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Solar panel cost in Mid and East Antrim (BT38)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for BT38 (Mid and East Antrim) in under a minute using official UK data. Start with the calculator, then get a no-obligation quote from an MCS-certified installer. You can also ask the SolarByPostcode assistant to sanity-check your roof, bills and plans.

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
30.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£9,767
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£323
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£-1,699
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: The official cost per kW is lower above 4 kW, so a 5–6 kW system can pay back a little faster than a 3–4 kW system on otherwise identical assumptions.
  • 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

Panel costs: Uses March 2026 TIC mean installation costs: £1,827/kW up to 4 kW and £1,628/kW above 4 kW.

Other costs: Battery prices are modelled at £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 Northern Ireland, the current unit rate is 0.00p/kWh with a 0.00p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 896 kWh/kW — 94 below the regional median (991).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 6.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 896 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 0.0p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
0.0p/kWh
Standing charge
0.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
896 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: £269, Upfront: £8,139, Break-even: 30.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1793 kWh 717 kWh 1076 kWh £0 £108 £108 £3,256 30.3 yrs £-1,104
3 kW 2689 kWh 1076 kWh 1614 kWh £0 £161 £161 £4,883 30.3 yrs £-1,656
4 kW 3586 kWh 1434 kWh 2151 kWh £0 £215 £215 £6,511 30.3 yrs £-2,208
5 kW 4482 kWh 1793 kWh 2689 kWh £0 £269 £269 £8,139 30.3 yrs £-2,760
6 kW 5379 kWh 2151 kWh 3227 kWh £0 £323 £323 £9,767 30.3 yrs £-3,312
7 kW 6275 kWh 2510 kWh 3765 kWh £0 £377 £377 £11,394 30.3 yrs £-3,864
8 kW 7172 kWh 2869 kWh 4303 kWh £0 £430 £430 £13,022 30.3 yrs £-4,416

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

3 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £179, Upfront: £10,239, Break-even: 57.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1793 kWh 1076 kWh 717 kWh £0 £72 £72 £5,356 74.7 yrs £-3,921
3 kW 2689 kWh 1614 kWh 1076 kWh £0 £108 £108 £6,983 64.9 yrs £-4,832
4 kW 3586 kWh 2151 kWh 1434 kWh £0 £143 £143 £8,611 60.0 yrs £-5,742
5 kW 4482 kWh 2689 kWh 1793 kWh £0 £179 £179 £10,239 57.1 yrs £-6,653
6 kW 5379 kWh 3227 kWh 2151 kWh £0 £215 £215 £11,867 55.2 yrs £-7,564
7 kW 6275 kWh 3765 kWh 2510 kWh £0 £251 £251 £13,494 53.8 yrs £-8,474
8 kW 7172 kWh 4303 kWh 2869 kWh £0 £287 £287 £15,122 52.7 yrs £-9,385

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £134, Upfront: £11,639, Break-even: 86.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1793 kWh 1255 kWh 538 kWh £0 £54 £54 £6,756 125.6 yrs £-5,680
3 kW 2689 kWh 1883 kWh 807 kWh £0 £81 £81 £8,383 103.9 yrs £-6,770
4 kW 3586 kWh 2510 kWh 1076 kWh £0 £108 £108 £10,011 93.1 yrs £-7,860
5 kW 4482 kWh 3138 kWh 1345 kWh £0 £134 £134 £11,639 86.6 yrs £-8,949
6 kW 5379 kWh 3765 kWh 1614 kWh £0 £161 £161 £13,267 82.2 yrs £-10,039
7 kW 6275 kWh 4393 kWh 1883 kWh £0 £188 £188 £14,894 79.1 yrs £-11,129
8 kW 7172 kWh 5020 kWh 2151 kWh £0 £215 £215 £16,522 76.8 yrs £-12,219

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

7.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £121, Upfront: £13,389, Break-even: 110.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1793 kWh 1309 kWh 484 kWh £0 £48 £48 £8,506 175.7 yrs £-7,537
3 kW 2689 kWh 1963 kWh 726 kWh £0 £73 £73 £10,133 139.6 yrs £-8,681
4 kW 3586 kWh 2618 kWh 968 kWh £0 £97 £97 £11,761 121.5 yrs £-9,825
5 kW 4482 kWh 3272 kWh 1210 kWh £0 £121 £121 £13,389 110.6 yrs £-10,968
6 kW 5379 kWh 3926 kWh 1452 kWh £0 £145 £145 £15,017 103.4 yrs £-12,112
7 kW 6275 kWh 4581 kWh 1694 kWh £0 £169 £169 £16,644 98.2 yrs £-13,256
8 kW 7172 kWh 5235 kWh 1936 kWh £0 £194 £194 £18,272 94.4 yrs £-14,399

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

10 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £112, Upfront: £15,139, Break-even: 135.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1793 kWh 1345 kWh 448 kWh £0 £45 £45 £10,256 228.8 yrs £-9,359
3 kW 2689 kWh 2017 kWh 672 kWh £0 £67 £67 £11,883 176.7 yrs £-10,539
4 kW 3586 kWh 2689 kWh 896 kWh £0 £90 £90 £13,511 150.7 yrs £-11,718
5 kW 4482 kWh 3362 kWh 1121 kWh £0 £112 £112 £15,139 135.1 yrs £-12,898
6 kW 5379 kWh 4034 kWh 1345 kWh £0 £134 £134 £16,767 124.7 yrs £-14,077
7 kW 6275 kWh 4706 kWh 1569 kWh £0 £157 £157 £18,394 117.3 yrs £-15,257
8 kW 7172 kWh 5379 kWh 1793 kWh £0 £179 £179 £20,022 111.7 yrs £-16,436

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

13.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £103, Upfront: £17,589, Break-even: 170.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1793 kWh 1381 kWh 412 kWh £0 £41 £41 £12,706 308.1 yrs £-11,881
3 kW 2689 kWh 2071 kWh 619 kWh £0 £62 £62 £14,333 231.7 yrs £-13,096
4 kW 3586 kWh 2761 kWh 825 kWh £0 £82 £82 £15,961 193.5 yrs £-14,312
5 kW 4482 kWh 3451 kWh 1031 kWh £0 £103 £103 £17,589 170.6 yrs £-15,527
6 kW 5379 kWh 4142 kWh 1237 kWh £0 £124 £124 £19,217 155.3 yrs £-16,742
7 kW 6275 kWh 4832 kWh 1443 kWh £0 £144 £144 £20,844 144.4 yrs £-17,958
8 kW 7172 kWh 5522 kWh 1649 kWh £0 £165 £165 £22,472 136.2 yrs £-19,173

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, 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.

Before you request quotes in Mid and East Antrim

Use the numbers above to sanity-check installer quotes. The main things to compare are system size, battery assumptions, payback claims, MCS certification, DNO paperwork and export assumptions.

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Understand DNO, G98 and G99 export limits

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Insights for BT38

Figures below are tailored to BT38 — click through for full league tables.

Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −20.8% West −20.9%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in BT38

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 30 Jan 46 Feb 78 Mar 107 Apr 120 May 114 Jun 109 Jul 97 Aug 78 Sep 55 Oct 35 Nov 26 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 45.3% of an average month (Dec–Feb)

Best / worst month: May / Dec

These figures show output per kilowatt (kW) of panels installed. In winter, a 1 kW system here produces about 34 kWh per month; the average month produces around 75 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 135 kWh in winter, or 299 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
0.00p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
0.00p/day
Local Sunshine
896kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~896 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
6.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

Mid and East Antrim (98%)|Antrim and Newtownabbey (2%)

Areas Covered

Castle, Whitehead South, Victoria, Greenisland, Love Lane, Boneybefore, Kilroot, Sunnylands + 4 more

Data Sources & Assumptions

Solar yield: PVGIS (EU Joint Research Centre), January 2025 data

Electricity rates: Ofgem price cap,

Installation costs: DESNZ/MCS data, March 2026 (TIC)

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 Northern Ireland

BT37 (Antrim and Newtownabbey)
≈8.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~871 kWh/kWp · -3% vs BT38
BT18 (Ards and North Down)
≈9.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~918 kWh/kWp · +2% vs BT38
BT36 (Antrim and Newtownabbey)
≈11.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~879 kWh/kWp · -2% vs BT38
BT20 (Ards and North Down)
≈11.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~918 kWh/kWp · +2% vs BT38
BT39 (Antrim and Newtownabbey)
≈13.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~881 kWh/kWp · -2% vs BT38
BT19 (Ards and North Down)
≈13.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~956 kWh/kWp · +7% vs BT38

Similar sunshine across the UK

LA7 (Westmorland and Furness)
~896 kWh/kWp · -0% vs BT38
KA12 (North Ayrshire)
~897 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BT38
TD6 (Scottish Borders)
~897 kWh/kWp · +0% vs BT38