Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever

Solar Panels in CV31 (Warwick)

See if solar pays off for you in Warwick — 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
12.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£789
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,561
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

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 973 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.6p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.6p/kWh
Standing charge
49.1p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
973 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: £789, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1947 kWh 779 kWh 1168 kWh £199 £117 £316 £4,069 12.9 yrs £2,246
3 kW 2920 kWh 1168 kWh 1752 kWh £298 £175 £474 £6,104 12.9 yrs £3,369
4 kW 3893 kWh 1557 kWh 2336 kWh £398 £234 £631 £8,138 12.9 yrs £4,491
5 kW 4866 kWh 1947 kWh 2920 kWh £497 £292 £789 £10,173 12.9 yrs £5,614
6 kW 5840 kWh 2336 kWh 3504 kWh £597 £350 £947 £12,207 12.9 yrs £6,737
7 kW 6813 kWh 2725 kWh 4088 kWh £696 £409 £1,105 £14,242 12.9 yrs £7,860
8 kW 7786 kWh 3115 kWh 4672 kWh £796 £467 £1,263 £16,276 12.9 yrs £8,983

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: £941, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1947 kWh 1168 kWh 779 kWh £298 £78 £376 £6,169 16.4 yrs £1,356
3 kW 2920 kWh 1752 kWh 1168 kWh £448 £117 £564 £8,204 14.5 yrs £3,085
4 kW 3893 kWh 2336 kWh 1557 kWh £597 £156 £753 £10,238 13.6 yrs £4,813
5 kW 4866 kWh 2920 kWh 1947 kWh £746 £195 £941 £12,273 13.0 yrs £6,541
6 kW 5840 kWh 3504 kWh 2336 kWh £895 £234 £1,129 £14,307 12.7 yrs £8,269
7 kW 6813 kWh 4088 kWh 2725 kWh £1,044 £273 £1,317 £16,342 12.4 yrs £9,998
8 kW 7786 kWh 4672 kWh 3115 kWh £1,194 £311 £1,505 £18,376 12.2 yrs £11,726

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: £1,016, Upfront: £13,673, 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 1947 kWh 1363 kWh 584 kWh £348 £58 £407 £7,569 18.6 yrs £562
3 kW 2920 kWh 2044 kWh 876 kWh £522 £88 £610 £9,604 15.7 yrs £2,593
4 kW 3893 kWh 2725 kWh 1168 kWh £696 £117 £813 £11,638 14.3 yrs £4,624
5 kW 4866 kWh 3407 kWh 1460 kWh £870 £146 £1,016 £13,673 13.5 yrs £6,655
6 kW 5840 kWh 4088 kWh 1752 kWh £1,044 £175 £1,220 £15,707 12.9 yrs £8,686
7 kW 6813 kWh 4769 kWh 2044 kWh £1,219 £204 £1,423 £17,742 12.5 yrs £10,716
8 kW 7786 kWh 5450 kWh 2336 kWh £1,393 £234 £1,626 £19,776 12.2 yrs £12,747

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: £1,039, Upfront: £15,423, 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 1947 kWh 1421 kWh 526 kWh £363 £53 £416 £9,319 22.4 yrs £-1,007
3 kW 2920 kWh 2132 kWh 788 kWh £545 £79 £623 £11,354 18.2 yrs £1,115
4 kW 3893 kWh 2842 kWh 1051 kWh £726 £105 £831 £13,388 16.1 yrs £3,237
5 kW 4866 kWh 3553 kWh 1314 kWh £908 £131 £1,039 £15,423 14.8 yrs £5,359
6 kW 5840 kWh 4263 kWh 1577 kWh £1,089 £158 £1,247 £17,457 14.0 yrs £7,480
7 kW 6813 kWh 4974 kWh 1840 kWh £1,271 £184 £1,455 £19,492 13.4 yrs £9,602
8 kW 7786 kWh 5684 kWh 2102 kWh £1,452 £210 £1,662 £21,526 12.9 yrs £11,724

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: £1,054, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1947 kWh 1460 kWh 487 kWh £373 £49 £422 £11,069 26.2 yrs £-2,635
3 kW 2920 kWh 2190 kWh 730 kWh £560 £73 £633 £13,104 20.7 yrs £-453
4 kW 3893 kWh 2920 kWh 973 kWh £746 £97 £843 £15,138 17.9 yrs £1,729
5 kW 4866 kWh 3650 kWh 1217 kWh £933 £122 £1,054 £17,173 16.3 yrs £3,911
6 kW 5840 kWh 4380 kWh 1460 kWh £1,119 £146 £1,265 £19,207 15.2 yrs £6,094
7 kW 6813 kWh 5110 kWh 1703 kWh £1,306 £170 £1,476 £21,242 14.4 yrs £8,276
8 kW 7786 kWh 5840 kWh 1947 kWh £1,492 £195 £1,687 £23,276 13.8 yrs £10,458

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: £1,069, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1947 kWh 1499 kWh 448 kWh £383 £45 £428 £13,519 31.6 yrs £-4,964
3 kW 2920 kWh 2248 kWh 672 kWh £574 £67 £642 £15,554 24.2 yrs £-2,722
4 kW 3893 kWh 2998 kWh 895 kWh £766 £90 £855 £17,588 20.6 yrs £-479
5 kW 4866 kWh 3747 kWh 1119 kWh £957 £112 £1,069 £19,623 18.4 yrs £1,764
6 kW 5840 kWh 4497 kWh 1343 kWh £1,149 £134 £1,283 £21,657 16.9 yrs £4,007
7 kW 6813 kWh 5246 kWh 1567 kWh £1,340 £157 £1,497 £23,692 15.8 yrs £6,250
8 kW 7786 kWh 5995 kWh 1791 kWh £1,532 £179 £1,711 £25,726 15.0 yrs £8,492

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.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.55p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
49.09p/day
Local Sunshine
973kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~973 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: 60% • Flats: 33% • Bungalows: 4% Based on 11,173 properties

Coverage

Warwick (100%)

Areas Covered

Leamington Willes, Leamington Brunswick, Whitnash, Leamington Clarendon, Radford Semele, Warwick Myton & Heathcote, Harbury

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.