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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in BH11 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)

See if solar pays off for you in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole — 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
11.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£896
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£12,239
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 Southern, the current unit rate is 26.48p/kWh with a 44.62p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 1081 kWh/kW — 79 above the regional median (1001).

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 1081 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.5p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.5p/kWh
Standing charge
44.6p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
1081 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: £896, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 11.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2161 kWh 864 kWh 1297 kWh £229 £130 £359 £4,069 11.3 yrs £3,103
3 kW 3242 kWh 1297 kWh 1945 kWh £343 £195 £538 £6,104 11.3 yrs £4,654
4 kW 4322 kWh 1729 kWh 2593 kWh £458 £259 £717 £8,138 11.3 yrs £6,205
5 kW 5403 kWh 2161 kWh 3242 kWh £572 £324 £896 £10,173 11.3 yrs £7,756
6 kW 6483 kWh 2593 kWh 3890 kWh £687 £389 £1,076 £12,207 11.3 yrs £9,308
7 kW 7564 kWh 3026 kWh 4538 kWh £801 £454 £1,255 £14,242 11.3 yrs £10,859
8 kW 8645 kWh 3458 kWh 5187 kWh £916 £519 £1,434 £16,276 11.3 yrs £12,410

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: £1,075, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 11.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2161 kWh 1297 kWh 864 kWh £343 £86 £430 £6,169 14.4 yrs £2,427
3 kW 3242 kWh 1945 kWh 1297 kWh £515 £130 £645 £8,204 12.7 yrs £4,691
4 kW 4322 kWh 2593 kWh 1729 kWh £687 £173 £860 £10,238 11.9 yrs £6,954
5 kW 5403 kWh 3242 kWh 2161 kWh £858 £216 £1,075 £12,273 11.4 yrs £9,218
6 kW 6483 kWh 3890 kWh 2593 kWh £1,030 £259 £1,289 £14,307 11.1 yrs £11,482
7 kW 7564 kWh 4538 kWh 3026 kWh £1,202 £303 £1,504 £16,342 10.9 yrs £13,745
8 kW 8645 kWh 5187 kWh 3458 kWh £1,373 £346 £1,719 £18,376 10.7 yrs £16,009

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: £1,164, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 11.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2161 kWh 1513 kWh 648 kWh £401 £65 £465 £7,569 16.3 yrs £1,740
3 kW 3242 kWh 2269 kWh 973 kWh £601 £97 £698 £9,604 13.8 yrs £4,359
4 kW 4322 kWh 3026 kWh 1297 kWh £801 £130 £931 £11,638 12.5 yrs £6,979
5 kW 5403 kWh 3782 kWh 1621 kWh £1,001 £162 £1,164 £13,673 11.8 yrs £9,599
6 kW 6483 kWh 4538 kWh 1945 kWh £1,202 £195 £1,396 £15,707 11.2 yrs £12,219
7 kW 7564 kWh 5295 kWh 2269 kWh £1,402 £227 £1,629 £17,742 10.9 yrs £14,838
8 kW 8645 kWh 6051 kWh 2593 kWh £1,602 £259 £1,862 £19,776 10.6 yrs £17,458

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: £1,190, Upfront: £15,423, 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 2161 kWh 1578 kWh 584 kWh £418 £58 £476 £9,319 19.6 yrs £203
3 kW 3242 kWh 2366 kWh 875 kWh £627 £88 £714 £11,354 15.9 yrs £2,930
4 kW 4322 kWh 3155 kWh 1167 kWh £836 £117 £952 £13,388 14.1 yrs £5,656
5 kW 5403 kWh 3944 kWh 1459 kWh £1,044 £146 £1,190 £15,423 13.0 yrs £8,383
6 kW 6483 kWh 4733 kWh 1751 kWh £1,253 £175 £1,428 £17,457 12.2 yrs £11,110
7 kW 7564 kWh 5522 kWh 2042 kWh £1,462 £204 £1,666 £19,492 11.7 yrs £13,836
8 kW 8645 kWh 6311 kWh 2334 kWh £1,671 £233 £1,904 £21,526 11.3 yrs £16,563

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: £1,208, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 14.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2161 kWh 1621 kWh 540 kWh £429 £54 £483 £11,069 22.9 yrs £-1,404
3 kW 3242 kWh 2431 kWh 810 kWh £644 £81 £725 £13,104 18.1 yrs £1,394
4 kW 4322 kWh 3242 kWh 1081 kWh £858 £108 £966 £15,138 15.7 yrs £4,191
5 kW 5403 kWh 4052 kWh 1351 kWh £1,073 £135 £1,208 £17,173 14.2 yrs £6,989
6 kW 6483 kWh 4863 kWh 1621 kWh £1,288 £162 £1,450 £19,207 13.2 yrs £9,787
7 kW 7564 kWh 5673 kWh 1891 kWh £1,502 £189 £1,691 £21,242 12.6 yrs £12,585
8 kW 8645 kWh 6483 kWh 2161 kWh £1,717 £216 £1,933 £23,276 12.0 yrs £15,383

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: £1,226, Upfront: £19,623, 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 2161 kWh 1664 kWh 497 kWh £441 £50 £490 £13,519 27.6 yrs £-3,712
3 kW 3242 kWh 2496 kWh 746 kWh £661 £75 £736 £15,554 21.1 yrs £-843
4 kW 4322 kWh 3328 kWh 994 kWh £881 £99 £981 £17,588 17.9 yrs £2,026
5 kW 5403 kWh 4160 kWh 1243 kWh £1,102 £124 £1,226 £19,623 16.0 yrs £4,895
6 kW 6483 kWh 4992 kWh 1491 kWh £1,322 £149 £1,471 £21,657 14.7 yrs £7,764
7 kW 7564 kWh 5824 kWh 1740 kWh £1,542 £174 £1,716 £23,692 13.8 yrs £10,634
8 kW 8645 kWh 6656 kWh 1988 kWh £1,763 £199 £1,961 £25,726 13.1 yrs £13,503

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 BH11

Figures below are tailored to BH11 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1062 of 2182
5.0 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #145 of 2997
9.9 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,030 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #530 of 2997
15.8% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£163 fixed • ~£1,030 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.48p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
44.62p/day
Local Sunshine
1081kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1081 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: 55% • Flats: 21% • Bungalows: 22% Based on 4,634 properties

Coverage

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (100%)

Areas Covered

Kinson, Bearwood & Merley, Wallisdown & Winton West, Moordown, Alderney & Bourne Valley, Creekmoor

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 Southern

BH12 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈2.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,075 kWh/kWp · -1% vs BH11
BH10 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈2.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,075 kWh/kWp · -1% vs BH11
BH9 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈3.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,087 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BH11
BH17 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈3.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,074 kWh/kWp · -1% vs BH11
BH3 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈3.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,087 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BH11
BH14 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈4.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,075 kWh/kWp · -1% vs BH11

Similar sunshine across the UK

PL7 (Plymouth)
~1,081 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BH11
PL8 (South Hams)
~1,081 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BH11
DT6 (Dorset)
~1,079 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BH11