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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in BL2 (Bolton)

See if solar pays off for you in Bolton — 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
£8,138
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£587
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,530
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 North West, the current unit rate is 27.11p/kWh with a 51.16p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 871 kWh/kW — 1 above the regional median (870).

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 871 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 27.1p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
27.1p/kWh
Standing charge
51.2p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
871 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: £733, 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 1742 kWh 697 kWh 1045 kWh £189 £104 £293 £4,069 13.9 yrs £1,798
3 kW 2612 kWh 1045 kWh 1567 kWh £283 £157 £440 £6,104 13.9 yrs £2,697
4 kW 3483 kWh 1393 kWh 2090 kWh £378 £209 £587 £8,138 13.9 yrs £3,596
5 kW 4354 kWh 1742 kWh 2612 kWh £472 £261 £733 £10,173 13.9 yrs £4,496
6 kW 5225 kWh 2090 kWh 3135 kWh £567 £313 £880 £12,207 13.9 yrs £5,395
7 kW 6096 kWh 2438 kWh 3657 kWh £661 £366 £1,027 £14,242 13.9 yrs £6,294
8 kW 6967 kWh 2787 kWh 4180 kWh £755 £418 £1,173 £16,276 13.9 yrs £7,193

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: £882, Upfront: £12,273, 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 1742 kWh 1045 kWh 697 kWh £283 £70 £353 £6,169 17.5 yrs £890
3 kW 2612 kWh 1567 kWh 1045 kWh £425 £104 £529 £8,204 15.5 yrs £2,385
4 kW 3483 kWh 2090 kWh 1393 kWh £567 £139 £706 £10,238 14.5 yrs £3,880
5 kW 4354 kWh 2612 kWh 1742 kWh £708 £174 £882 £12,273 13.9 yrs £5,375
6 kW 5225 kWh 3135 kWh 2090 kWh £850 £209 £1,059 £14,307 13.5 yrs £6,871
7 kW 6096 kWh 3657 kWh 2438 kWh £992 £244 £1,235 £16,342 13.2 yrs £8,366
8 kW 6967 kWh 4180 kWh 2787 kWh £1,133 £279 £1,412 £18,376 13.0 yrs £9,861

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: £957, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1742 kWh 1219 kWh 522 kWh £331 £52 £383 £7,569 19.8 yrs £86
3 kW 2612 kWh 1829 kWh 784 kWh £496 £78 £574 £9,604 16.7 yrs £1,879
4 kW 3483 kWh 2438 kWh 1045 kWh £661 £104 £766 £11,638 15.2 yrs £3,672
5 kW 4354 kWh 3048 kWh 1306 kWh £826 £131 £957 £13,673 14.3 yrs £5,465
6 kW 5225 kWh 3657 kWh 1567 kWh £992 £157 £1,148 £15,707 13.7 yrs £7,259
7 kW 6096 kWh 4267 kWh 1829 kWh £1,157 £183 £1,340 £17,742 13.2 yrs £9,052
8 kW 6967 kWh 4877 kWh 2090 kWh £1,322 £209 £1,531 £19,776 12.9 yrs £10,845

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: £979, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1742 kWh 1271 kWh 470 kWh £345 £47 £392 £9,319 23.8 yrs £-1,485
3 kW 2612 kWh 1907 kWh 705 kWh £517 £71 £588 £11,354 19.3 yrs £397
4 kW 3483 kWh 2543 kWh 940 kWh £689 £94 £783 £13,388 17.1 yrs £2,280
5 kW 4354 kWh 3178 kWh 1176 kWh £862 £118 £979 £15,423 15.7 yrs £4,162
6 kW 5225 kWh 3814 kWh 1411 kWh £1,034 £141 £1,175 £17,457 14.9 yrs £6,045
7 kW 6096 kWh 4450 kWh 1646 kWh £1,206 £165 £1,371 £19,492 14.2 yrs £7,927
8 kW 6967 kWh 5086 kWh 1881 kWh £1,379 £188 £1,567 £21,526 13.7 yrs £9,810

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: £994, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1742 kWh 1306 kWh 435 kWh £354 £44 £398 £11,069 27.8 yrs £-3,116
3 kW 2612 kWh 1959 kWh 653 kWh £531 £65 £596 £13,104 22.0 yrs £-1,174
4 kW 3483 kWh 2612 kWh 871 kWh £708 £87 £795 £15,138 19.0 yrs £768
5 kW 4354 kWh 3266 kWh 1089 kWh £885 £109 £994 £17,173 17.3 yrs £2,710
6 kW 5225 kWh 3919 kWh 1306 kWh £1,062 £131 £1,193 £19,207 16.1 yrs £4,653
7 kW 6096 kWh 4572 kWh 1524 kWh £1,239 £152 £1,392 £21,242 15.3 yrs £6,595
8 kW 6967 kWh 5225 kWh 1742 kWh £1,416 £174 £1,591 £23,276 14.6 yrs £8,537

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: £1,009, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1742 kWh 1341 kWh 401 kWh £364 £40 £404 £13,519 33.5 yrs £-5,447
3 kW 2612 kWh 2012 kWh 601 kWh £545 £60 £605 £15,554 25.7 yrs £-3,445
4 kW 3483 kWh 2682 kWh 801 kWh £727 £80 £807 £17,588 21.8 yrs £-1,443
5 kW 4354 kWh 3353 kWh 1001 kWh £909 £100 £1,009 £19,623 19.4 yrs £558
6 kW 5225 kWh 4023 kWh 1202 kWh £1,091 £120 £1,211 £21,657 17.9 yrs £2,560
7 kW 6096 kWh 4694 kWh 1402 kWh £1,272 £140 £1,413 £23,692 16.8 yrs £4,562
8 kW 6967 kWh 5364 kWh 1602 kWh £1,454 £160 £1,614 £25,726 15.9 yrs £6,564

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 BL2

Figures below are tailored to BL2 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1586 of 2182
4.6 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2293 of 2997
12.0 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£676 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2473 of 2997
27.6% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£187 fixed • ~£676 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.11p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
51.16p/day
Local Sunshine
871kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~871 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: 71% • Flats: 18% • Bungalows: 11% Based on 10,841 properties

Coverage

Bolton (92%)|Bury (8%)

Areas Covered

Tonge with the Haulgh, Breightmet, Bradshaw, Radcliffe North & Ainsworth, Queens Park & Central, Bromley Cross, Halliwell, Little Lever & Darcy Lever + 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.

Compare nearby areas

Nearby in North West

BL1 (Bolton)
≈2.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~870 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL2
BL11 (Bolton)
≈2.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~870 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL2
BL3 (Bolton)
≈3.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~869 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL2
BL78 (Bolton)
≈3.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~871 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL2
BL4 (Bolton)
≈4.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~881 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BL2
BL7 (Bolton)
≈4.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~881 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BL2

Similar sunshine across the UK

LL34 (Conwy)
~871 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL2
NE19 (Northumberland)
~871 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL2
BT37 (Antrim and Newtownabbey)
~871 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL2