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Solar panel cost in Aberdeenshire (AB4)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for AB4 (Aberdeenshire) in under a minute using official UK data. Start with the calculator, then get a no-obligation quote from an MCS-certified installer. You can also ask the SolarByPostcode assistant to sanity-check your roof, bills and plans.

Solar Calculator

Change the settings below to see how costs and savings work for your situation.

System Size

Roof Direction

Battery Storage

Export Value

Your Numbers

Break-even
15.2 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£670
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,586
After paying itself off, you're this much ahead

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How we calculate this

Solar generation: Based on typical south-facing roof at 35° angle. We account for weather, dirt, and system losses (14%).

How much you'll use directly:

  • Without battery: You'll use about 40% of what you generate. The rest gets sold back to the grid.
  • With 5 kWh battery: You'll use about 70% (battery stores extra for evening use).
  • With 10 kWh battery: You'll use about 75% (more storage means less exported).
  • Panel-only payback: Bigger systems don’t shorten payback—cost and savings rise together per kW.
  • Battery & payback: Batteries raise self-use and cut bills, but added hardware cost often lengthens break-even at typical UK rates.
  • When a battery can still make sense:
    • Evening-heavy usage patterns
    • Time-of-use tariffs / cheap night rates
    • Low export rate vs. high unit rate
    • Heat pump or EV charging synergy
    • Optional backup/resilience (system-dependent)
    • Lower evening-hour CO₂ vs. grid

Costs: Battery prices are typically £700 per kWh. Export tariffs vary by supplier (usually 5–15p per kWh).

Grid connection: Systems up to about 3.7 kW typically need just a notification (G98). Larger systems may need permission (G99).

These are typical values based on average usage patterns. Your actual results will vary based on your roof, shading, and how you use electricity.

Your area in context

In Northern Scotland, the current unit rate is 23.40p/kWh with a 58.28p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 873 kWh/kW — 58 above the regional median (815).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 5.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 873 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 23.4p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
23.4p/kWh
Standing charge
58.3p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
873 kWh/kW
Export price (baseline)
10p/kWh

Browse the scenarios below. Each battery size has its own expand — open the one that matches your plan (or just explore). For each system size (2–8 kW) we show annual output, how much you use directly, what gets exported, annual benefit, upfront cost, break-even, and a 20-year net. Negative numbers are possible — that’s the honest trade-off when adding more battery than your usage profile justifies.

No battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £670, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 15.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1746 kWh 698 kWh 1047 kWh £163 £105 £268 £4,069 15.2 yrs £1,294
3 kW 2619 kWh 1047 kWh 1571 kWh £245 £157 £402 £6,104 15.2 yrs £1,941
4 kW 3491 kWh 1397 kWh 2095 kWh £327 £209 £536 £8,138 15.2 yrs £2,587
5 kW 4364 kWh 1746 kWh 2619 kWh £408 £262 £670 £10,173 15.2 yrs £3,234
6 kW 5237 kWh 2095 kWh 3142 kWh £490 £314 £804 £12,207 15.2 yrs £3,881
7 kW 6110 kWh 2444 kWh 3666 kWh £572 £367 £938 £14,242 15.2 yrs £4,528
8 kW 6983 kWh 2793 kWh 4190 kWh £654 £419 £1,073 £16,276 15.2 yrs £5,175

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

3 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £787, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 15.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1746 kWh 1047 kWh 698 kWh £245 £70 £315 £6,169 19.6 yrs £129
3 kW 2619 kWh 1571 kWh 1047 kWh £368 £105 £472 £8,204 17.4 yrs £1,244
4 kW 3491 kWh 2095 kWh 1397 kWh £490 £140 £630 £10,238 16.3 yrs £2,359
5 kW 4364 kWh 2619 kWh 1746 kWh £613 £175 £787 £12,273 15.6 yrs £3,473
6 kW 5237 kWh 3142 kWh 2095 kWh £735 £209 £945 £14,307 15.1 yrs £4,588
7 kW 6110 kWh 3666 kWh 2444 kWh £858 £244 £1,102 £16,342 14.8 yrs £5,703
8 kW 6983 kWh 4190 kWh 2793 kWh £980 £279 £1,260 £18,376 14.6 yrs £6,818

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £846, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 16.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1746 kWh 1222 kWh 524 kWh £286 £52 £338 £7,569 22.4 yrs £-803
3 kW 2619 kWh 1833 kWh 786 kWh £429 £79 £507 £9,604 18.9 yrs £546
4 kW 3491 kWh 2444 kWh 1047 kWh £572 £105 £677 £11,638 17.2 yrs £1,894
5 kW 4364 kWh 3055 kWh 1309 kWh £715 £131 £846 £13,673 16.2 yrs £3,243
6 kW 5237 kWh 3666 kWh 1571 kWh £858 £157 £1,015 £15,707 15.5 yrs £4,592
7 kW 6110 kWh 4277 kWh 1833 kWh £1,001 £183 £1,184 £17,742 15.0 yrs £5,940
8 kW 6983 kWh 4888 kWh 2095 kWh £1,144 £209 £1,353 £19,776 14.6 yrs £7,289

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

7.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £863, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 17.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1746 kWh 1274 kWh 471 kWh £298 £47 £345 £9,319 27.0 yrs £-2,412
3 kW 2619 kWh 1912 kWh 707 kWh £447 £71 £518 £11,354 21.9 yrs £-994
4 kW 3491 kWh 2549 kWh 943 kWh £596 £94 £691 £13,388 19.4 yrs £425
5 kW 4364 kWh 3186 kWh 1178 kWh £745 £118 £863 £15,423 17.9 yrs £1,844
6 kW 5237 kWh 3823 kWh 1414 kWh £895 £141 £1,036 £17,457 16.9 yrs £3,263
7 kW 6110 kWh 4460 kWh 1650 kWh £1,044 £165 £1,209 £19,492 16.1 yrs £4,682
8 kW 6983 kWh 5097 kWh 1885 kWh £1,193 £189 £1,381 £21,526 15.6 yrs £6,100

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

10 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £875, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 19.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1746 kWh 1309 kWh 436 kWh £306 £44 £350 £11,069 31.6 yrs £-4,069
3 kW 2619 kWh 1964 kWh 655 kWh £460 £65 £525 £13,104 25.0 yrs £-2,603
4 kW 3491 kWh 2619 kWh 873 kWh £613 £87 £700 £15,138 21.6 yrs £-1,138
5 kW 4364 kWh 3273 kWh 1091 kWh £766 £109 £875 £17,173 19.6 yrs £328
6 kW 5237 kWh 3928 kWh 1309 kWh £919 £131 £1,050 £19,207 18.3 yrs £1,793
7 kW 6110 kWh 4582 kWh 1527 kWh £1,072 £153 £1,225 £21,242 17.3 yrs £3,259
8 kW 6983 kWh 5237 kWh 1746 kWh £1,225 £175 £1,400 £23,276 16.6 yrs £4,725

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

13.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £887, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 22.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1746 kWh 1344 kWh 402 kWh £315 £40 £355 £13,519 38.1 yrs £-6,425
3 kW 2619 kWh 2016 kWh 602 kWh £472 £60 £532 £15,554 29.2 yrs £-4,913
4 kW 3491 kWh 2688 kWh 803 kWh £629 £80 £709 £17,588 24.8 yrs £-3,401
5 kW 4364 kWh 3360 kWh 1004 kWh £786 £100 £887 £19,623 22.1 yrs £-1,888
6 kW 5237 kWh 4033 kWh 1205 kWh £944 £120 £1,064 £21,657 20.4 yrs £-376
7 kW 6110 kWh 4705 kWh 1405 kWh £1,101 £141 £1,241 £23,692 19.1 yrs £1,137
8 kW 6983 kWh 5377 kWh 1606 kWh £1,258 £161 £1,419 £25,726 18.1 yrs £2,649

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

Figures are illustrative and use the same method as the calculator above. For exact results, adjust your roof direction, tariff, and usage in the calculator.

Insights for AB4

Figures below are tailored to AB4 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2356 of 2997
13.4 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£606 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2766 of 2997
37.4% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£227 fixed • ~£606 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −22.3% West −22.7%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in AB4

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 27 Jan 43 Feb 76 Mar 103 Apr 120 May 115 Jun 111 Jul 100 Aug 78 Sep 50 Oct 30 Nov 21 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 41.6% of an average month (Dec–Feb)

Best / worst month: May / Dec

These figures show output per kilowatt (kW) of panels installed. In winter, a 1 kW system here produces about 30 kWh per month; the average month produces around 73 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 121 kWh in winter, or 291 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
23.40p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
58.28p/day
Local Sunshine
873kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~873 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
5.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

Aberdeenshire (100%)

Areas Covered

Central Buchan, Peterhead North and Rattray, Banff and District, Ellon and District, Troup, Fraserburgh and District, Peterhead South and Cruden, Mid Formartine + 3 more

Data Sources & Assumptions

Solar yield: PVGIS (EU Joint Research Centre), January 2025 data

Electricity rates: Ofgem price cap, Q1 2026

Installation costs: MCS certified installer data, March 2025

Property data: EPC open data (Open Government Licence), aggregated

All estimates are typical values. Actual results vary based on your specific situation, roof characteristics, and usage patterns.

Compare nearby areas

Nearby in Northern Scotland

AB42 (Aberdeenshire)
≈13.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~894 kWh/kWp · +2% vs AB4
AB41 (Aberdeenshire)
≈17.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~873 kWh/kWp · +0% vs AB4
AB43 (Aberdeenshire)
≈17.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~891 kWh/kWp · +2% vs AB4
AB53 (Aberdeenshire)
≈22.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~862 kWh/kWp · -1% vs AB4
AB44 (Aberdeenshire)
≈30.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~852 kWh/kWp · -2% vs AB4
AB45 (Aberdeenshire)
≈32.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~848 kWh/kWp · -3% vs AB4

Similar sunshine across the UK

LL56 (Gwynedd)
~873 kWh/kWp · +0% vs AB4
BT80 (Mid Ulster)
~873 kWh/kWp · -0% vs AB4
SA9 (Powys)
~873 kWh/kWp · +0% vs AB4