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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in BH7 (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
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£1,085
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£14,916
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 1090 kWh/kW — 89 above the regional median (1001).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 6.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1090 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)
1090 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: £904, 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 2180 kWh 872 kWh 1308 kWh £231 £131 £362 £4,069 11.3 yrs £3,164
3 kW 3269 kWh 1308 kWh 1962 kWh £346 £196 £542 £6,104 11.3 yrs £4,746
4 kW 4359 kWh 1744 kWh 2616 kWh £462 £262 £723 £8,138 11.3 yrs £6,328
5 kW 5449 kWh 2180 kWh 3269 kWh £577 £327 £904 £10,173 11.3 yrs £7,909
6 kW 6539 kWh 2616 kWh 3923 kWh £693 £392 £1,085 £12,207 11.3 yrs £9,491
7 kW 7629 kWh 3051 kWh 4577 kWh £808 £458 £1,266 £14,242 11.3 yrs £11,073
8 kW 8718 kWh 3487 kWh 5231 kWh £923 £523 £1,447 £16,276 11.3 yrs £12,655

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: £1,084, Upfront: £12,273, 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 2180 kWh 1308 kWh 872 kWh £346 £87 £433 £6,169 14.2 yrs £2,501
3 kW 3269 kWh 1962 kWh 1308 kWh £519 £131 £650 £8,204 12.6 yrs £4,801
4 kW 4359 kWh 2616 kWh 1744 kWh £693 £174 £867 £10,238 11.8 yrs £7,101
5 kW 5449 kWh 3269 kWh 2180 kWh £866 £218 £1,084 £12,273 11.3 yrs £9,401
6 kW 6539 kWh 3923 kWh 2616 kWh £1,039 £262 £1,300 £14,307 11.0 yrs £11,702
7 kW 7629 kWh 4577 kWh 3051 kWh £1,212 £305 £1,517 £16,342 10.8 yrs £14,002
8 kW 8718 kWh 5231 kWh 3487 kWh £1,385 £349 £1,734 £18,376 10.6 yrs £16,302

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: £1,173, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 11.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2180 kWh 1526 kWh 654 kWh £404 £65 £469 £7,569 16.1 yrs £1,819
3 kW 3269 kWh 2289 kWh 981 kWh £606 £98 £704 £9,604 13.6 yrs £4,478
4 kW 4359 kWh 3051 kWh 1308 kWh £808 £131 £939 £11,638 12.4 yrs £7,138
5 kW 5449 kWh 3814 kWh 1635 kWh £1,010 £163 £1,173 £13,673 11.7 yrs £9,797
6 kW 6539 kWh 4577 kWh 1962 kWh £1,212 £196 £1,408 £15,707 11.2 yrs £12,457
7 kW 7629 kWh 5340 kWh 2289 kWh £1,414 £229 £1,643 £17,742 10.8 yrs £15,116
8 kW 8718 kWh 6103 kWh 2616 kWh £1,616 £262 £1,878 £19,776 10.5 yrs £17,776

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: £1,200, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 12.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2180 kWh 1591 kWh 588 kWh £421 £59 £480 £9,319 19.4 yrs £284
3 kW 3269 kWh 2387 kWh 883 kWh £632 £88 £720 £11,354 15.8 yrs £3,052
4 kW 4359 kWh 3182 kWh 1177 kWh £843 £118 £960 £13,388 13.9 yrs £5,819
5 kW 5449 kWh 3978 kWh 1471 kWh £1,053 £147 £1,200 £15,423 12.8 yrs £8,586
6 kW 6539 kWh 4773 kWh 1765 kWh £1,264 £177 £1,441 £17,457 12.1 yrs £11,353
7 kW 7629 kWh 5569 kWh 2060 kWh £1,475 £206 £1,681 £19,492 11.6 yrs £14,121
8 kW 8718 kWh 6364 kWh 2354 kWh £1,685 £235 £1,921 £21,526 11.2 yrs £16,888

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: £1,218, Upfront: £17,173, 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 2180 kWh 1635 kWh 545 kWh £433 £54 £487 £11,069 22.7 yrs £-1,322
3 kW 3269 kWh 2452 kWh 817 kWh £649 £82 £731 £13,104 17.9 yrs £1,517
4 kW 4359 kWh 3269 kWh 1090 kWh £866 £109 £975 £15,138 15.5 yrs £4,356
5 kW 5449 kWh 4087 kWh 1362 kWh £1,082 £136 £1,218 £17,173 14.1 yrs £7,195
6 kW 6539 kWh 4904 kWh 1635 kWh £1,299 £163 £1,462 £19,207 13.1 yrs £10,034
7 kW 7629 kWh 5721 kWh 1907 kWh £1,515 £191 £1,706 £21,242 12.5 yrs £12,874
8 kW 8718 kWh 6539 kWh 2180 kWh £1,731 £218 £1,949 £23,276 11.9 yrs £15,713

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: £1,236, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 15.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2180 kWh 1678 kWh 501 kWh £444 £50 £495 £13,519 27.3 yrs £-3,628
3 kW 3269 kWh 2517 kWh 752 kWh £667 £75 £742 £15,554 21.0 yrs £-717
4 kW 4359 kWh 3357 kWh 1003 kWh £889 £100 £989 £17,588 17.8 yrs £2,194
5 kW 5449 kWh 4196 kWh 1253 kWh £1,111 £125 £1,236 £19,623 15.9 yrs £5,105
6 kW 6539 kWh 5035 kWh 1504 kWh £1,333 £150 £1,484 £21,657 14.6 yrs £8,015
7 kW 7629 kWh 5874 kWh 1755 kWh £1,555 £175 £1,731 £23,692 13.7 yrs £10,926
8 kW 8718 kWh 6713 kWh 2005 kWh £1,778 £201 £1,978 £25,726 13.0 yrs £13,837

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 BH7

Figures below are tailored to BH7 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1320 of 2182
4.8 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #114 of 2997
9.8 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,247 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #24 of 2997
13.1% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£163 fixed • ~£1,247 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.48p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
44.62p/day
Local Sunshine
1090kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1090 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
6.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 50% • Flats: 42% • Bungalows: 4% Based on 2,996 properties

Coverage

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (100%)

Areas Covered

Littledown & Iford, Boscombe East & Pokesdown, East Cliff & Springbourne, Boscombe West, Commons

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

BH5 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈1.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,090 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BH7
BH6 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈1.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,089 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BH7
BH8 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈1.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,092 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BH7
BH1 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈2.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,087 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BH7
BH9 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈3.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,087 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BH7
BH3 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
≈3.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,087 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BH7

Similar sunshine across the UK

CT21 (Folkestone and Hythe)
~1,090 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BH7
CT16 (Dover)
~1,089 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BH7
CT7 (Thanet)
~1,091 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BH7