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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in CB6 (East Cambridgeshire)

See if solar pays off for you in East Cambridgeshire — 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
12.2 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£998
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£12,732
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 Eastern, the current unit rate is 26.53p/kWh with a 48.25p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 1001 kWh/kW — 8 below the regional median (1009).

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 1001 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.5p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.5p/kWh
Standing charge
48.2p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
1001 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: £831, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2002 kWh 801 kWh 1201 kWh £212 £120 £333 £4,069 12.2 yrs £2,581
3 kW 3003 kWh 1201 kWh 1802 kWh £319 £180 £499 £6,104 12.2 yrs £3,872
4 kW 4003 kWh 1601 kWh 2402 kWh £425 £240 £665 £8,138 12.2 yrs £5,163
5 kW 5004 kWh 2002 kWh 3003 kWh £531 £300 £831 £10,173 12.2 yrs £6,454
6 kW 6005 kWh 2402 kWh 3603 kWh £637 £360 £998 £12,207 12.2 yrs £7,744
7 kW 7006 kWh 2802 kWh 4204 kWh £743 £420 £1,164 £14,242 12.2 yrs £9,035
8 kW 8007 kWh 3203 kWh 4804 kWh £850 £480 £1,330 £16,276 12.2 yrs £10,326

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: £997, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2002 kWh 1201 kWh 801 kWh £319 £80 £399 £6,169 15.5 yrs £1,805
3 kW 3003 kWh 1802 kWh 1201 kWh £478 £120 £598 £8,204 13.7 yrs £3,757
4 kW 4003 kWh 2402 kWh 1601 kWh £637 £160 £797 £10,238 12.8 yrs £5,710
5 kW 5004 kWh 3003 kWh 2002 kWh £797 £200 £997 £12,273 12.3 yrs £7,662
6 kW 6005 kWh 3603 kWh 2402 kWh £956 £240 £1,196 £14,307 12.0 yrs £9,615
7 kW 7006 kWh 4204 kWh 2802 kWh £1,115 £280 £1,395 £16,342 11.7 yrs £11,567
8 kW 8007 kWh 4804 kWh 3203 kWh £1,275 £320 £1,595 £18,376 11.5 yrs £13,520

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: £1,079, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 12.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2002 kWh 1401 kWh 601 kWh £372 £60 £432 £7,569 17.5 yrs £1,067
3 kW 3003 kWh 2102 kWh 901 kWh £558 £90 £648 £9,604 14.8 yrs £3,350
4 kW 4003 kWh 2802 kWh 1201 kWh £743 £120 £864 £11,638 13.5 yrs £5,633
5 kW 5004 kWh 3503 kWh 1501 kWh £929 £150 £1,079 £13,673 12.7 yrs £7,917
6 kW 6005 kWh 4204 kWh 1802 kWh £1,115 £180 £1,295 £15,707 12.1 yrs £10,200
7 kW 7006 kWh 4904 kWh 2102 kWh £1,301 £210 £1,511 £17,742 11.7 yrs £12,483
8 kW 8007 kWh 5605 kWh 2402 kWh £1,487 £240 £1,727 £19,776 11.5 yrs £14,767

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: £1,104, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2002 kWh 1461 kWh 540 kWh £388 £54 £442 £9,319 21.1 yrs £-485
3 kW 3003 kWh 2192 kWh 811 kWh £582 £81 £663 £11,354 17.1 yrs £1,898
4 kW 4003 kWh 2922 kWh 1081 kWh £775 £108 £883 £13,388 15.2 yrs £4,280
5 kW 5004 kWh 3653 kWh 1351 kWh £969 £135 £1,104 £15,423 14.0 yrs £6,663
6 kW 6005 kWh 4384 kWh 1621 kWh £1,163 £162 £1,325 £17,457 13.2 yrs £9,046
7 kW 7006 kWh 5114 kWh 1892 kWh £1,357 £189 £1,546 £19,492 12.6 yrs £11,428
8 kW 8007 kWh 5845 kWh 2162 kWh £1,551 £216 £1,767 £21,526 12.2 yrs £13,811

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: £1,121, Upfront: £17,173, 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 2002 kWh 1501 kWh 500 kWh £398 £50 £448 £11,069 24.7 yrs £-2,102
3 kW 3003 kWh 2252 kWh 751 kWh £597 £75 £672 £13,104 19.5 yrs £346
4 kW 4003 kWh 3003 kWh 1001 kWh £797 £100 £897 £15,138 16.9 yrs £2,795
5 kW 5004 kWh 3753 kWh 1251 kWh £996 £125 £1,121 £17,173 15.3 yrs £5,244
6 kW 6005 kWh 4504 kWh 1501 kWh £1,195 £150 £1,345 £19,207 14.3 yrs £7,693
7 kW 7006 kWh 5254 kWh 1751 kWh £1,394 £175 £1,569 £21,242 13.5 yrs £10,142
8 kW 8007 kWh 6005 kWh 2002 kWh £1,593 £200 £1,793 £23,276 13.0 yrs £12,590

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: £1,137, Upfront: £19,623, 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 2002 kWh 1541 kWh 460 kWh £409 £46 £455 £13,519 29.7 yrs £-4,420
3 kW 3003 kWh 2312 kWh 691 kWh £613 £69 £682 £15,554 22.8 yrs £-1,905
4 kW 4003 kWh 3083 kWh 921 kWh £818 £92 £910 £17,588 19.3 yrs £610
5 kW 5004 kWh 3853 kWh 1151 kWh £1,022 £115 £1,137 £19,623 17.3 yrs £3,125
6 kW 6005 kWh 4624 kWh 1381 kWh £1,227 £138 £1,365 £21,657 15.9 yrs £5,640
7 kW 7006 kWh 5395 kWh 1611 kWh £1,431 £161 £1,592 £23,692 14.9 yrs £8,155
8 kW 8007 kWh 6165 kWh 1842 kWh £1,636 £184 £1,820 £25,726 14.1 yrs £10,670

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 CB6

Figures below are tailored to CB6 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #530 of 2182
5.6 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~12 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #615 of 2997
10.6 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,146 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #455 of 2997
15.4% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£176 fixed • ~£1,146 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.53p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
48.25p/day
Local Sunshine
1001kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1001 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: 75% • Flats: 7% • Bungalows: 17% Based on 10,985 properties

Coverage

East Cambridgeshire (99%)|King's Lynn and West Norfolk (1%)

Areas Covered

Littleport, Stretham, Ely West, Sutton, Downham Villages, Ely East, Haddenham, Ely North + 5 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 Eastern

CB7 (East Cambridgeshire)
≈5.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,010 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CB6
PE16 (Fenland)
≈14.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,006 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CB6
CB25 (East Cambridgeshire)
≈14.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,009 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CB6
CB24 (South Cambridgeshire)
≈16.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,012 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CB6
IP28 (West Suffolk)
≈19.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,007 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CB6
PE15 (Fenland)
≈19.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,008 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CB6

Similar sunshine across the UK

BA15 (Wiltshire)
~1,001 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CB6
RG25 (Basingstoke and Deane)
~1,001 kWh/kWp · -0% vs CB6
RG29 (Hart)
~1,001 kWh/kWp · -0% vs CB6