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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in CA9 (Westmorland and Furness)

See if solar pays off for you in Westmorland and Furness — price, savings and payback in under a minute (official UK data).

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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
15.0 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£812
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,090
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 803 kWh/kW — 67 below the regional median (870).

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 803 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)
803 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: £677, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 15.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1607 kWh 643 kWh 964 kWh £174 £96 £271 £4,069 15.0 yrs £1,344
3 kW 2410 kWh 964 kWh 1446 kWh £261 £145 £406 £6,104 15.0 yrs £2,015
4 kW 3213 kWh 1285 kWh 1928 kWh £348 £193 £541 £8,138 15.0 yrs £2,687
5 kW 4017 kWh 1607 kWh 2410 kWh £436 £241 £677 £10,173 15.0 yrs £3,359
6 kW 4820 kWh 1928 kWh 2892 kWh £523 £289 £812 £12,207 15.0 yrs £4,031
7 kW 5623 kWh 2249 kWh 3374 kWh £610 £337 £947 £14,242 15.0 yrs £4,702
8 kW 6427 kWh 2571 kWh 3856 kWh £697 £386 £1,083 £16,276 15.0 yrs £5,374

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: £814, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 15.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1607 kWh 964 kWh 643 kWh £261 £64 £326 £6,169 18.9 yrs £343
3 kW 2410 kWh 1446 kWh 964 kWh £392 £96 £488 £8,204 16.8 yrs £1,565
4 kW 3213 kWh 1928 kWh 1285 kWh £523 £129 £651 £10,238 15.7 yrs £2,786
5 kW 4017 kWh 2410 kWh 1607 kWh £653 £161 £814 £12,273 15.1 yrs £4,008
6 kW 4820 kWh 2892 kWh 1928 kWh £784 £193 £977 £14,307 14.6 yrs £5,230
7 kW 5623 kWh 3374 kWh 2249 kWh £915 £225 £1,140 £16,342 14.3 yrs £6,451
8 kW 6427 kWh 3856 kWh 2571 kWh £1,045 £257 £1,302 £18,376 14.1 yrs £7,673

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: £883, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 15.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1607 kWh 1125 kWh 482 kWh £305 £48 £353 £7,569 21.4 yrs £-507
3 kW 2410 kWh 1687 kWh 723 kWh £457 £72 £530 £9,604 18.1 yrs £989
4 kW 3213 kWh 2249 kWh 964 kWh £610 £96 £706 £11,638 16.5 yrs £2,486
5 kW 4017 kWh 2812 kWh 1205 kWh £762 £121 £883 £13,673 15.5 yrs £3,982
6 kW 4820 kWh 3374 kWh 1446 kWh £915 £145 £1,059 £15,707 14.8 yrs £5,479
7 kW 5623 kWh 3936 kWh 1687 kWh £1,067 £169 £1,236 £17,742 14.4 yrs £6,975
8 kW 6427 kWh 4499 kWh 1928 kWh £1,220 £193 £1,412 £19,776 14.0 yrs £8,472

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: £903, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 17.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1607 kWh 1173 kWh 434 kWh £318 £43 £361 £9,319 25.8 yrs £-2,092
3 kW 2410 kWh 1759 kWh 651 kWh £477 £65 £542 £11,354 20.9 yrs £-513
4 kW 3213 kWh 2346 kWh 868 kWh £636 £87 £723 £13,388 18.5 yrs £1,066
5 kW 4017 kWh 2932 kWh 1085 kWh £795 £108 £903 £15,423 17.1 yrs £2,645
6 kW 4820 kWh 3519 kWh 1301 kWh £954 £130 £1,084 £17,457 16.1 yrs £4,224
7 kW 5623 kWh 4105 kWh 1518 kWh £1,113 £152 £1,265 £19,492 15.4 yrs £5,803
8 kW 6427 kWh 4692 kWh 1735 kWh £1,272 £174 £1,445 £21,526 14.9 yrs £7,382

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: £917, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 18.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1607 kWh 1205 kWh 402 kWh £327 £40 £367 £11,069 30.2 yrs £-3,732
3 kW 2410 kWh 1808 kWh 603 kWh £490 £60 £550 £13,104 23.8 yrs £-2,098
4 kW 3213 kWh 2410 kWh 803 kWh £653 £80 £734 £15,138 20.6 yrs £-464
5 kW 4017 kWh 3013 kWh 1004 kWh £817 £100 £917 £17,173 18.7 yrs £1,170
6 kW 4820 kWh 3615 kWh 1205 kWh £980 £121 £1,101 £19,207 17.5 yrs £2,804
7 kW 5623 kWh 4218 kWh 1406 kWh £1,143 £141 £1,284 £21,242 16.5 yrs £4,438
8 kW 6427 kWh 4820 kWh 1607 kWh £1,307 £161 £1,467 £23,276 15.9 yrs £6,072

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: £931, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 21.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1607 kWh 1237 kWh 370 kWh £335 £37 £372 £13,519 36.3 yrs £-6,072
3 kW 2410 kWh 1856 kWh 554 kWh £503 £55 £559 £15,554 27.8 yrs £-4,383
4 kW 3213 kWh 2474 kWh 739 kWh £671 £74 £745 £17,588 23.6 yrs £-2,694
5 kW 4017 kWh 3093 kWh 924 kWh £838 £92 £931 £19,623 21.1 yrs £-1,005
6 kW 4820 kWh 3711 kWh 1109 kWh £1,006 £111 £1,117 £21,657 19.4 yrs £684
7 kW 5623 kWh 4330 kWh 1293 kWh £1,174 £129 £1,303 £23,692 18.2 yrs £2,372
8 kW 6427 kWh 4949 kWh 1478 kWh £1,342 £148 £1,489 £25,726 17.3 yrs £4,061

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 CA9

Figures below are tailored to CA9 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #218 of 2182
6.1 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~13 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2777 of 2997
13.0 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£936 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1396 of 2997
20.0% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£187 fixed • ~£936 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.11p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
51.16p/day
Local Sunshine
803kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~803 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

Houses: 79% • Flats: 12% • Bungalows: 7% Based on 717 properties

Coverage

Westmorland and Furness (98%)|Northumberland (2%)

Areas Covered

Alston and Fellside, Haltwhistle, Denton Holme

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

CA8 (Cumberland)
≈23.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~786 kWh/kWp · -2% vs CA9
CA10 (Westmorland and Furness)
≈25.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~865 kWh/kWp · +8% vs CA9
CA11 (Westmorland and Furness)
≈26.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~877 kWh/kWp · +9% vs CA9
CA4 (Cumberland)
≈26.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~875 kWh/kWp · +9% vs CA9
CA16 (Westmorland and Furness)
≈26.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~855 kWh/kWp · +6% vs CA9
CA1 (Cumberland)
≈32.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~886 kWh/kWp · +10% vs CA9

Similar sunshine across the UK

KA16 (East Ayrshire)
~803 kWh/kWp · -0% vs CA9
PH15 (Perth and Kinross)
~804 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CA9
PA70 (Argyll and Bute)
~804 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CA9