Scottish homes and businesses are being urged to use more solar energy after figures showed there was enough sunshine last month to meet all electricity supplies.

New statistics from WeatherEnergy revealed sunshine in Edinburgh in April generated more electricity than used in an average home – a total of 113%.

The figure was 111% in Aberdeen, 104% in Inverness and 106% in Glasgow.

For those homes fitted with solar hot water panels, there was enough sunshine in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness to generate 100% of an average household’s hot water needs and 99% for homes in Aberdeen.

More than 35,000 homes and 600 business premises currently have solar PV arrays fitted.

WWF is calling on more homes and businesses to take advantage of the technology.

Lang Banks, WWF Scotland’s Director said: “For the tens of thousands of Scottish households that have already installed solar panels, there was enough sun to effectively meet all of their electricity or hot water needs, helping to reduce our reliance on polluting fossil fuels.

“With these sorts of figures, every home or business with a south-facing roof should seriously consider switching on to the full potential of solar power. Similarly, there is no reason why Scotland should not be home to commercial-scale solar farms.”

Wind turbines in Scotland also generated enough electricity to supply the needs of 69% of householders – or 1.7 million homes.