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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in BL3 (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
£586
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,502
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 869 kWh/kW — 1 below 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 869 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)
869 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 1738 kWh 695 kWh 1043 kWh £189 £104 £293 £4,069 13.9 yrs £1,787
3 kW 2607 kWh 1043 kWh 1564 kWh £283 £156 £439 £6,104 13.9 yrs £2,680
4 kW 3477 kWh 1391 kWh 2086 kWh £377 £209 £586 £8,138 13.9 yrs £3,574
5 kW 4346 kWh 1738 kWh 2607 kWh £471 £261 £732 £10,173 13.9 yrs £4,467
6 kW 5215 kWh 2086 kWh 3129 kWh £566 £313 £878 £12,207 13.9 yrs £5,361
7 kW 6084 kWh 2434 kWh 3650 kWh £660 £365 £1,025 £14,242 13.9 yrs £6,254
8 kW 6953 kWh 2781 kWh 4172 kWh £754 £417 £1,171 £16,276 13.9 yrs £7,148

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: £881, 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 1738 kWh 1043 kWh 695 kWh £283 £70 £352 £6,169 17.5 yrs £877
3 kW 2607 kWh 1564 kWh 1043 kWh £424 £104 £528 £8,204 15.5 yrs £2,365
4 kW 3477 kWh 2086 kWh 1391 kWh £566 £139 £705 £10,238 14.5 yrs £3,853
5 kW 4346 kWh 2607 kWh 1738 kWh £707 £174 £881 £12,273 13.9 yrs £5,342
6 kW 5215 kWh 3129 kWh 2086 kWh £848 £209 £1,057 £14,307 13.5 yrs £6,830
7 kW 6084 kWh 3650 kWh 2434 kWh £990 £243 £1,233 £16,342 13.3 yrs £8,318
8 kW 6953 kWh 4172 kWh 2781 kWh £1,131 £278 £1,409 £18,376 13.0 yrs £9,807

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: £955, 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 1738 kWh 1217 kWh 521 kWh £330 £52 £382 £7,569 19.8 yrs £72
3 kW 2607 kWh 1825 kWh 782 kWh £495 £78 £573 £9,604 16.8 yrs £1,857
4 kW 3477 kWh 2434 kWh 1043 kWh £660 £104 £764 £11,638 15.2 yrs £3,643
5 kW 4346 kWh 3042 kWh 1304 kWh £825 £130 £955 £13,673 14.3 yrs £5,429
6 kW 5215 kWh 3650 kWh 1564 kWh £990 £156 £1,146 £15,707 13.7 yrs £7,215
7 kW 6084 kWh 4259 kWh 1825 kWh £1,155 £183 £1,337 £17,742 13.3 yrs £9,000
8 kW 6953 kWh 4867 kWh 2086 kWh £1,320 £209 £1,528 £19,776 12.9 yrs £10,786

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: £977, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1738 kWh 1269 kWh 469 kWh £344 £47 £391 £9,319 23.8 yrs £-1,500
3 kW 2607 kWh 1903 kWh 704 kWh £516 £70 £586 £11,354 19.4 yrs £375
4 kW 3477 kWh 2538 kWh 939 kWh £688 £94 £782 £13,388 17.1 yrs £2,250
5 kW 4346 kWh 3172 kWh 1173 kWh £860 £117 £977 £15,423 15.8 yrs £4,125
6 kW 5215 kWh 3807 kWh 1408 kWh £1,032 £141 £1,173 £17,457 14.9 yrs £6,000
7 kW 6084 kWh 4441 kWh 1643 kWh £1,204 £164 £1,368 £19,492 14.2 yrs £7,875
8 kW 6953 kWh 5076 kWh 1877 kWh £1,376 £188 £1,564 £21,526 13.8 yrs £9,750

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: £992, 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 1738 kWh 1304 kWh 435 kWh £353 £43 £397 £11,069 27.9 yrs £-3,131
3 kW 2607 kWh 1956 kWh 652 kWh £530 £65 £595 £13,104 22.0 yrs £-1,197
4 kW 3477 kWh 2607 kWh 869 kWh £707 £87 £794 £15,138 19.1 yrs £738
5 kW 4346 kWh 3259 kWh 1086 kWh £884 £109 £992 £17,173 17.3 yrs £2,672
6 kW 5215 kWh 3911 kWh 1304 kWh £1,060 £130 £1,191 £19,207 16.1 yrs £4,607
7 kW 6084 kWh 4563 kWh 1521 kWh £1,237 £152 £1,389 £21,242 15.3 yrs £6,541
8 kW 6953 kWh 5215 kWh 1738 kWh £1,414 £174 £1,588 £23,276 14.7 yrs £8,476

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: £1,007, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1738 kWh 1338 kWh 400 kWh £363 £40 £403 £13,519 33.6 yrs £-5,462
3 kW 2607 kWh 2008 kWh 600 kWh £544 £60 £604 £15,554 25.7 yrs £-3,468
4 kW 3477 kWh 2677 kWh 800 kWh £726 £80 £806 £17,588 21.8 yrs £-1,474
5 kW 4346 kWh 3346 kWh 1000 kWh £907 £100 £1,007 £19,623 19.5 yrs £520
6 kW 5215 kWh 4015 kWh 1199 kWh £1,089 £120 £1,209 £21,657 17.9 yrs £2,514
7 kW 6084 kWh 4685 kWh 1399 kWh £1,270 £140 £1,410 £23,692 16.8 yrs £4,508
8 kW 6953 kWh 5354 kWh 1599 kWh £1,451 £160 £1,611 £25,726 16.0 yrs £6,502

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 BL3

Figures below are tailored to BL3 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1587 of 2182
4.6 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2382 of 2997
12.1 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£675 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2491 of 2997
27.7% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£187 fixed • ~£675 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.11p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
51.16p/day
Local Sunshine
869kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~869 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: 72% • Flats: 19% • Bungalows: 9% Based on 15,298 properties

Coverage

Bolton (100%)

Areas Covered

Great Lever, Rumworth, Little Lever & Darcy Lever, Queens Park & Central, Hulton, Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor, Halliwell + 4 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

BL11 (Bolton)
≈1.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~870 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL3
BL78 (Bolton)
≈2.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~871 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL3
BL1 (Bolton)
≈2.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~870 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL3
BL4 (Bolton)
≈3.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~881 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BL3
BL2 (Bolton)
≈3.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~871 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL3
M38 (Salford)
≈4.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~880 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BL3

Similar sunshine across the UK

EH15 (City of Edinburgh)
~869 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL3
PA67 (Argyll and Bute)
~869 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL3
AB11 (Aberdeen City)
~869 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL3