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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in BD18 (Bradford)

See if solar pays off for you in Bradford — 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
13.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£732
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,119
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 Yorkshire, the current unit rate is 25.33p/kWh with a 58.65p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 907 kWh/kW — 22 below the regional median (929).

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 907 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.3p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.3p/kWh
Standing charge
58.6p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
907 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: £732, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1814 kWh 726 kWh 1088 kWh £184 £109 £293 £4,069 13.9 yrs £1,784
3 kW 2721 kWh 1088 kWh 1633 kWh £276 £163 £439 £6,104 13.9 yrs £2,676
4 kW 3628 kWh 1451 kWh 2177 kWh £368 £218 £585 £8,138 13.9 yrs £3,568
5 kW 4535 kWh 1814 kWh 2721 kWh £460 £272 £732 £10,173 13.9 yrs £4,460
6 kW 5442 kWh 2177 kWh 3265 kWh £551 £327 £878 £12,207 13.9 yrs £5,352
7 kW 6349 kWh 2540 kWh 3810 kWh £643 £381 £1,024 £14,242 13.9 yrs £6,244
8 kW 7257 kWh 2903 kWh 4354 kWh £735 £435 £1,171 £16,276 13.9 yrs £7,136

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: £871, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 14.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1814 kWh 1088 kWh 726 kWh £276 £73 £348 £6,169 17.7 yrs £797
3 kW 2721 kWh 1633 kWh 1088 kWh £414 £109 £522 £8,204 15.7 yrs £2,245
4 kW 3628 kWh 2177 kWh 1451 kWh £551 £145 £697 £10,238 14.7 yrs £3,693
5 kW 4535 kWh 2721 kWh 1814 kWh £689 £181 £871 £12,273 14.1 yrs £5,141
6 kW 5442 kWh 3265 kWh 2177 kWh £827 £218 £1,045 £14,307 13.7 yrs £6,590
7 kW 6349 kWh 3810 kWh 2540 kWh £965 £254 £1,219 £16,342 13.4 yrs £8,038
8 kW 7257 kWh 4354 kWh 2903 kWh £1,103 £290 £1,393 £18,376 13.2 yrs £9,486

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: £940, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1814 kWh 1270 kWh 544 kWh £322 £54 £376 £7,569 20.1 yrs £-47
3 kW 2721 kWh 1905 kWh 816 kWh £482 £82 £564 £9,604 17.0 yrs £1,679
4 kW 3628 kWh 2540 kWh 1088 kWh £643 £109 £752 £11,638 15.5 yrs £3,406
5 kW 4535 kWh 3175 kWh 1361 kWh £804 £136 £940 £13,673 14.5 yrs £5,132
6 kW 5442 kWh 3810 kWh 1633 kWh £965 £163 £1,128 £15,707 13.9 yrs £6,858
7 kW 6349 kWh 4445 kWh 1905 kWh £1,126 £190 £1,316 £17,742 13.5 yrs £8,585
8 kW 7257 kWh 5080 kWh 2177 kWh £1,287 £218 £1,504 £19,776 13.1 yrs £10,311

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: £961, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 16.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1814 kWh 1324 kWh 490 kWh £335 £49 £384 £9,319 24.2 yrs £-1,630
3 kW 2721 kWh 1986 kWh 735 kWh £503 £73 £577 £11,354 19.7 yrs £179
4 kW 3628 kWh 2649 kWh 980 kWh £671 £98 £769 £13,388 17.4 yrs £1,989
5 kW 4535 kWh 3311 kWh 1225 kWh £839 £122 £961 £15,423 16.0 yrs £3,799
6 kW 5442 kWh 3973 kWh 1469 kWh £1,006 £147 £1,153 £17,457 15.1 yrs £5,609
7 kW 6349 kWh 4635 kWh 1714 kWh £1,174 £171 £1,346 £19,492 14.5 yrs £7,419
8 kW 7257 kWh 5297 kWh 1959 kWh £1,342 £196 £1,538 £21,526 14.0 yrs £9,229

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: £975, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1814 kWh 1361 kWh 454 kWh £345 £45 £390 £11,069 28.4 yrs £-3,269
3 kW 2721 kWh 2041 kWh 680 kWh £517 £68 £585 £13,104 22.4 yrs £-1,404
4 kW 3628 kWh 2721 kWh 907 kWh £689 £91 £780 £15,138 19.4 yrs £462
5 kW 4535 kWh 3402 kWh 1134 kWh £862 £113 £975 £17,173 17.6 yrs £2,327
6 kW 5442 kWh 4082 kWh 1361 kWh £1,034 £136 £1,170 £19,207 16.4 yrs £4,193
7 kW 6349 kWh 4762 kWh 1587 kWh £1,206 £159 £1,365 £21,242 15.6 yrs £6,058
8 kW 7257 kWh 5442 kWh 1814 kWh £1,379 £181 £1,560 £23,276 14.9 yrs £7,923

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: £989, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1814 kWh 1397 kWh 417 kWh £354 £42 £396 £13,519 34.2 yrs £-5,608
3 kW 2721 kWh 2095 kWh 626 kWh £531 £63 £593 £15,554 26.2 yrs £-3,687
4 kW 3628 kWh 2794 kWh 835 kWh £708 £83 £791 £17,588 22.2 yrs £-1,766
5 kW 4535 kWh 3492 kWh 1043 kWh £885 £104 £989 £19,623 19.8 yrs £155
6 kW 5442 kWh 4191 kWh 1252 kWh £1,061 £125 £1,187 £21,657 18.3 yrs £2,076
7 kW 6349 kWh 4889 kWh 1460 kWh £1,238 £146 £1,384 £23,692 17.1 yrs £3,997
8 kW 7257 kWh 5588 kWh 1669 kWh £1,415 £167 £1,582 £25,726 16.3 yrs £5,918

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 BD18

Figures below are tailored to BD18 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1920 of 2182
4.3 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~9 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2456 of 2997
12.2 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£836 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2322 of 2997
25.6% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£214 fixed • ~£836 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.33p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
58.65p/day
Local Sunshine
907kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~907 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: 63% • Flats: 30% • Bungalows: 5% Based on 7,939 properties

Coverage

Bradford (100%)

Areas Covered

Shipley, Windhill and Wrose, Bolton and Undercliffe, Heaton, Idle and Thackley

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 Yorkshire

BD17 (Bradford)
≈1.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~906 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BD18
BD97 (Bradford)
≈1.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~905 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BD18
BD98 (Bradford)
≈1.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~905 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BD18
BD9 (Bradford)
≈2.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~906 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BD18
BD10 (Bradford)
≈3.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~911 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BD18
BD2 (Bradford)
≈3.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~904 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BD18

Similar sunshine across the UK

NE42 (Northumberland)
~907 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BD18
LL60 (Isle of Anglesey)
~907 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BD18
SR3 (Sunderland)
~907 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BD18