Intensity

Solar Energy Intensity

Solar energy availability in the UK is much greater than most people imagine. Indeed the UK receives on average approximately 65% of the annual radiation experienced in the South of Spain and even 55% of that experienced at the equator. The solar energy that we experience is accounted for by approximately 40% direct radiation (received when it is sunny) and some 60% diffuse, or scattered radiation (received on cloudy days).
The solar radiation received on a plane, facing the south, which is inclined at 30o (this is a typical inclination for solar collectors situated on a pitched roof in the UK), varies from about 900kWh/m2 per year in the North of the UK to approximately 1,300 900kWh/m2 per year in the South west.