Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever
Home Regions
Insights
Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in BL78 (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
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£733
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,156
After paying itself off, you're this much ahead

Ready to Get Started?

Get your free quote from Blue Ape Renewables. They'll connect you with MCS-certified installers in your area and handle all the paperwork.

Get Solar Quote →
4.8★ Trustpilot • Octopus Energy trusted partner • MCS certified • No obligation
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 — 0 above the regional median (870).

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 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 1741 kWh 696 kWh 1045 kWh £189 £104 £293 £4,069 13.9 yrs £1,796
3 kW 2612 kWh 1045 kWh 1567 kWh £283 £157 £440 £6,104 13.9 yrs £2,694
4 kW 3482 kWh 1393 kWh 2089 kWh £378 £209 £587 £8,138 13.9 yrs £3,593
5 kW 4353 kWh 1741 kWh 2612 kWh £472 £261 £733 £10,173 13.9 yrs £4,491
6 kW 5223 kWh 2089 kWh 3134 kWh £566 £313 £880 £12,207 13.9 yrs £5,389
7 kW 6094 kWh 2437 kWh 3656 kWh £661 £366 £1,026 £14,242 13.9 yrs £6,287
8 kW 6964 kWh 2786 kWh 4179 kWh £755 £418 £1,173 £16,276 13.9 yrs £7,185

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 1741 kWh 1045 kWh 696 kWh £283 £70 £353 £6,169 17.5 yrs £888
3 kW 2612 kWh 1567 kWh 1045 kWh £425 £104 £529 £8,204 15.5 yrs £2,382
4 kW 3482 kWh 2089 kWh 1393 kWh £566 £139 £706 £10,238 14.5 yrs £3,876
5 kW 4353 kWh 2612 kWh 1741 kWh £708 £174 £882 £12,273 13.9 yrs £5,370
6 kW 5223 kWh 3134 kWh 2089 kWh £850 £209 £1,059 £14,307 13.5 yrs £6,864
7 kW 6094 kWh 3656 kWh 2437 kWh £991 £244 £1,235 £16,342 13.2 yrs £8,357
8 kW 6964 kWh 4179 kWh 2786 kWh £1,133 £279 £1,411 £18,376 13.0 yrs £9,851

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 1741 kWh 1219 kWh 522 kWh £330 £52 £383 £7,569 19.8 yrs £84
3 kW 2612 kWh 1828 kWh 783 kWh £496 £78 £574 £9,604 16.7 yrs £1,875
4 kW 3482 kWh 2437 kWh 1045 kWh £661 £104 £765 £11,638 15.2 yrs £3,667
5 kW 4353 kWh 3047 kWh 1306 kWh £826 £131 £957 £13,673 14.3 yrs £5,459
6 kW 5223 kWh 3656 kWh 1567 kWh £991 £157 £1,148 £15,707 13.7 yrs £7,251
7 kW 6094 kWh 4266 kWh 1828 kWh £1,156 £183 £1,339 £17,742 13.2 yrs £9,043
8 kW 6964 kWh 4875 kWh 2089 kWh £1,322 £209 £1,531 £19,776 12.9 yrs £10,835

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: 15.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1741 kWh 1271 kWh 470 kWh £345 £47 £392 £9,319 23.8 yrs £-1,488
3 kW 2612 kWh 1906 kWh 705 kWh £517 £71 £587 £11,354 19.3 yrs £394
4 kW 3482 kWh 2542 kWh 940 kWh £689 £94 £783 £13,388 17.1 yrs £2,275
5 kW 4353 kWh 3177 kWh 1175 kWh £861 £118 £979 £15,423 15.8 yrs £4,156
6 kW 5223 kWh 3813 kWh 1410 kWh £1,034 £141 £1,175 £17,457 14.9 yrs £6,037
7 kW 6094 kWh 4448 kWh 1645 kWh £1,206 £165 £1,370 £19,492 14.2 yrs £7,918
8 kW 6964 kWh 5084 kWh 1880 kWh £1,378 £188 £1,566 £21,526 13.7 yrs £9,799

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 1741 kWh 1306 kWh 435 kWh £354 £44 £398 £11,069 27.8 yrs £-3,118
3 kW 2612 kWh 1959 kWh 653 kWh £531 £65 £596 £13,104 22.0 yrs £-1,178
4 kW 3482 kWh 2612 kWh 871 kWh £708 £87 £795 £15,138 19.0 yrs £763
5 kW 4353 kWh 3264 kWh 1088 kWh £885 £109 £994 £17,173 17.3 yrs £2,704
6 kW 5223 kWh 3917 kWh 1306 kWh £1,062 £131 £1,193 £19,207 16.1 yrs £4,645
7 kW 6094 kWh 4570 kWh 1523 kWh £1,239 £152 £1,391 £21,242 15.3 yrs £6,585
8 kW 6964 kWh 5223 kWh 1741 kWh £1,416 £174 £1,590 £23,276 14.6 yrs £8,526

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: 19.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1741 kWh 1341 kWh 400 kWh £363 £40 £403 £13,519 33.5 yrs £-5,449
3 kW 2612 kWh 2011 kWh 601 kWh £545 £60 £605 £15,554 25.7 yrs £-3,449
4 kW 3482 kWh 2681 kWh 801 kWh £727 £80 £807 £17,588 21.8 yrs £-1,449
5 kW 4353 kWh 3352 kWh 1001 kWh £909 £100 £1,009 £19,623 19.5 yrs £552
6 kW 5223 kWh 4022 kWh 1201 kWh £1,090 £120 £1,210 £21,657 17.9 yrs £2,552
7 kW 6094 kWh 4692 kWh 1402 kWh £1,272 £140 £1,412 £23,692 16.8 yrs £4,552
8 kW 6964 kWh 5362 kWh 1602 kWh £1,454 £160 £1,614 £25,726 15.9 yrs £6,553

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 BL78

Figures below are tailored to BL78 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2295 of 2997
12.0 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£845 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1895 of 2997
22.1% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£187 fixed • ~£845 /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
5.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

Bolton (100%)

Areas Covered

Farnworth North, Halliwell, Queens Park & Central

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

BL4 (Bolton)
≈0.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~881 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BL78
BL11 (Bolton)
≈2.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~870 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL78
BL3 (Bolton)
≈2.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~869 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL78
M38 (Salford)
≈3.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~880 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BL78
BL2 (Bolton)
≈3.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~871 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL78
BL1 (Bolton)
≈4.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~870 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL78

Similar sunshine across the UK

EH48 (West Lothian)
~870 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL78
LL26 (Conwy)
~870 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BL78
LL34 (Conwy)
~871 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BL78