Is there enough sun in Tower Hamlets to make this work?

Modelled at 976 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 488,000 kWh a year before shading. That array needs about 1,485 sqm of clear roof once walkways and setbacks are allowed for. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Who do we apply to for export in Tower Hamlets?

Capacity varies street by street, and only UK Power Networks can answer it for your connection. We ask the question early, because an export-limited offer changes the design rather than killing the scheme.

Solar panels for warehouses in Tower Hamlets

The economics of a Tower Hamlets rooftop array turn on how much of the generation the occupier uses on site. Each survey records the cladding profile, the usable area once rooflights and plant are removed, and the export limit worth applying for.

976 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 488,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Tower Hamlets

Drawing Tower Hamlets unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 488,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / Greater London

Illustrative layout for a unit of this size. Your own figures come from the roof survey.

Tower Hamlets / Greater London

Aerial view of an industrial estate where some warehouse roofs carry solar arrays and others are bare steel — Industrial stock of the kind we survey across Greater London.

Warehouse rooftop solar across Greater London

What a roof in Tower Hamlets actually generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1247 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 976 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 10 percent above the mean across the towns we cover, which is as good as UK rooftop gets outside the south coast.

FIG. 1 What a Tower Hamlets roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 6.3 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 488,000 kWh across the year, but it arrives unevenly, which is why we size against your summer daytime load and then look at whether storage is worth adding for the shoulder months.

Monthly figures as a table

Month	kWh per kWp	500 kWp array
Jan	25	12,500
Feb	40	20,000
Mar	77	38,500
Apr	115	57,500
May	130	65,000
Jun	138	69,000
Jul	138	69,000
Aug	116	58,000
Sep	90	45,000
Oct	54	27,000
Nov	30	15,000
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Tower Hamlets against the rest of Greater London

Kingston987
Tower Hamlets976
Bexley916
Woolwich912
Fulham910
Hammersmith910
Hounslow910
Richmond910
Barking909

Tower Hamlets ranks 2 of 50 towns we cover in Greater London on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 847 to 987, a spread of 140 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 70,000 kWh a year between the strongest and weakest town in the county.

Bars are zero based, so length is proportional to the figure. Where a county is flat, that is the finding: location is not the lever, consumption is. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, modelled per town

Grid connection through UK Power Networks

Connections around Tower Hamlets are handled by UK Power Networks, which sets the export limit for the site. Above 3.68 kW per phase the connection runs under G99, so the export limit is agreed in advance rather than assumed. Where the local network is constrained, an export-limited connection usually still makes the scheme work, because a warehouse uses most of what the roof makes during the working day.

Book the survey

Send us the postcode

Tell us where the unit is and roughly how big the roof is. We come back with what it can carry, what it would generate against your consumption, and the three ways to pay for it.

Lenzie Consulting Ltd arranges the survey and passes your details to our MCS-certified installation partner so they can quote.

Questions about solar in Tower Hamlets

Is there enough sun in Tower Hamlets to make this work?: Modelled at 976 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 488,000 kWh a year before shading. That array needs about 1,485 sqm of clear roof once walkways and setbacks are allowed for. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Who do we apply to for export in Tower Hamlets?: Capacity varies street by street, and only UK Power Networks can answer it for your connection. We ask the question early, because an export-limited offer changes the design rather than killing the scheme.

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