Is there enough sun in Crawley to make this work?

Modelled at 915 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 458,000 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.

Do we need planning permission in Crawley?

In most cases no, because roof-mounted panels on commercial buildings sit within permitted development. The exceptions are listed buildings, conservation areas and arrays that stand proud of the roof plane. We check with Crawley first either way.

Has anyone near RH10 already done this?

The planning database records 6 solar schemes in this postcode district, 5 of them roof mounted. That matters less as proof that it works and more as evidence of how the local network has been treating export applications. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

Solar panels for warehouses in Crawley

Roof space is the one asset a Crawley unit already owns and rarely uses. We start with the covering and the structure, because a roof with five years left in it changes the answer entirely.

915 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 458,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Crawley

Drawing Crawley unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 458,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / RH10

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

Crawley / Sussex

Home Counties distribution estate with solar arrays on several unit roofs — Industrial stock of the kind we survey across South East.

Warehouse rooftop solar across Sussex

What a roof in Crawley actually generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1175 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 915 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 3 percent above the mean across the towns we cover, which is as good as UK rooftop gets outside the south coast.

Distribution stock around Crawley clusters on M23 J10, M23 J11 and A23, which is where the large single-let roofs are.

Most of the units we look at here sit in the RH postcode area.

Crawley is the planning authority for most sites here, and the built-up area holds a population of about 120,550, the size that tends to be served by mid-box last-mile units rather than national hubs (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).

FIG. 1 What a Crawley roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 5.8 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 458,000 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	39	19,500
Mar	74	37,000
Apr	106	53,000
May	121	60,500
Jun	128	64,000
Jul	128	64,000
Aug	107	53,500
Sep	84	42,000
Oct	51	25,500
Nov	31	15,500
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Crawley against the rest of Sussex

Lewes1028
Eastbourne1017
Brighton1015
Bognor Regis1000
Worthing999
Hastings989
Haywards Heath957
Horsham935
Crawley915

Crawley ranks 10 of 10 towns we cover in Sussex on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 915 to 1028, a spread of 113 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 56,500 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

Solar already consented near RH10

From the government's Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026. These are the schemes on record in this postcode district, which is a fair guide to how the local network has been treating export applications.

Scheme	Operator	Capacity	Mounting	Status
Majors Hill/Turners Hill Solar Farm	Haymaker Energy	1.1 MW	Ground	Operational
Oriel High School	West Sussex County Council	0.19 MW	Roof	Operational
Manor Royal, Rowfant - Solar PV Array	Vodafone Limited	0.27 MW	Roof	Application Withdrawn
Unit 2, Hollywood Bowl, Crawley Leisure Park - Solar Array	Hollywood Bowl Group	0.22 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Welland Medical, Hydehurst Lane - Solar Panels	Welland Medical Limited	0.94 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Vodafone UK, Newton Road - Solar Panels	Custom Solar Limited	0.27 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

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 Crawley

Is there enough sun in Crawley to make this work?: Modelled at 915 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 458,000 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.
Do we need planning permission in Crawley?: In most cases no, because roof-mounted panels on commercial buildings sit within permitted development. The exceptions are listed buildings, conservation areas and arrays that stand proud of the roof plane. We check with Crawley first either way.
Has anyone near RH10 already done this?: The planning database records 6 solar schemes in this postcode district, 5 of them roof mounted. That matters less as proof that it works and more as evidence of how the local network has been treating export applications. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

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