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

Solar Panels in B80 (Stratford-on-Avon)

See if solar pays off for you in Stratford-on-Avon — 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
13.0 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£783
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,404
After paying itself off, you're this much ahead

Ready to Get Started?

Get your free quote from Blue Ape Renewables. They'll connect you with MCS-certified installers in your area and handle all the paperwork.

Get Solar Quote →
4.8★ Trustpilot • Octopus Energy trusted partner • MCS certified • No obligation
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 5.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 963 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)
963 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: £783, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1927 kWh 771 kWh 1156 kWh £198 £116 £313 £4,069 13.0 yrs £2,196
3 kW 2890 kWh 1156 kWh 1734 kWh £296 £173 £470 £6,104 13.0 yrs £3,293
4 kW 3854 kWh 1541 kWh 2312 kWh £395 £231 £626 £8,138 13.0 yrs £4,391
5 kW 4817 kWh 1927 kWh 2890 kWh £494 £289 £783 £10,173 13.0 yrs £5,489
6 kW 5781 kWh 2312 kWh 3468 kWh £593 £347 £940 £12,207 13.0 yrs £6,587
7 kW 6744 kWh 2698 kWh 4046 kWh £692 £405 £1,096 £14,242 13.0 yrs £7,684
8 kW 7707 kWh 3083 kWh 4624 kWh £790 £462 £1,253 £16,276 13.0 yrs £8,782

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: £934, Upfront: £12,273, 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 1927 kWh 1156 kWh 771 kWh £296 £77 £373 £6,169 16.5 yrs £1,301
3 kW 2890 kWh 1734 kWh 1156 kWh £445 £116 £560 £8,204 14.6 yrs £3,001
4 kW 3854 kWh 2312 kWh 1541 kWh £593 £154 £747 £10,238 13.7 yrs £4,702
5 kW 4817 kWh 2890 kWh 1927 kWh £741 £193 £934 £12,273 13.1 yrs £6,402
6 kW 5781 kWh 3468 kWh 2312 kWh £889 £231 £1,120 £14,307 12.8 yrs £8,103
7 kW 6744 kWh 4046 kWh 2698 kWh £1,037 £270 £1,307 £16,342 12.5 yrs £9,803
8 kW 7707 kWh 4624 kWh 3083 kWh £1,186 £308 £1,494 £18,376 12.3 yrs £11,504

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: £1,009, Upfront: £13,673, 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 1927 kWh 1349 kWh 578 kWh £346 £58 £404 £7,569 18.8 yrs £504
3 kW 2890 kWh 2023 kWh 867 kWh £519 £87 £605 £9,604 15.9 yrs £2,506
4 kW 3854 kWh 2698 kWh 1156 kWh £692 £116 £807 £11,638 14.4 yrs £4,507
5 kW 4817 kWh 3372 kWh 1445 kWh £865 £145 £1,009 £13,673 13.5 yrs £6,509
6 kW 5781 kWh 4046 kWh 1734 kWh £1,037 £173 £1,211 £15,707 13.0 yrs £8,511
7 kW 6744 kWh 4721 kWh 2023 kWh £1,210 £202 £1,413 £17,742 12.6 yrs £10,513
8 kW 7707 kWh 5395 kWh 2312 kWh £1,383 £231 £1,615 £19,776 12.2 yrs £12,515

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: £1,032, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1927 kWh 1407 kWh 520 kWh £361 £52 £413 £9,319 22.6 yrs £-1,066
3 kW 2890 kWh 2110 kWh 780 kWh £541 £78 £619 £11,354 18.3 yrs £1,027
4 kW 3854 kWh 2813 kWh 1040 kWh £721 £104 £825 £13,388 16.2 yrs £3,119
5 kW 4817 kWh 3516 kWh 1301 kWh £902 £130 £1,032 £15,423 14.9 yrs £5,211
6 kW 5781 kWh 4220 kWh 1561 kWh £1,082 £156 £1,238 £17,457 14.1 yrs £7,303
7 kW 6744 kWh 4923 kWh 1821 kWh £1,262 £182 £1,444 £19,492 13.5 yrs £9,396
8 kW 7707 kWh 5626 kWh 2081 kWh £1,443 £208 £1,651 £21,526 13.0 yrs £11,488

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: £1,047, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1927 kWh 1445 kWh 482 kWh £371 £48 £419 £11,069 26.4 yrs £-2,695
3 kW 2890 kWh 2168 kWh 723 kWh £556 £72 £628 £13,104 20.9 yrs £-542
4 kW 3854 kWh 2890 kWh 963 kWh £741 £96 £837 £15,138 18.1 yrs £1,610
5 kW 4817 kWh 3613 kWh 1204 kWh £926 £120 £1,047 £17,173 16.4 yrs £3,763
6 kW 5781 kWh 4335 kWh 1445 kWh £1,112 £145 £1,256 £19,207 15.3 yrs £5,915
7 kW 6744 kWh 5058 kWh 1686 kWh £1,297 £169 £1,465 £21,242 14.5 yrs £8,068
8 kW 7707 kWh 5781 kWh 1927 kWh £1,482 £193 £1,675 £23,276 13.9 yrs £10,220

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: £1,062, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1927 kWh 1484 kWh 443 kWh £380 £44 £425 £13,519 31.8 yrs £-5,024
3 kW 2890 kWh 2226 kWh 665 kWh £571 £66 £637 £15,554 24.4 yrs £-2,812
4 kW 3854 kWh 2967 kWh 886 kWh £761 £89 £849 £17,588 20.7 yrs £-599
5 kW 4817 kWh 3709 kWh 1108 kWh £951 £111 £1,062 £19,623 18.5 yrs £1,614
6 kW 5781 kWh 4451 kWh 1330 kWh £1,141 £133 £1,274 £21,657 17.0 yrs £3,827
7 kW 6744 kWh 5193 kWh 1551 kWh £1,331 £155 £1,487 £23,692 15.9 yrs £6,039
8 kW 7707 kWh 5935 kWh 1773 kWh £1,522 £177 £1,699 £25,726 15.1 yrs £8,252

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
25.64p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
53.00p/day
Local Sunshine
963kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~963 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: 69% • Flats: 15% • Bungalows: 13% Based on 2,086 properties

Coverage

Stratford-on-Avon (88%)|Redditch (12%)

Areas Covered

Studley North, Studley South, Wootton Wawen, Central, Matchborough & Woodrow

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.