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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in BN3 (Brighton and Hove)

See if solar pays off for you in Brighton and Hove — 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
10.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£6,104
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£560
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£7,891
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 South East, the current unit rate is 26.92p/kWh with a 47.60p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 1113 kWh/kW — 84 above the regional median (1029).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 3.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1113 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.9p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.9p/kWh
Standing charge
47.6p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
1113 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: £933, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 10.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2226 kWh 890 kWh 1335 kWh £240 £134 £373 £4,069 10.9 yrs £3,395
3 kW 3338 kWh 1335 kWh 2003 kWh £359 £200 £560 £6,104 10.9 yrs £5,092
4 kW 4451 kWh 1780 kWh 2671 kWh £479 £267 £746 £8,138 10.9 yrs £6,790
5 kW 5564 kWh 2226 kWh 3338 kWh £599 £334 £933 £10,173 10.9 yrs £8,487
6 kW 6677 kWh 2671 kWh 4006 kWh £719 £401 £1,120 £12,207 10.9 yrs £10,184
7 kW 7790 kWh 3116 kWh 4674 kWh £839 £467 £1,306 £14,242 10.9 yrs £11,882
8 kW 8902 kWh 3561 kWh 5341 kWh £959 £534 £1,493 £16,276 10.9 yrs £13,579

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: £1,121, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 10.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2226 kWh 1335 kWh 890 kWh £359 £89 £449 £6,169 13.8 yrs £2,801
3 kW 3338 kWh 2003 kWh 1335 kWh £539 £134 £673 £8,204 12.2 yrs £5,252
4 kW 4451 kWh 2671 kWh 1780 kWh £719 £178 £897 £10,238 11.4 yrs £7,702
5 kW 5564 kWh 3338 kWh 2226 kWh £899 £223 £1,121 £12,273 10.9 yrs £10,153
6 kW 6677 kWh 4006 kWh 2671 kWh £1,078 £267 £1,346 £14,307 10.6 yrs £12,603
7 kW 7790 kWh 4674 kWh 3116 kWh £1,258 £312 £1,570 £16,342 10.4 yrs £15,054
8 kW 8902 kWh 5341 kWh 3561 kWh £1,438 £356 £1,794 £18,376 10.2 yrs £17,504

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: £1,215, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 11.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2226 kWh 1558 kWh 668 kWh £419 £67 £486 £7,569 15.6 yrs £2,154
3 kW 3338 kWh 2337 kWh 1002 kWh £629 £100 £729 £9,604 13.2 yrs £4,981
4 kW 4451 kWh 3116 kWh 1335 kWh £839 £134 £972 £11,638 12.0 yrs £7,809
5 kW 5564 kWh 3895 kWh 1669 kWh £1,048 £167 £1,215 £13,673 11.2 yrs £10,636
6 kW 6677 kWh 4674 kWh 2003 kWh £1,258 £200 £1,458 £15,707 10.8 yrs £13,463
7 kW 7790 kWh 5453 kWh 2337 kWh £1,468 £234 £1,702 £17,742 10.4 yrs £16,290
8 kW 8902 kWh 6232 kWh 2671 kWh £1,678 £267 £1,945 £19,776 10.2 yrs £19,117

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: £1,244, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 12.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2226 kWh 1625 kWh 601 kWh £437 £60 £497 £9,319 18.7 yrs £630
3 kW 3338 kWh 2437 kWh 901 kWh £656 £90 £746 £11,354 15.2 yrs £3,570
4 kW 4451 kWh 3249 kWh 1202 kWh £875 £120 £995 £13,388 13.5 yrs £6,510
5 kW 5564 kWh 4062 kWh 1502 kWh £1,093 £150 £1,244 £15,423 12.4 yrs £9,451
6 kW 6677 kWh 4874 kWh 1803 kWh £1,312 £180 £1,492 £17,457 11.7 yrs £12,391
7 kW 7790 kWh 5686 kWh 2103 kWh £1,531 £210 £1,741 £19,492 11.2 yrs £15,331
8 kW 8902 kWh 6499 kWh 2404 kWh £1,749 £240 £1,990 £21,526 10.8 yrs £18,271

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: £1,262, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 13.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2226 kWh 1669 kWh 556 kWh £449 £56 £505 £11,069 21.9 yrs £-969
3 kW 3338 kWh 2504 kWh 835 kWh £674 £83 £757 £13,104 17.3 yrs £2,046
4 kW 4451 kWh 3338 kWh 1113 kWh £899 £111 £1,010 £15,138 15.0 yrs £5,062
5 kW 5564 kWh 4173 kWh 1391 kWh £1,123 £139 £1,262 £17,173 13.6 yrs £8,077
6 kW 6677 kWh 5008 kWh 1669 kWh £1,348 £167 £1,515 £19,207 12.7 yrs £11,093
7 kW 7790 kWh 5842 kWh 1947 kWh £1,573 £195 £1,767 £21,242 12.0 yrs £14,108
8 kW 8902 kWh 6677 kWh 2226 kWh £1,797 £223 £2,020 £23,276 11.5 yrs £17,123

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: £1,281, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 15.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2226 kWh 1714 kWh 512 kWh £461 £51 £513 £13,519 26.4 yrs £-3,269
3 kW 3338 kWh 2571 kWh 768 kWh £692 £77 £769 £15,554 20.2 yrs £-178
4 kW 4451 kWh 3427 kWh 1024 kWh £923 £102 £1,025 £17,588 17.2 yrs £2,913
5 kW 5564 kWh 4284 kWh 1280 kWh £1,153 £128 £1,281 £19,623 15.3 yrs £6,004
6 kW 6677 kWh 5141 kWh 1536 kWh £1,384 £154 £1,538 £21,657 14.1 yrs £9,094
7 kW 7790 kWh 5998 kWh 1792 kWh £1,615 £179 £1,794 £23,692 13.2 yrs £12,185
8 kW 8902 kWh 6855 kWh 2048 kWh £1,845 £205 £2,050 £25,726 12.5 yrs £15,276

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 BN3

Figures below are tailored to BN3 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #2070 of 2182
4.0 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~8 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #37 of 2997
9.5 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,289 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #55 of 2997
13.5% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£174 fixed • ~£1,289 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.92p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
47.60p/day
Local Sunshine
1113kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1113 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
3.0kW
For eligible homes in this area

⚠️ This area is predominantly flats. Many residents require freeholder approval for solar installations. System size shown reflects houses and bungalows only.

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 22% • Flats: 71% • Bungalows: 2% Based on 29,127 properties

Coverage

Brighton and Hove (100%)

Areas Covered

Goldsmid, Central Hove, Hangleton & Knoll, Westdene & Hove Park, Brunswick & Adelaide, Wish, Westbourne & Poets' Corner, South Portslade + 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 South East

BN52 (Brighton and Hove)
≈0.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,113 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BN3
BN1 (Brighton and Hove)
≈2.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,118 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BN3
BN50 (Brighton and Hove)
≈2.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,118 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BN3
BN88 (Brighton and Hove)
≈2.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,120 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BN3
BN41 (Brighton and Hove)
≈3.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,110 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BN3
BN2 (Brighton and Hove)
≈3.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,120 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BN3

Similar sunshine across the UK

PO39 (Isle of Wight)
~1,113 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BN3
PO40 (Isle of Wight)
~1,113 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BN3
PO21 (Arun)
~1,111 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BN3