Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever

Solar Panels in B77 (Tamworth)

See if solar pays off for you in Tamworth — 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
13.1 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,138
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£620
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£7,361
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

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 4.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 956 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
49.1p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
956 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: £775, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1911 kWh 764 kWh 1147 kWh £195 £115 £310 £4,069 13.1 yrs £2,130
3 kW 2867 kWh 1147 kWh 1720 kWh £293 £172 £465 £6,104 13.1 yrs £3,196
4 kW 3822 kWh 1529 kWh 2293 kWh £391 £229 £620 £8,138 13.1 yrs £4,261
5 kW 4778 kWh 1911 kWh 2867 kWh £488 £287 £775 £10,173 13.1 yrs £5,326
6 kW 5733 kWh 2293 kWh 3440 kWh £586 £344 £930 £12,207 13.1 yrs £6,391
7 kW 6689 kWh 2675 kWh 4013 kWh £684 £401 £1,085 £14,242 13.1 yrs £7,457
8 kW 7644 kWh 3058 kWh 4587 kWh £781 £459 £1,240 £16,276 13.1 yrs £8,522

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: £924, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1911 kWh 1147 kWh 764 kWh £293 £76 £369 £6,169 16.7 yrs £1,219
3 kW 2867 kWh 1720 kWh 1147 kWh £439 £115 £554 £8,204 14.8 yrs £2,879
4 kW 3822 kWh 2293 kWh 1529 kWh £586 £153 £739 £10,238 13.9 yrs £4,538
5 kW 4778 kWh 2867 kWh 1911 kWh £732 £191 £924 £12,273 13.3 yrs £6,198
6 kW 5733 kWh 3440 kWh 2293 kWh £879 £229 £1,108 £14,307 12.9 yrs £7,857
7 kW 6689 kWh 4013 kWh 2675 kWh £1,025 £268 £1,293 £16,342 12.6 yrs £9,517
8 kW 7644 kWh 4587 kWh 3058 kWh £1,172 £306 £1,478 £18,376 12.4 yrs £11,177

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: £998, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1911 kWh 1338 kWh 573 kWh £342 £57 £399 £7,569 19.0 yrs £413
3 kW 2867 kWh 2007 kWh 860 kWh £513 £86 £599 £9,604 16.0 yrs £2,370
4 kW 3822 kWh 2675 kWh 1147 kWh £684 £115 £798 £11,638 14.6 yrs £4,327
5 kW 4778 kWh 3344 kWh 1433 kWh £854 £143 £998 £13,673 13.7 yrs £6,284
6 kW 5733 kWh 4013 kWh 1720 kWh £1,025 £172 £1,197 £15,707 13.1 yrs £8,240
7 kW 6689 kWh 4682 kWh 2007 kWh £1,196 £201 £1,397 £17,742 12.7 yrs £10,197
8 kW 7644 kWh 5351 kWh 2293 kWh £1,367 £229 £1,596 £19,776 12.4 yrs £12,154

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: £1,020, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1911 kWh 1395 kWh 516 kWh £356 £52 £408 £9,319 22.8 yrs £-1,158
3 kW 2867 kWh 2093 kWh 774 kWh £535 £77 £612 £11,354 18.5 yrs £888
4 kW 3822 kWh 2790 kWh 1032 kWh £713 £103 £816 £13,388 16.4 yrs £2,934
5 kW 4778 kWh 3488 kWh 1290 kWh £891 £129 £1,020 £15,423 15.1 yrs £4,979
6 kW 5733 kWh 4185 kWh 1548 kWh £1,069 £155 £1,224 £17,457 14.3 yrs £7,025
7 kW 6689 kWh 4883 kWh 1806 kWh £1,248 £181 £1,428 £19,492 13.6 yrs £9,071
8 kW 7644 kWh 5580 kWh 2064 kWh £1,426 £206 £1,632 £21,526 13.2 yrs £11,117

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: £1,035, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1911 kWh 1433 kWh 478 kWh £366 £48 £414 £11,069 26.7 yrs £-2,789
3 kW 2867 kWh 2150 kWh 717 kWh £549 £72 £621 £13,104 21.1 yrs £-684
4 kW 3822 kWh 2867 kWh 956 kWh £732 £96 £828 £15,138 18.3 yrs £1,421
5 kW 4778 kWh 3583 kWh 1194 kWh £916 £119 £1,035 £17,173 16.6 yrs £3,527
6 kW 5733 kWh 4300 kWh 1433 kWh £1,099 £143 £1,242 £19,207 15.5 yrs £5,632
7 kW 6689 kWh 5017 kWh 1672 kWh £1,282 £167 £1,449 £21,242 14.7 yrs £7,737
8 kW 7644 kWh 5733 kWh 1911 kWh £1,465 £191 £1,656 £23,276 14.1 yrs £9,843

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: £1,050, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1911 kWh 1472 kWh 440 kWh £376 £44 £420 £13,519 32.2 yrs £-5,120
3 kW 2867 kWh 2207 kWh 659 kWh £564 £66 £630 £15,554 24.7 yrs £-2,956
4 kW 3822 kWh 2943 kWh 879 kWh £752 £88 £840 £17,588 20.9 yrs £-791
5 kW 4778 kWh 3679 kWh 1099 kWh £940 £110 £1,050 £19,623 18.7 yrs £1,374
6 kW 5733 kWh 4415 kWh 1319 kWh £1,128 £132 £1,260 £21,657 17.2 yrs £3,539
7 kW 6689 kWh 5150 kWh 1538 kWh £1,316 £154 £1,470 £23,692 16.1 yrs £5,703
8 kW 7644 kWh 5886 kWh 1758 kWh £1,504 £176 £1,680 £25,726 15.3 yrs £7,868

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.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.55p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
49.09p/day
Local Sunshine
956kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~956 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
4.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 80% • Flats: 14% • Bungalows: 4% Based on 12,096 properties

Coverage

Tamworth (99%)|North Warwickshire (1%)

Areas Covered

Bolehall, Wilnecote, Amington, Trinity, Belgrave, Glascote, Stonydelph, Castle + 2 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.