Solar Wars Update: Which UK County Is Actually Winning at Solar?

Three months in, and the top two are a whisker apart

Solar Wars — the free UK county leaderboard built into Sun Hours — has been live since mid-June. Sign in with Apple, claim one of the UK's 73 ceremonial counties as your "tribe", and every kWh you generate syncs straight to your county's average. It's still an open beta on iOS, but the standings are very real.

Right now, Worcestershire is on top with an average of 21.1 kWh a day per player, from a squad of two. Essex is right behind on 17.8 kWh, and has been in this since day one. (Full disclosure: I'm one of Essex's two players, so take the ranking with a pinch of salt — or a pinch of cloud cover, more likely.)

That's a gap either county could close in a single good week. Nothing here is settled.

The full board, as it stands

A couple of things worth explaining. Standings rank by average daily generation, not total — so Greater London and Greater Manchester, who both banked a strong score back in June and haven't synced since, are still sitting comfortably mid-table. If that's your county, the throne is basically unguarded.

Armagh is currently the only Northern Ireland entry, flying that flag alone. Dorset is the newest recruit — five days in, and already out-generating two counties that have been here for months.

65 counties are still empty

Solar Wars covers all 73 UK ceremonial counties. Eight are claimed. Sixty-five are not — which means there's a good chance yours is one of them, and claiming it takes about thirty seconds.

A little on the world stage, too

Solar Wars isn't only UK counties — there's a country board running alongside it. It's a tiny sample so far (one player each for most countries), so don't read too much into it, but for what it's worth: the USA is currently averaging the most generation per day, South Africa's close behind, then Ireland — and the UK sits fourth of four right now. Nothing a few more Sun Hours users abroad couldn't fix.

Between everyone playing, Solar Wars has logged just under 2,900 kWh of real, synced solar generation since June — more than the 2,500 kWh a typical UK household gets through in an entire year (Ofgem's latest TDCV), generated by thirteen people in under three months.

Meanwhile, plug-in solar just became real

If you don't have solar yet, the timing is good. SI 2026/848 came into force on 27 August, making certified plug-in solar kits — up to 800W, no electrician required — legal to connect via a standard UK socket in England, Wales and Scotland. The first certified kits are already starting to appear at retailers, with more expected through autumn. Full breakdown of costs, savings and what to check before you buy: the plug-in solar UK guide.

(Sorry, Armagh — Northern Ireland isn't covered by this change yet, so you're stuck defending your spot the traditional way for now.)

Every new panel is a potential new Solar Wars recruit, and most of them are going up in counties that haven't claimed a tribe yet.

How to join

1. Download Sun Hours free from the App Store →
2. Set up your forecast as normal — your location and your panel's best-day output
3. Tap the Solar Wars card on your dashboard
4. Sign in with Apple, pick a username and your county
5. Your generation syncs automatically from there

Solar Wars itself is iOS only for now. If you're on Android, you can still browse the live board — no sign-in needed — at sunhours.app/solarwars, and the main Sun Hours forecast app already works great for you.

This is still an open beta — data may be reset before the official launch — which makes right now a good time to be a founding name in your county's history. Thirteen people have started this. Imagine what sixty-five more could do.