Are solar panels worth it in Herefordshire?

Sometimes. It depends on your roof, when you use power, and which export tariff you pick. Here are the real numbers for Hereford, including the ones that do not flatter solar.

How much sun Hereford gets

We ran Hereford through PVGIS, the EU’s solar data tool, which uses satellite records from 2005 to 2023.

• A 4kW system on a south-facing roof in Hereford makes around 3,990 units a year. That is about 1,000 units for every kilowatt of panels.
• Newcastle makes about 5% less. Truro makes about 7% more. Herefordshire sits comfortably in the middle.
• An east or west roof makes about 80% of what a south roof does. A pair of east and west slopes does well, because you catch the morning on one side and the evening on the other.
• The spread through the year is big: around 130 units in December, nearly 500 in May.

What those units are worth

The value comes in two parts.

Power you use yourself is worth what you would have paid for it. At the October to December 2026 price cap that is 26.32p a unit.

Power you export earns whatever your export tariff pays: 3p to 6p if you stay with your current supplier, 12p to 13p if you buy your electricity from the same company. The detail is in what you get paid for exporting.

The Energy Saving Trust’s figure is that most homes without a battery use 15% to 25% of what their panels make. On a south-facing 4kW system in Hereford, using 25% of it:

	Good export tariff (12p)	Basic export tariff (3p)
Used in the house (about 1,000 units)	£263	£263
Exported (about 3,000 units)	£359	£90
Total a year	about £620	about £350

How long it takes to pay back

A 4kW system is £6,000 to £8,000 installed, with no VAT on a home until 31 March 2027.

• At about £620 a year, that is 10 to 13 years.
• At about £350 a year, it is 17 to 23 years.

Panels carry a 30-year power warranty, so both get there in the end. But those are honest numbers, and the difference between them is mostly the export tariff. More on what wears out in how long solar panels last.

What moves the sums in your favour

Using the power in daylight. Every unit you use yourself is worth 26p instead of 3p to 13p. If someone is home in the day, you work from home, or you run a workshop, the sums improve fast.

An EV. A car charged in the middle of the day soaks up power you would otherwise export for pennies.

Being off mains gas. Much of Herefordshire heats with oil, LPG or electricity, so bills here tend to run higher than average.

A battery, sometimes. It keeps more of your own power in the house, but it costs £3,000 to £5,000 and lasts 10 to 12 years. Whether it pays depends on your usage. See do you need a battery?

When it is not worth it

• Heavy shade for much of the day. One big tree can do more damage than a cloudy summer.
• A north-facing roof on its own.
• A roof that needs recovering in the next few years. Do the roof first.
• A house that is empty all day and barely uses anything, on a basic export tariff. The sums get long.

We would rather tell you that at the survey than take your money.

Find out for your house

WhatsApp us a photo of your roof and a recent electricity bill. We will run these sums with your real usage and the export tariff you would actually be on. The survey is free.