nothing is a national average — the sunlight figure is measured from Kingston upon Hull rooftops.

#StepResult
1What one panel makes here
400W ÷ 1000 × 958 sun hrs × 0.85 system losses
326 kWh/yr
2Panels needed to cover typical usage
2,500 kWh ÷ 326 kWh per panel
8 panels
3System size
8 panels × 400W
3.20 kW
4Annual production
3.20 kW × 958 hrs × 0.85
2,606 kWh/yr
5Installed cost
3,200 W × £1.70 per watt (VAT is 0% on UK installs)
£5,440
6Annual saving
875 kWh used as generated × 26.1p  +  1,731 kWh exported × 12p
£436/yr
7Payback
£5,440 ÷ £436 per year
12.5 years

Step 6 is where most calculators quietly overstate things. Only 34% of what a system this size produces in Kingston upon Hull is used the moment it is generated; the other 1,731 kWh is exported and paid at the Smart Export Guarantee rate, not your import price. Valuing every kWh at the full 26.1p retail rate — which many calculators do — would show a payback of 8.0 years instead of the 12.5 we show. That 4.5-year difference is the single biggest reason our figures look worse than other sites' for Kingston upon Hull.

Assumptions: 400W panels, 15% system losses (inverter, wiring, heat, soiling), £1.70/W installed, 2,500 kWh typical annual household use, 26.1p/kWh electricity. Change any of those and every figure above moves — which is exactly why a single national "solar costs X" number is misleading.

Notice that payback barely improves as systems get bigger, and eventually gets worse. That's because you can only save money on electricity you were going to buy anyway. Once a system covers your usage, extra panels mostly generate exports at a much lower rate.

Why Kingston upon Hull gets 958 sun hours

That figure comes from Google's analysis of real rooftops across Kingston upon Hull — it already accounts for shading from trees, chimneys and neighbouring buildings, which is why it's lower than the raw "hours of daylight" figures you'll see elsewhere. An unusually open, unshaded roof in Kingston upon Hull reaches about 1,053 hours, roughly 10% better than typical.

The numbers behind this page

Typical usable sunlight958 hrs/yr
Unshaded roof1,053 hrs/yr
Electricity rate (Yorkshire and the Humber avg)26.1p/kWh
Installed cost assumed£1.70/W
Panel size assumed400 W
Typical household usage2,500 kWh/yr
Power used as generated34%
Paid for exported power12p/kWh (SEG)
Rooftops sampled here8
Google imagery from2025

When Kingston upon Hull actually produces

Annual totals hide the thing that catches people out: 43% of Kingston upon Hull's yearly sunlight arrives in May–July, and just 7% across November–January.

Estimated usable sun hours by month in Kingston upon Hull (latitude 53.8°)
MonthSun hrsShare of year
Jan 24
Feb 43
Mar 71
Apr 105
May 132
Jun 145
Jul 139
Aug 116
Sep 84
Oct 51
Nov 28
Dec 19

That is a severe seasonal swing — Kingston upon Hull produces roughly 7.5× as much in Jun as in Dec. A system sized to cover your annual usage will overproduce badly in summer and fall well short in winter, so how your utility credits exported power matters more here than in most places.

The annual total is measured from Google's rooftop imagery. Its split across months is calculated from solar geometry at Kingston upon Hull's latitude, not separately measured, so treat the monthly figures as the shape of a typical year rather than a forecast.

How Kingston upon Hull compares to the other 788 cities

MeasureKingston upon Hull Rank of 788
Usable sunlight958 hrs746th
Sunlight lost to shade9%103rd most
Median roof size197 m²380th largest
Electricity rate26.1p189th highest
Payback12.5 yrs606th fastest
Grid carbon479 kg/MWh589th dirtiest

What actually stands out about Kingston upon Hull:

  • Plenty of roof to work with. Typical roofs here fit around 62 panels — roughly 7× what an average home needs. Roof size will not be what limits your system in Kingston upon Hull.

Cities with almost the same sunlight

The closest matches to Kingston upon Hull's 958 usable sun hours elsewhere in the UK. Sunlight varies far more across Britain than electricity prices do, so these are the places where a system of the same size produces roughly the same amount.

CitySun hrs RatePayback
Birmingham, West Midlands 95926.1p 12.5 yrs
Shrewsbury, West Midlands 95926.1p 12.5 yrs
Telford, West Midlands 96026.1p 12.5 yrs
Grimsby, East Midlands 95626.1p 12.5 yrs

Nearby cities

See all of Yorkshire and the Humber → statewide sunlight, rates, incentives and every city we've measured.

Kingston upon Hull solar questions

How many solar panels do I need in Kingston upon Hull?

About 8 panels for an average home using 2,500 kWh a year. Kingston upon Hull roofs get 958 usable sun hours, so each 400W panel produces roughly 326 kWh annually. A typical Kingston upon Hull roof fits about 62 panels, so roof space is unlikely to be your limit.

Is solar worth it in Kingston upon Hull?

At 26.1p/kWh and 958 sun hours, a typical system pays for itself in about 12.5 years and returns roughly £5,464 over a 25-year panel life. That is slower than average, so compare several quotes before committing. Exported power earns 12p/kWh under the Smart Export Guarantee, well below the 26.1p you pay to import.

How much do solar panels cost in Kingston upon Hull?

A 3.2 kW system costs about £5,440 before incentives. That works out near £1.70 per watt installed. Roof pitch, shading, electrical panel upgrades and equipment choice move the price most, which is why quotes for the same house can differ by thousands.

Worth reading before you buy

Estimates only, generated 2026-08-22 from Google Solar API rooftop samples and average Yorkshire and the Humber electricity rates. Not a quote and not financial advice. Your roof, usage, utility plan and local incentives will change these numbers — get real quotes before buying.