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

Solar Panels in CV5 (Coventry)

See if solar pays off for you in Coventry — 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
13.0 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£785
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,450
After paying itself off, you're this much ahead

Ready to Get Started?

Get your free quote from Blue Ape Renewables. They'll connect you with MCS-certified installers in your area and handle all the paperwork.

Get Solar Quote →
4.8★ Trustpilot • Octopus Energy trusted partner • MCS certified • No obligation
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 968 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)
968 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: £785, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1936 kWh 774 kWh 1161 kWh £198 £116 £314 £4,069 13.0 yrs £2,210
3 kW 2903 kWh 1161 kWh 1742 kWh £297 £174 £471 £6,104 13.0 yrs £3,315
4 kW 3871 kWh 1548 kWh 2323 kWh £396 £232 £628 £8,138 13.0 yrs £4,420
5 kW 4839 kWh 1936 kWh 2903 kWh £495 £290 £785 £10,173 13.0 yrs £5,525
6 kW 5807 kWh 2323 kWh 3484 kWh £593 £348 £942 £12,207 13.0 yrs £6,630
7 kW 6775 kWh 2710 kWh 4065 kWh £692 £406 £1,099 £14,242 13.0 yrs £7,735
8 kW 7742 kWh 3097 kWh 4645 kWh £791 £465 £1,256 £16,276 13.0 yrs £8,841

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: £935, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1936 kWh 1161 kWh 774 kWh £297 £77 £374 £6,169 16.5 yrs £1,314
3 kW 2903 kWh 1742 kWh 1161 kWh £445 £116 £561 £8,204 14.6 yrs £3,021
4 kW 3871 kWh 2323 kWh 1548 kWh £593 £155 £748 £10,238 13.7 yrs £4,728
5 kW 4839 kWh 2903 kWh 1936 kWh £742 £194 £935 £12,273 13.1 yrs £6,435
6 kW 5807 kWh 3484 kWh 2323 kWh £890 £232 £1,122 £14,307 12.7 yrs £8,142
7 kW 6775 kWh 4065 kWh 2710 kWh £1,039 £271 £1,310 £16,342 12.5 yrs £9,849
8 kW 7742 kWh 4645 kWh 3097 kWh £1,187 £310 £1,497 £18,376 12.3 yrs £11,556

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: £1,011, 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 1936 kWh 1355 kWh 581 kWh £346 £58 £404 £7,569 18.7 yrs £516
3 kW 2903 kWh 2032 kWh 871 kWh £519 £87 £606 £9,604 15.8 yrs £2,524
4 kW 3871 kWh 2710 kWh 1161 kWh £692 £116 £809 £11,638 14.4 yrs £4,532
5 kW 4839 kWh 3387 kWh 1452 kWh £865 £145 £1,011 £13,673 13.5 yrs £6,540
6 kW 5807 kWh 4065 kWh 1742 kWh £1,039 £174 £1,213 £15,707 13.0 yrs £8,548
7 kW 6775 kWh 4742 kWh 2032 kWh £1,212 £203 £1,415 £17,742 12.5 yrs £10,556
8 kW 7742 kWh 5420 kWh 2323 kWh £1,385 £232 £1,617 £19,776 12.2 yrs £12,564

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: £1,033, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1936 kWh 1413 kWh 523 kWh £361 £52 £413 £9,319 22.5 yrs £-1,053
3 kW 2903 kWh 2120 kWh 784 kWh £542 £78 £620 £11,354 18.3 yrs £1,045
4 kW 3871 kWh 2826 kWh 1045 kWh £722 £105 £827 £13,388 16.2 yrs £3,143
5 kW 4839 kWh 3533 kWh 1307 kWh £903 £131 £1,033 £15,423 14.9 yrs £5,242
6 kW 5807 kWh 4239 kWh 1568 kWh £1,083 £157 £1,240 £17,457 14.1 yrs £7,340
7 kW 6775 kWh 4946 kWh 1829 kWh £1,264 £183 £1,446 £19,492 13.5 yrs £9,438
8 kW 7742 kWh 5652 kWh 2090 kWh £1,444 £209 £1,653 £21,526 13.0 yrs £11,537

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: £1,048, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1936 kWh 1452 kWh 484 kWh £371 £48 £419 £11,069 26.4 yrs £-2,683
3 kW 2903 kWh 2178 kWh 726 kWh £556 £73 £629 £13,104 20.8 yrs £-524
4 kW 3871 kWh 2903 kWh 968 kWh £742 £97 £839 £15,138 18.1 yrs £1,634
5 kW 4839 kWh 3629 kWh 1210 kWh £927 £121 £1,048 £17,173 16.4 yrs £3,793
6 kW 5807 kWh 4355 kWh 1452 kWh £1,113 £145 £1,258 £19,207 15.3 yrs £5,951
7 kW 6775 kWh 5081 kWh 1694 kWh £1,298 £169 £1,468 £21,242 14.5 yrs £8,110
8 kW 7742 kWh 5807 kWh 1936 kWh £1,484 £194 £1,677 £23,276 13.9 yrs £10,268

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: £1,063, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1936 kWh 1490 kWh 445 kWh £381 £45 £425 £13,519 31.8 yrs £-5,013
3 kW 2903 kWh 2236 kWh 668 kWh £571 £67 £638 £15,554 24.4 yrs £-2,794
4 kW 3871 kWh 2981 kWh 890 kWh £762 £89 £851 £17,588 20.7 yrs £-575
5 kW 4839 kWh 3726 kWh 1113 kWh £952 £111 £1,063 £19,623 18.5 yrs £1,644
6 kW 5807 kWh 4471 kWh 1336 kWh £1,142 £134 £1,276 £21,657 17.0 yrs £3,862
7 kW 6775 kWh 5216 kWh 1558 kWh £1,333 £156 £1,489 £23,692 15.9 yrs £6,081
8 kW 7742 kWh 5962 kWh 1781 kWh £1,523 £178 £1,701 £25,726 15.1 yrs £8,300

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
968kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~968 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: 69% • Flats: 23% • Bungalows: 5% Based on 12,175 properties

Coverage

Coventry (99%)|Solihull (1%)

Areas Covered

Whoberley, Earlsdon, Woodlands, Bablake, St Michael's, Sherbourne, Meriden, Binley and Willenhall + 3 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.