Quote checker · DESNZ 2025/26 · PVGIS 5.3
Check a solar quote against the figures
Type in what the quote says. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
The price figures are means of MCS-certified installs across the North West in 2025/26, not a quote for your house: scaffolding, roof access, panel choice and shading all move a real price. A battery in the price is taken out at the DESNZ median per kWh for its size band (our arithmetic). Use a gap as a question to ask, not as proof of a bad quote.
Reading the price answer
The checker divides the price by the system size and sets the result against the mean the government published for MCS-certified installations in the North West in 2025/26: £2,021 per kW for systems up to 4 kW and £1,768 per kW for 4 to 10 kW (DESNZ). Those figures come from 22,981 MCS-certified installations across the region, so they describe a typical job, not yours.
A quote within a few per cent of the mean is ordinary. One well above it may still be fair: the extra might be scaffolding across a pavement, a roof that needs bird mesh, panels with a longer warranty or optimisers for a shaded slope. Ask the installer to point to what makes up the difference. A quote far below the mean deserves the same question from the other side: what has been left out, and who pays if something turns up on the day?
If the quote includes a battery, enter its capacity. The checker takes the battery out at the DESNZ median per kWh for its size band (DESNZ) before working out the panels' price per kW. That is our arithmetic and only a guide, so if the quote lists the battery separately, use that figure instead and enter 0.
Reading the output answer
The second panel gives the yearly output PVGIS expects for the size you entered, facing the way you chose, at the place in the borough you picked (PVGIS 5.3). Add the installer's own yearly estimate and the checker shows the gap.
A figure within about 10% of PVGIS is in line. A figure well below it is often a sign of care rather than a problem: the installer may have allowed for a chimney, a neighbour's tree or a dormer that PVGIS cannot see. A figure well above it is the one to ask about. RECC says its members follow strict rules for calculating performance estimates and advises getting one in writing (RECC), so it is fair to ask which method was used and what shading was assumed.
Direction and pitch in central Wigan
The table gives PVGIS output in kWh a year per kW of panels for every direction and pitch in central Wigan. Read across for the pitch, down for the direction. The best case, about 40° facing south, gives 929; panels laid flat give 777.
| Faces | 10° | 20° | 30° | 35° | 40° | 45° | 50° |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South | 842 | 891 | 920 | 927 | 929 | 926 | 918 |
| South-east | 822 | 853 | 870 | 873 | 871 | 864 | 854 |
| South-west | 823 | 856 | 874 | 877 | 875 | 869 | 859 |
| East | 771 | 762 | 747 | 737 | 725 | 711 | 693 |
| West | 774 | 765 | 752 | 743 | 732 | 717 | 701 |
| North-east | 719 | 661 | 606 | 580 | 554 | 529 | 504 |
| North-west | 721 | 665 | 611 | 586 | 561 | 537 | 512 |
| North | 698 | 623 | 547 | 509 | 472 | 435 | 401 |
Two patterns help when reading a quote. South-facing roofs change little between 30° and 45°, so a quote does not need to chase the perfect angle. And east and west roofs come out almost level in Wigan, so a semi whose back faces either way is a reasonable prospect; a split east-west system simply spreads the output across the day.
Across the borough
PVGIS works from satellite data in small cells, so we ran twelve places from Orrell to Leigh. For a south roof at 35° the spread is small, which means the borough's geography is rarely the reason one quote's estimate differs from another's.
| Place | South | South-west | West | East |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wigan centre | 927 | 877 | 743 | 737 |
| Standish | 919 | 870 | 739 | 731 |
| Shevington | 918 | 870 | 739 | 732 |
| Orrell | 936 | 887 | 751 | 740 |
| Pemberton | 932 | 881 | 746 | 739 |
| Ince | 927 | 877 | 743 | 737 |
| Hindley | 923 | 872 | 740 | 736 |
| Ashton-in-Makerfield | 932 | 879 | 744 | 741 |
| Golborne | 930 | 877 | 742 | 741 |
| Atherton | 911 | 860 | 730 | 730 |
| Tyldesley | 911 | 860 | 731 | 730 |
| Leigh | 926 | 874 | 740 | 740 |
What the checker cannot see
- Your roof. Shade, the space left around chimneys and vents, and the state of the tiles all need a survey.
- The kit. Two quotes at the same price per kW can differ in panel warranty, inverter type and whether optimisers are included.
- The firm. Price and output say nothing about whether the installer is certified or belongs to a consumer code; make those checks separately (checking an installer).
- The paperwork. Who notifies Electricity North West, who registers the MCS certificate and how the deposit is protected belong in the quote too (what a quote should include).
MCS suggests aiming for at least three quotes and checking that each covers everything, commissioning included (MCS). Put each through the checker in turn and note the two answers beside the things the checker cannot see. For more on prices, see what solar costs in Wigan.