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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in BS17 (South Gloucestershire)

See if solar pays off for you in South Gloucestershire — 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
12.8 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£795
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,701
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 Midlands, the current unit rate is 25.64p/kWh with a 53.00p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 978 kWh/kW — 36 above the regional median (942).

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 978 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.6p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.6p/kWh
Standing charge
53.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
978 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: £795, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1956 kWh 782 kWh 1174 kWh £201 £117 £318 £4,069 12.8 yrs £2,290
3 kW 2934 kWh 1174 kWh 1760 kWh £301 £176 £477 £6,104 12.8 yrs £3,436
4 kW 3912 kWh 1565 kWh 2347 kWh £401 £235 £636 £8,138 12.8 yrs £4,581
5 kW 4890 kWh 1956 kWh 2934 kWh £502 £293 £795 £10,173 12.8 yrs £5,726
6 kW 5868 kWh 2347 kWh 3521 kWh £602 £352 £954 £12,207 12.8 yrs £6,871
7 kW 6846 kWh 2738 kWh 4108 kWh £702 £411 £1,113 £14,242 12.8 yrs £8,016
8 kW 7824 kWh 3130 kWh 4694 kWh £802 £469 £1,272 £16,276 12.8 yrs £9,162

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: £948, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1956 kWh 1174 kWh 782 kWh £301 £78 £379 £6,169 16.3 yrs £1,414
3 kW 2934 kWh 1760 kWh 1174 kWh £451 £117 £569 £8,204 14.4 yrs £3,171
4 kW 3912 kWh 2347 kWh 1565 kWh £602 £156 £758 £10,238 13.5 yrs £4,928
5 kW 4890 kWh 2934 kWh 1956 kWh £752 £196 £948 £12,273 12.9 yrs £6,685
6 kW 5868 kWh 3521 kWh 2347 kWh £903 £235 £1,137 £14,307 12.6 yrs £8,442
7 kW 6846 kWh 4108 kWh 2738 kWh £1,053 £274 £1,327 £16,342 12.3 yrs £10,199
8 kW 7824 kWh 4694 kWh 3130 kWh £1,204 £313 £1,517 £18,376 12.1 yrs £11,956

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: £1,024, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1956 kWh 1369 kWh 587 kWh £351 £59 £410 £7,569 18.5 yrs £626
3 kW 2934 kWh 2054 kWh 880 kWh £527 £88 £615 £9,604 15.6 yrs £2,689
4 kW 3912 kWh 2738 kWh 1174 kWh £702 £117 £819 £11,638 14.2 yrs £4,752
5 kW 4890 kWh 3423 kWh 1467 kWh £878 £147 £1,024 £13,673 13.3 yrs £6,815
6 kW 5868 kWh 4108 kWh 1760 kWh £1,053 £176 £1,229 £15,707 12.8 yrs £8,878
7 kW 6846 kWh 4792 kWh 2054 kWh £1,229 £205 £1,434 £17,742 12.4 yrs £10,941
8 kW 7824 kWh 5477 kWh 2347 kWh £1,404 £235 £1,639 £19,776 12.1 yrs £13,004

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: £1,047, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1956 kWh 1428 kWh 528 kWh £366 £53 £419 £9,319 22.2 yrs £-941
3 kW 2934 kWh 2142 kWh 792 kWh £549 £79 £628 £11,354 18.1 yrs £1,214
4 kW 3912 kWh 2856 kWh 1056 kWh £732 £106 £838 £13,388 16.0 yrs £3,369
5 kW 4890 kWh 3570 kWh 1320 kWh £915 £132 £1,047 £15,423 14.7 yrs £5,524
6 kW 5868 kWh 4284 kWh 1584 kWh £1,098 £158 £1,257 £17,457 13.9 yrs £7,678
7 kW 6846 kWh 4998 kWh 1848 kWh £1,281 £185 £1,466 £19,492 13.3 yrs £9,833
8 kW 7824 kWh 5712 kWh 2113 kWh £1,464 £211 £1,676 £21,526 12.8 yrs £11,988

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: £1,063, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1956 kWh 1467 kWh 489 kWh £376 £49 £425 £11,069 26.0 yrs £-2,568
3 kW 2934 kWh 2201 kWh 734 kWh £564 £73 £638 £13,104 20.6 yrs £-352
4 kW 3912 kWh 2934 kWh 978 kWh £752 £98 £850 £15,138 17.8 yrs £1,864
5 kW 4890 kWh 3668 kWh 1223 kWh £940 £122 £1,063 £17,173 16.2 yrs £4,080
6 kW 5868 kWh 4401 kWh 1467 kWh £1,128 £147 £1,275 £19,207 15.1 yrs £6,296
7 kW 6846 kWh 5135 kWh 1712 kWh £1,316 £171 £1,488 £21,242 14.3 yrs £8,511
8 kW 7824 kWh 5868 kWh 1956 kWh £1,505 £196 £1,700 £23,276 13.7 yrs £10,727

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: £1,078, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1956 kWh 1506 kWh 450 kWh £386 £45 £431 £13,519 31.4 yrs £-4,896
3 kW 2934 kWh 2259 kWh 675 kWh £579 £67 £647 £15,554 24.0 yrs £-2,619
4 kW 3912 kWh 3012 kWh 900 kWh £772 £90 £862 £17,588 20.4 yrs £-342
5 kW 4890 kWh 3765 kWh 1125 kWh £965 £112 £1,078 £19,623 18.2 yrs £1,936
6 kW 5868 kWh 4518 kWh 1350 kWh £1,159 £135 £1,293 £21,657 16.7 yrs £4,213
7 kW 6846 kWh 5271 kWh 1575 kWh £1,352 £157 £1,509 £23,692 15.7 yrs £6,490
8 kW 7824 kWh 6025 kWh 1800 kWh £1,545 £180 £1,725 £25,726 14.9 yrs £8,767

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 BS17

Figures below are tailored to BS17 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #1505 of 2997
11.2 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£910 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1660 of 2997
21.3% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£193 fixed • ~£910 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.64p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
53.00p/day
Local Sunshine
978kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~978 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

South Gloucestershire (100%)

Areas Covered

Frampton Cotterell, Yate North, Winterbourne, Yate Central, Chipping Sodbury & Cotswold Edge, Dodington, Boyd Valley, Staple Hill & Mangotsfield + 3 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 Midlands

BS37 (South Gloucestershire)
≈1.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~975 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BS17
BS36 (South Gloucestershire)
≈4.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~978 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BS17
BS30 (South Gloucestershire)
≈10.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~986 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BS17
GL9 (South Gloucestershire)
≈10.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~990 kWh/kWp · +1% vs BS17
BS35 (South Gloucestershire)
≈10.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~999 kWh/kWp · +2% vs BS17
GL12 (Stroud)
≈12.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~982 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BS17

Similar sunshine across the UK

HP7 (Buckinghamshire)
~978 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BS17
BS25 (North Somerset)
~978 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BS17
BA1 (Bath and North East Somerset)
~978 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BS17