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Figures and sources

Each number on the site is either taken from a named public source or worked out from one. This page explains the working, in particular the flat-roof planner, and lists every source.

Checked against its sources on 3 November 2026. Published by SEO Dons; we do not supply or install solar.

The flat-roof planner

Edge margin: 0.4 m by default, from MCS's installation standard (MIS 3002 v6.0, clause 5.9.7: no panels within 400 mm of any edge of a home's roof unless specific measures are taken).
South rows: each row rises by panel length × sin(tilt); the gap behind it is that rise ÷ tan(sun height), with the sun due south at the height you choose; rows are fitted from the south edge within the margins; panels 20 mm apart across each row.
East-west pairs: two panels back to back at the chosen tilt, with a 0.4 m walkway between pairs; panels end to end along the north-south lines.
Height: panel rise plus 0.1 m of frame, checked against the 0.6 m permitted development limit for a flat-roof array on a house.
Sun height: 90° − latitude + the sun's declination on the chosen day (Spencer's series), for midday in Runcorn.
Output: system size × PVGIS yearly kWh per kW at that tilt and direction, interpolated between tilts; the average of east and west for pairs. Shading between rows outside the design period is not deducted.

PVGIS settings

PVGIS 5.3 queried on 3 November 2026 for Runcorn (53.333° N, 2.7° W) and points across the town: 1 kW of crystalline silicon panels, 14% system losses, free-standing mounting, the model's terrain horizon and its SARAH3 sunshine record for 2005 to 2023; south, south-east, south-west, east, west and north at tilts from 0 to 50 degrees.

Prices and sums

Example costs multiply a system's size by the DESNZ 2025/26 North West mean, or UK median, per kW for its size band. First-year values multiply PVGIS output by a stated share used at home at Ofgem's cap average unit rate for October to December 2026, plus the rest at a stated export rate. No payback periods are given.

Every source cited

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A flat roof, a quote, or a question about your Runcorn home?

Tell us about the roof or the quote, with your Runcorn postcode. Your message goes to SEO-DONS LTD, the company behind this independent guide, and the reply comes by email. Asking is free and commits you to nothing.

What happens next

Fill in the form; your postcode tells us which part of Runcorn you are in.
We look at what you sent and reply by email with the figures and sources that fit.
Whether you go ahead, and with which firm, is up to you.