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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in B45 (Birmingham)

See if solar pays off for you in Birmingham — price, savings and payback in under a minute (official UK data).

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
13.4 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£761
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,864
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 Midlands, the current unit rate is 25.64p/kWh with a 53.00p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 937 kWh/kW — 5 below the regional median (942).

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 937 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.6p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.6p/kWh
Standing charge
53.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
937 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: £761, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1874 kWh 749 kWh 1124 kWh £192 £112 £305 £4,069 13.4 yrs £2,023
3 kW 2811 kWh 1124 kWh 1686 kWh £288 £169 £457 £6,104 13.4 yrs £3,034
4 kW 3747 kWh 1499 kWh 2248 kWh £384 £225 £609 £8,138 13.4 yrs £4,046
5 kW 4684 kWh 1874 kWh 2811 kWh £480 £281 £761 £10,173 13.4 yrs £5,057
6 kW 5621 kWh 2248 kWh 3373 kWh £577 £337 £914 £12,207 13.4 yrs £6,068
7 kW 6558 kWh 2623 kWh 3935 kWh £673 £393 £1,066 £14,242 13.4 yrs £7,080
8 kW 7495 kWh 2998 kWh 4497 kWh £769 £450 £1,218 £16,276 13.4 yrs £8,091

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: £908, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1874 kWh 1124 kWh 749 kWh £288 £75 £363 £6,169 17.0 yrs £1,095
3 kW 2811 kWh 1686 kWh 1124 kWh £432 £112 £545 £8,204 15.1 yrs £2,693
4 kW 3747 kWh 2248 kWh 1499 kWh £577 £150 £726 £10,238 14.1 yrs £4,290
5 kW 4684 kWh 2811 kWh 1874 kWh £721 £187 £908 £12,273 13.5 yrs £5,888
6 kW 5621 kWh 3373 kWh 2248 kWh £865 £225 £1,090 £14,307 13.1 yrs £7,485
7 kW 6558 kWh 3935 kWh 2623 kWh £1,009 £262 £1,271 £16,342 12.9 yrs £9,083
8 kW 7495 kWh 4497 kWh 2998 kWh £1,153 £300 £1,453 £18,376 12.6 yrs £10,680

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: £981, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1874 kWh 1312 kWh 562 kWh £336 £56 £393 £7,569 19.3 yrs £281
3 kW 2811 kWh 1967 kWh 843 kWh £504 £84 £589 £9,604 16.3 yrs £2,172
4 kW 3747 kWh 2623 kWh 1124 kWh £673 £112 £785 £11,638 14.8 yrs £4,062
5 kW 4684 kWh 3279 kWh 1405 kWh £841 £141 £981 £13,673 13.9 yrs £5,953
6 kW 5621 kWh 3935 kWh 1686 kWh £1,009 £169 £1,178 £15,707 13.3 yrs £7,843
7 kW 6558 kWh 4591 kWh 1967 kWh £1,177 £197 £1,374 £17,742 12.9 yrs £9,734
8 kW 7495 kWh 5246 kWh 2248 kWh £1,345 £225 £1,570 £19,776 12.6 yrs £11,624

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: £1,003, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1874 kWh 1368 kWh 506 kWh £351 £51 £401 £9,319 23.2 yrs £-1,293
3 kW 2811 kWh 2052 kWh 759 kWh £526 £76 £602 £11,354 18.9 yrs £685
4 kW 3747 kWh 2736 kWh 1012 kWh £701 £101 £803 £13,388 16.7 yrs £2,664
5 kW 4684 kWh 3420 kWh 1265 kWh £877 £126 £1,003 £15,423 15.4 yrs £4,642
6 kW 5621 kWh 4103 kWh 1518 kWh £1,052 £152 £1,204 £17,457 14.5 yrs £6,621
7 kW 6558 kWh 4787 kWh 1771 kWh £1,227 £177 £1,405 £19,492 13.9 yrs £8,599
8 kW 7495 kWh 5471 kWh 2024 kWh £1,403 £202 £1,605 £21,526 13.4 yrs £10,578

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: £1,018, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1874 kWh 1405 kWh 468 kWh £360 £47 £407 £11,069 27.2 yrs £-2,926
3 kW 2811 kWh 2108 kWh 703 kWh £540 £70 £611 £13,104 21.5 yrs £-889
4 kW 3747 kWh 2811 kWh 937 kWh £721 £94 £814 £15,138 18.6 yrs £1,148
5 kW 4684 kWh 3513 kWh 1171 kWh £901 £117 £1,018 £17,173 16.9 yrs £3,185
6 kW 5621 kWh 4216 kWh 1405 kWh £1,081 £141 £1,221 £19,207 15.7 yrs £5,223
7 kW 6558 kWh 4919 kWh 1640 kWh £1,261 £164 £1,425 £21,242 14.9 yrs £7,260
8 kW 7495 kWh 5621 kWh 1874 kWh £1,441 £187 £1,629 £23,276 14.3 yrs £9,297

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: £1,033, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1874 kWh 1443 kWh 431 kWh £370 £43 £413 £13,519 32.7 yrs £-5,259
3 kW 2811 kWh 2164 kWh 646 kWh £555 £65 £620 £15,554 25.1 yrs £-3,163
4 kW 3747 kWh 2886 kWh 862 kWh £740 £86 £826 £17,588 21.3 yrs £-1,067
5 kW 4684 kWh 3607 kWh 1077 kWh £925 £108 £1,033 £19,623 19.0 yrs £1,028
6 kW 5621 kWh 4328 kWh 1293 kWh £1,110 £129 £1,239 £21,657 17.5 yrs £3,124
7 kW 6558 kWh 5050 kWh 1508 kWh £1,295 £151 £1,446 £23,692 16.4 yrs £5,220
8 kW 7495 kWh 5771 kWh 1724 kWh £1,480 £172 £1,652 £25,726 15.6 yrs £7,316

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 B45

Figures below are tailored to B45 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1510 of 2182
4.7 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1952 of 2997
11.7 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£871 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1929 of 2997
22.2% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£193 fixed • ~£871 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.64p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
53.00p/day
Local Sunshine
937kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~937 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

Houses: 70% • Flats: 19% • Bungalows: 8% Based on 8,717 properties

Coverage

Birmingham (60%)|Bromsgrove (40%)

Areas Covered

Rubery & Rednal, Frankley Great Park, Rubery South, Cofton, Rubery North, Barnt Green & Hopwood, Lickey Hills, Longbridge & West Heath + 3 more

Data Sources & Assumptions

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

Electricity rates: Ofgem price cap, Q4 2025

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 Midlands

B31 (Birmingham)
≈3.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~940 kWh/kWp · +0% vs B45
B38 (Birmingham)
≈5.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~938 kWh/kWp · +0% vs B45
B48 (Bromsgrove)
≈5.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~948 kWh/kWp · +1% vs B45
B22 (Birmingham)
≈5.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~937 kWh/kWp · +0% vs B45
B30 (Birmingham)
≈6.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~938 kWh/kWp · +0% vs B45
B61 (Bromsgrove)
≈6.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~957 kWh/kWp · +2% vs B45

Similar sunshine across the UK

DE15 (East Staffordshire)
~937 kWh/kWp · -0% vs B45
NG17 (Ashfield)
~937 kWh/kWp · +0% vs B45
LL13 (Wrexham)
~937 kWh/kWp · +0% vs B45