Maesteg’s domestic solar market is defined by the Llynfi Valley geometry. The town sits at the head of the valley inside Bridgend County Borough. The surrounding residential communities — Cwmfelin, Caerau, Nantyffyllon and Garth — occupy positions that create a significant range of shading exposure across a small geographic area.
The shading spectrum from Garth to Caerau
The Llynfi Valley narrows progressively northward. At Garth and Llangynwyd to the south, south-facing pitches receive near-unobstructed winter sun. By Cwmfelin and Caerau the winter sun window for valley-floor properties can be reduced to three to four hours at the solstice. Horizon shading alone can reduce effective irradiation to 880 to 910 kWh/kWp at Caerau — a 4% to 7% reduction before inter-row shading is applied.
FLD uses LiDAR-derived horizon profiles for all CF34 domestic assessments rather than PVGIS postcode figures.
SolarEdge as the CF34 default
The combination of valley horizon and inter-row terrace shading makes SolarEdge optimisation the only defensible default for CF34. In the tighter valley sections at Cwmfelin and Caerau, optimisation recovers 8% to 12% of annual generation — worth approximately £90 to £135 per year on a 4 kWp system at 28p/kWh.
Battery storage for working households
A 5 kWh battery paired with a 4 kWp CF34 installation in a mid-valley position adds approximately £185 to £220 of annual value above the solar-only case. Combined solar-plus-battery payback: 10.0 to 11.5 years on £11,200 to £12,500 total investment.
Nantyffyllon: better-oriented stock
Nantyffyllon, on the east side of the Llynfi Valley below the rim, carries semi-detached interwar stock with better solar exposure than valley-floor terraces. FLD models effective yield at 935 to 945 kWh/kWp for Nantyffyllon. A 4.5 kWp Nantyffyllon semi generates approximately 4,208 kWh annually. Year-one benefit at 40% self-consumption: approximately £780. Payback on £7,800 installed cost: 10.0 years.
Getting a Maesteg survey
FLD is 30 minutes from Maesteg. We combine CF34 domestic surveys with Bridgend and Porthcawl visits on M4 west corridor days. Call Paul on 01792 680611.
