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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in CM7 (Braintree)

See if solar pays off for you in Braintree — 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
11.8 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£858
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£11,290
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 1034 kWh/kW — 24 above the regional median (1009).

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 1034 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)
1034 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: £858, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 11.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2067 kWh 827 kWh 1240 kWh £219 £124 £343 £4,069 11.8 yrs £2,799
3 kW 3101 kWh 1240 kWh 1860 kWh £329 £186 £515 £6,104 11.8 yrs £4,198
4 kW 4134 kWh 1654 kWh 2481 kWh £439 £248 £687 £8,138 11.8 yrs £5,598
5 kW 5168 kWh 2067 kWh 3101 kWh £548 £310 £858 £10,173 11.8 yrs £6,997
6 kW 6201 kWh 2481 kWh 3721 kWh £658 £372 £1,030 £12,207 11.8 yrs £8,397
7 kW 7235 kWh 2894 kWh 4341 kWh £768 £434 £1,202 £14,242 11.8 yrs £9,796
8 kW 8269 kWh 3307 kWh 4961 kWh £877 £496 £1,374 £16,276 11.8 yrs £11,195

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: £1,029, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 11.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2067 kWh 1240 kWh 827 kWh £329 £83 £412 £6,169 15.0 yrs £2,066
3 kW 3101 kWh 1860 kWh 1240 kWh £494 £124 £618 £8,204 13.3 yrs £4,148
4 kW 4134 kWh 2481 kWh 1654 kWh £658 £165 £823 £10,238 12.4 yrs £6,231
5 kW 5168 kWh 3101 kWh 2067 kWh £823 £207 £1,029 £12,273 11.9 yrs £8,314
6 kW 6201 kWh 3721 kWh 2481 kWh £987 £248 £1,235 £14,307 11.6 yrs £10,397
7 kW 7235 kWh 4341 kWh 2894 kWh £1,152 £289 £1,441 £16,342 11.3 yrs £12,480
8 kW 8269 kWh 4961 kWh 3307 kWh £1,316 £331 £1,647 £18,376 11.2 yrs £14,563

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: £1,115, Upfront: £13,673, 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 2067 kWh 1447 kWh 620 kWh £384 £62 £446 £7,569 17.0 yrs £1,349
3 kW 3101 kWh 2170 kWh 930 kWh £576 £93 £669 £9,604 14.4 yrs £3,774
4 kW 4134 kWh 2894 kWh 1240 kWh £768 £124 £892 £11,638 13.0 yrs £6,198
5 kW 5168 kWh 3617 kWh 1550 kWh £960 £155 £1,115 £13,673 12.3 yrs £8,623
6 kW 6201 kWh 4341 kWh 1860 kWh £1,152 £186 £1,338 £15,707 11.7 yrs £11,047
7 kW 7235 kWh 5064 kWh 2170 kWh £1,344 £217 £1,561 £17,742 11.4 yrs £13,472
8 kW 8269 kWh 5788 kWh 2481 kWh £1,536 £248 £1,784 £19,776 11.1 yrs £15,896

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: £1,140, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 13.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2067 kWh 1509 kWh 558 kWh £400 £56 £456 £9,319 20.4 yrs £-196
3 kW 3101 kWh 2264 kWh 837 kWh £601 £84 £684 £11,354 16.6 yrs £2,331
4 kW 4134 kWh 3018 kWh 1116 kWh £801 £112 £912 £13,388 14.7 yrs £4,858
5 kW 5168 kWh 3773 kWh 1395 kWh £1,001 £140 £1,140 £15,423 13.5 yrs £7,385
6 kW 6201 kWh 4527 kWh 1674 kWh £1,201 £167 £1,368 £17,457 12.8 yrs £9,912
7 kW 7235 kWh 5282 kWh 1953 kWh £1,401 £195 £1,597 £19,492 12.2 yrs £12,439
8 kW 8269 kWh 6036 kWh 2233 kWh £1,601 £223 £1,825 £21,526 11.8 yrs £14,966

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: £1,157, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 14.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2067 kWh 1550 kWh 517 kWh £411 £52 £463 £11,069 23.9 yrs £-1,809
3 kW 3101 kWh 2326 kWh 775 kWh £617 £78 £694 £13,104 18.9 yrs £786
4 kW 4134 kWh 3101 kWh 1034 kWh £823 £103 £926 £15,138 16.3 yrs £3,381
5 kW 5168 kWh 3876 kWh 1292 kWh £1,028 £129 £1,157 £17,173 14.8 yrs £5,977
6 kW 6201 kWh 4651 kWh 1550 kWh £1,234 £155 £1,389 £19,207 13.8 yrs £8,572
7 kW 7235 kWh 5426 kWh 1809 kWh £1,440 £181 £1,620 £21,242 13.1 yrs £11,168
8 kW 8269 kWh 6201 kWh 2067 kWh £1,645 £207 £1,852 £23,276 12.6 yrs £13,763

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: £1,175, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 16.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2067 kWh 1592 kWh 475 kWh £422 £48 £470 £13,519 28.8 yrs £-4,123
3 kW 3101 kWh 2388 kWh 713 kWh £633 £71 £705 £15,554 22.1 yrs £-1,459
4 kW 4134 kWh 3183 kWh 951 kWh £845 £95 £940 £17,588 18.7 yrs £1,205
5 kW 5168 kWh 3979 kWh 1189 kWh £1,056 £119 £1,175 £19,623 16.7 yrs £3,869
6 kW 6201 kWh 4775 kWh 1426 kWh £1,267 £143 £1,409 £21,657 15.4 yrs £6,532
7 kW 7235 kWh 5571 kWh 1664 kWh £1,478 £166 £1,644 £23,692 14.4 yrs £9,196
8 kW 8269 kWh 6367 kWh 1902 kWh £1,689 £190 £1,879 £25,726 13.7 yrs £11,860

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 CM7

Figures below are tailored to CM7 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1583 of 2182
4.6 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #311 of 2997
10.3 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£987 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #919 of 2997
17.8% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£176 fixed • ~£987 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.53p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
48.25p/day
Local Sunshine
1034kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1034 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

Houses: 66% • Flats: 25% • Bungalows: 8% Based on 13,108 properties

Coverage

Braintree (99%)|Uttlesford (1%)

Areas Covered

Braintree Central & Beckers Green, Bocking South, Three Fields, Bocking Blackwater, Braintree West, Braintree South, Bocking North, Great Notley & Black Notley + 4 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

CM77 (Braintree)
≈1.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,029 kWh/kWp · -0% vs CM7
CO9 (Braintree)
≈9.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,029 kWh/kWp · -0% vs CM7
CM8 (Braintree)
≈10.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,050 kWh/kWp · +2% vs CM7
CM6 (Uttlesford)
≈13.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,025 kWh/kWp · -1% vs CM7
CM98 (Chelmsford)
≈14.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,036 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CM7
CM99 (Chelmsford)
≈15.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,039 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CM7

Similar sunshine across the UK

TN10 (Tonbridge and Malling)
~1,034 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CM7
TQ10 (South Hams)
~1,034 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CM7
ME8 (Medway)
~1,034 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CM7