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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in CR3 (Tandridge)

See if solar pays off for you in Tandridge — 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
12.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£992
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£12,586
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 South East, the current unit rate is 26.92p/kWh with a 47.60p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 986 kWh/kW — 43 below the regional median (1029).

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 986 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.9p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.9p/kWh
Standing charge
47.6p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
986 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: £826, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1971 kWh 789 kWh 1183 kWh £212 £118 £331 £4,069 12.3 yrs £2,542
3 kW 2957 kWh 1183 kWh 1774 kWh £318 £177 £496 £6,104 12.3 yrs £3,814
4 kW 3943 kWh 1577 kWh 2366 kWh £425 £237 £661 £8,138 12.3 yrs £5,085
5 kW 4929 kWh 1971 kWh 2957 kWh £531 £296 £826 £10,173 12.3 yrs £6,356
6 kW 5914 kWh 2366 kWh 3549 kWh £637 £355 £992 £12,207 12.3 yrs £7,627
7 kW 6900 kWh 2760 kWh 4140 kWh £743 £414 £1,157 £14,242 12.3 yrs £8,898
8 kW 7886 kWh 3154 kWh 4731 kWh £849 £473 £1,322 £16,276 12.3 yrs £10,170

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: £993, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1971 kWh 1183 kWh 789 kWh £318 £79 £397 £6,169 15.5 yrs £1,777
3 kW 2957 kWh 1774 kWh 1183 kWh £478 £118 £596 £8,204 13.8 yrs £3,715
4 kW 3943 kWh 2366 kWh 1577 kWh £637 £158 £795 £10,238 12.9 yrs £5,653
5 kW 4929 kWh 2957 kWh 1971 kWh £796 £197 £993 £12,273 12.4 yrs £7,592
6 kW 5914 kWh 3549 kWh 2366 kWh £955 £237 £1,192 £14,307 12.0 yrs £9,530
7 kW 6900 kWh 4140 kWh 2760 kWh £1,114 £276 £1,390 £16,342 11.8 yrs £11,468
8 kW 7886 kWh 4731 kWh 3154 kWh £1,274 £315 £1,589 £18,376 11.6 yrs £13,407

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: £1,077, 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 1971 kWh 1380 kWh 591 kWh £371 £59 £431 £7,569 17.6 yrs £1,044
3 kW 2957 kWh 2070 kWh 887 kWh £557 £89 £646 £9,604 14.9 yrs £3,316
4 kW 3943 kWh 2760 kWh 1183 kWh £743 £118 £861 £11,638 13.5 yrs £5,588
5 kW 4929 kWh 3450 kWh 1479 kWh £929 £148 £1,077 £13,673 12.7 yrs £7,860
6 kW 5914 kWh 4140 kWh 1774 kWh £1,114 £177 £1,292 £15,707 12.2 yrs £10,131
7 kW 6900 kWh 4830 kWh 2070 kWh £1,300 £207 £1,507 £17,742 11.8 yrs £12,403
8 kW 7886 kWh 5520 kWh 2366 kWh £1,486 £237 £1,723 £19,776 11.5 yrs £14,675

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: £1,102, 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 1971 kWh 1439 kWh 532 kWh £387 £53 £441 £9,319 21.1 yrs £-506
3 kW 2957 kWh 2159 kWh 798 kWh £581 £80 £661 £11,354 17.2 yrs £1,866
4 kW 3943 kWh 2878 kWh 1065 kWh £775 £106 £881 £13,388 15.2 yrs £4,238
5 kW 4929 kWh 3598 kWh 1331 kWh £969 £133 £1,102 £15,423 14.0 yrs £6,610
6 kW 5914 kWh 4317 kWh 1597 kWh £1,162 £160 £1,322 £17,457 13.2 yrs £8,982
7 kW 6900 kWh 5037 kWh 1863 kWh £1,356 £186 £1,542 £19,492 12.6 yrs £11,354
8 kW 7886 kWh 5757 kWh 2129 kWh £1,550 £213 £1,763 £21,526 12.2 yrs £13,726

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: £1,118, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 15.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1971 kWh 1479 kWh 493 kWh £398 £49 £447 £11,069 24.7 yrs £-2,123
3 kW 2957 kWh 2218 kWh 739 kWh £597 £74 £671 £13,104 19.5 yrs £316
4 kW 3943 kWh 2957 kWh 986 kWh £796 £99 £895 £15,138 16.9 yrs £2,755
5 kW 4929 kWh 3696 kWh 1232 kWh £995 £123 £1,118 £17,173 15.4 yrs £5,193
6 kW 5914 kWh 4436 kWh 1479 kWh £1,194 £148 £1,342 £19,207 14.3 yrs £7,632
7 kW 6900 kWh 5175 kWh 1725 kWh £1,393 £173 £1,566 £21,242 13.6 yrs £10,071
8 kW 7886 kWh 5914 kWh 1971 kWh £1,592 £197 £1,789 £23,276 13.0 yrs £12,509

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: £1,135, 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 1971 kWh 1518 kWh 453 kWh £409 £45 £454 £13,519 29.8 yrs £-4,439
3 kW 2957 kWh 2277 kWh 680 kWh £613 £68 £681 £15,554 22.8 yrs £-1,934
4 kW 3943 kWh 3036 kWh 907 kWh £817 £91 £908 £17,588 19.4 yrs £572
5 kW 4929 kWh 3795 kWh 1134 kWh £1,022 £113 £1,135 £19,623 17.3 yrs £3,077
6 kW 5914 kWh 4554 kWh 1360 kWh £1,226 £136 £1,362 £21,657 15.9 yrs £5,582
7 kW 6900 kWh 5313 kWh 1587 kWh £1,430 £159 £1,589 £23,692 14.9 yrs £8,088
8 kW 7886 kWh 6072 kWh 1814 kWh £1,635 £181 £1,816 £25,726 14.2 yrs £10,593

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 CR3

Figures below are tailored to CR3 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1539 of 2182
4.7 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #780 of 2997
10.7 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,142 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #352 of 2997
15.2% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£174 fixed • ~£1,142 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.92p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
47.60p/day
Local Sunshine
986kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~986 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: 47% • Flats: 43% • Bungalows: 6% Based on 7,691 properties

Coverage

Tandridge (67%)|Croydon (26%)|Reigate and Banstead (6%)|Sutton (2%)

Areas Covered

Harestone, Coulsdon Town, Old Coulsdon, Westway, Portley & Queens Park, Valley, Warlingham East & Chelsham & Farleigh, Whyteleafe + 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 South East

CR6 (Tandridge)
≈2.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~998 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CR3
CR5 (Croydon)
≈4.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~983 kWh/kWp · -0% vs CR3
CR8 (Croydon)
≈4.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~971 kWh/kWp · -2% vs CR3
CR2 (Croydon)
≈5.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~990 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CR3
RH9 (Tandridge)
≈6.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,003 kWh/kWp · +2% vs CR3
RH8 (Tandridge)
≈7.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,006 kWh/kWp · +2% vs CR3

Similar sunshine across the UK

LN9 (East Lindsey)
~986 kWh/kWp · -0% vs CR3
PL20 (West Devon)
~986 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CR3
TA21 (Somerset)
~986 kWh/kWp · -0% vs CR3