Cool air helps
Panels lose output as they heat up. Cool hill air keeps them nearer their rated power than on a hot plains roof, which partly makes up for cloudier mornings.
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Rooftop solar in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and the hills
Hotels, homestays, schools and homes. Every hill roof simulated on its own.
Hill roofs do not follow plains rules. Slope, aspect, the ridge behind you and morning cloud change the numbers from one building to the next, so every site we take on in Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and Mirik is simulated on its own. Solarverse Solutions works across the hills from Sevoke Road, Siliguri, as an authorised Waaree channel partner.
Darjeeling at a glance
| Electricity supplier | WBSEDCL (West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company) |
|---|---|
| Rooftop rules | WBERC rooftop solar (Prosumers) Regulations, 2025. Net metering from 1 kW up to 500 kW or your contract demand, whichever is lower. Surplus carries forward from bill to bill and resets to zero on 1 April. |
| Expected generation | About 3.0 to 3.4 units per kWp a day as a planning figure, but every hill roof is simulated on its own |
| Sunshine on flat ground | 4.07 kWh per m² a day on average; strongest in April (4.7), weakest in January (3.5) |
| Noon sun | 40° above the horizon on 21 December, 86° on 21 June |
| Daylight | 10 h 26 min on 21 December, 13 h 51 min on 21 June |
| Winter parapet shadow | A 3 ft parapet on the south edge shades about 3.6 ft of roof at noon on 21 December, and 4.9 ft at 9 am. Panels start beyond it. |
| Home subsidy | PM Surya Ghar central assistance for homes on DCR panels, up to the 3 kW level. Amounts and process. |
Sunshine, month by month
Local know-how
What is different about Darjeeling
Backup where lines are long
Long overhead lines through forest mean more outages. Hotels, schools and homestays often choose a hybrid plant with lithium batteries to keep lights, pumps and Wi-Fi on.
Slopes, steps and wind
Pitched tin roofs, stepped terraces and exposed ridges each need their own structure and fixing, designed for the wind at the site.
Getting material up the hill
Panels, structure and batteries travel up narrow roads. We plan deliveries around the weather and the last stretch to your gate.
Where we work
Towns we cover around Darjeeling
Homes, shops, hotels, hospitals, schools, mills and factories.
- Darjeeling town, Ghoom & Sonada
- Kurseong, Dow Hill & Rohini
- Kalimpong, Algarah & Lava
- Mirik & Sukhia Pokhari
- Pedong, Lolegaon & Rishyap
- Bijanbari & the hill tea gardens
Questions
Asked in Darjeeling
Does solar work in Darjeeling with all the fog and cloud?
Yes, but less evenly than on the plains. Mornings are often cloudy and the monsoon is long, so we never quote a plains figure for a hill roof. Every hill site is simulated for its own slope, aspect and shade before we give a number.
Should a hotel or homestay in the hills choose hybrid solar?
If outages are the main problem, yes. A hybrid plant adds lithium batteries and keeps selected circuits running when the grid fails. Batteries are bought for backup, not for savings, so we size them to the hours of uptime you need.
Is net metering available in Darjeeling and Kalimpong?
Yes. The hills are on WBSEDCL and follow the same WBERC 2025 net-metering rules as the rest of West Bengal. We file the application and follow up the inspection.
Solar for Darjeeling, in writing
Send your last three electricity bills and a photo of the roof on WhatsApp. You get a written sizing, whether or not you buy.