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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in CW4 (Cheshire East)

See if solar pays off for you in Cheshire East — 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
13.2 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£926
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£10,937
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 North Wales and Mersey, the current unit rate is 27.72p/kWh with a 69.95p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 903 kWh/kW — 27 below the regional median (930).

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 903 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 27.7p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
27.7p/kWh
Standing charge
70.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
903 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: £771, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1806 kWh 722 kWh 1084 kWh £200 £108 £309 £4,069 13.2 yrs £2,103
3 kW 2709 kWh 1084 kWh 1625 kWh £300 £163 £463 £6,104 13.2 yrs £3,154
4 kW 3612 kWh 1445 kWh 2167 kWh £400 £217 £617 £8,138 13.2 yrs £4,205
5 kW 4515 kWh 1806 kWh 2709 kWh £501 £271 £771 £10,173 13.2 yrs £5,257
6 kW 5418 kWh 2167 kWh 3251 kWh £601 £325 £926 £12,207 13.2 yrs £6,308
7 kW 6320 kWh 2528 kWh 3792 kWh £701 £379 £1,080 £14,242 13.2 yrs £7,359
8 kW 7223 kWh 2889 kWh 4334 kWh £801 £433 £1,234 £16,276 13.2 yrs £8,410

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: £931, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1806 kWh 1084 kWh 722 kWh £300 £72 £373 £6,169 16.6 yrs £1,283
3 kW 2709 kWh 1625 kWh 1084 kWh £451 £108 £559 £8,204 14.7 yrs £2,974
4 kW 3612 kWh 2167 kWh 1445 kWh £601 £144 £745 £10,238 13.7 yrs £4,665
5 kW 4515 kWh 2709 kWh 1806 kWh £751 £181 £931 £12,273 13.2 yrs £6,356
6 kW 5418 kWh 3251 kWh 2167 kWh £901 £217 £1,118 £14,307 12.8 yrs £8,048
7 kW 6320 kWh 3792 kWh 2528 kWh £1,051 £253 £1,304 £16,342 12.5 yrs £9,739
8 kW 7223 kWh 4334 kWh 2889 kWh £1,201 £289 £1,490 £18,376 12.3 yrs £11,430

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 1806 kWh 1264 kWh 542 kWh £350 £54 £405 £7,569 18.7 yrs £523
3 kW 2709 kWh 1896 kWh 813 kWh £526 £81 £607 £9,604 15.8 yrs £2,534
4 kW 3612 kWh 2528 kWh 1084 kWh £701 £108 £809 £11,638 14.4 yrs £4,545
5 kW 4515 kWh 3160 kWh 1354 kWh £876 £135 £1,011 £13,673 13.5 yrs £6,556
6 kW 5418 kWh 3792 kWh 1625 kWh £1,051 £163 £1,214 £15,707 12.9 yrs £8,568
7 kW 6320 kWh 4424 kWh 1896 kWh £1,226 £190 £1,416 £17,742 12.5 yrs £10,579
8 kW 7223 kWh 5056 kWh 2167 kWh £1,402 £217 £1,618 £19,776 12.2 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.

7.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £1,035, 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 1806 kWh 1318 kWh 488 kWh £365 £49 £414 £9,319 22.5 yrs £-1,035
3 kW 2709 kWh 1977 kWh 731 kWh £548 £73 £621 £11,354 18.3 yrs £1,072
4 kW 3612 kWh 2637 kWh 975 kWh £731 £98 £828 £13,388 16.2 yrs £3,179
5 kW 4515 kWh 3296 kWh 1219 kWh £914 £122 £1,035 £15,423 14.9 yrs £5,286
6 kW 5418 kWh 3955 kWh 1463 kWh £1,096 £146 £1,243 £17,457 14.0 yrs £7,394
7 kW 6320 kWh 4614 kWh 1707 kWh £1,279 £171 £1,450 £19,492 13.4 yrs £9,501
8 kW 7223 kWh 5273 kWh 1950 kWh £1,462 £195 £1,657 £21,526 13.0 yrs £11,608

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: £1,051, 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 1806 kWh 1354 kWh 451 kWh £375 £45 £421 £11,069 26.3 yrs £-2,657
3 kW 2709 kWh 2032 kWh 677 kWh £563 £68 £631 £13,104 20.8 yrs £-486
4 kW 3612 kWh 2709 kWh 903 kWh £751 £90 £841 £15,138 18.0 yrs £1,685
5 kW 4515 kWh 3386 kWh 1129 kWh £939 £113 £1,051 £17,173 16.3 yrs £3,856
6 kW 5418 kWh 4063 kWh 1354 kWh £1,126 £135 £1,262 £19,207 15.2 yrs £6,028
7 kW 6320 kWh 4740 kWh 1580 kWh £1,314 £158 £1,472 £21,242 14.4 yrs £8,199
8 kW 7223 kWh 5418 kWh 1806 kWh £1,502 £181 £1,682 £23,276 13.8 yrs £10,370

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: £1,067, 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 1806 kWh 1390 kWh 415 kWh £385 £42 £427 £13,519 31.7 yrs £-4,979
3 kW 2709 kWh 2086 kWh 623 kWh £578 £62 £640 £15,554 24.3 yrs £-2,744
4 kW 3612 kWh 2781 kWh 831 kWh £771 £83 £854 £17,588 20.6 yrs £-509
5 kW 4515 kWh 3476 kWh 1038 kWh £964 £104 £1,067 £19,623 18.4 yrs £1,726
6 kW 5418 kWh 4171 kWh 1246 kWh £1,156 £125 £1,281 £21,657 16.9 yrs £3,962
7 kW 6320 kWh 4867 kWh 1454 kWh £1,349 £145 £1,494 £23,692 15.9 yrs £6,197
8 kW 7223 kWh 5562 kWh 1661 kWh £1,542 £166 £1,708 £25,726 15.1 yrs £8,432

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 CW4

Figures below are tailored to CW4 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #208 of 2182
6.1 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~13 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1667 of 2997
11.4 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,070 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2126 of 2997
23.9% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£255 fixed • ~£1,070 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.72p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
69.95p/day
Local Sunshine
903kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~903 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: 78% • Flats: 6% • Bungalows: 16% Based on 2,796 properties

Coverage

Cheshire East (97%)|Cheshire West and Chester (3%)

Areas Covered

Dane Valley, Congleton West, Brereton Rural, Shakerley

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 North Wales and Mersey

CW10 (Cheshire East)
≈6.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~911 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CW4
CW11 (Cheshire East)
≈6.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~907 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CW4
CW7 (Cheshire West and Chester)
≈11.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~926 kWh/kWp · +3% vs CW4
WA16 (Cheshire East)
≈11.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~904 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CW4
CW9 (Cheshire West and Chester)
≈12.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~914 kWh/kWp · +1% vs CW4
CW1 (Cheshire East)
≈12.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~923 kWh/kWp · +2% vs CW4

Similar sunshine across the UK

WA3 (Warrington)
~903 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CW4
HD3 (Kirklees)
~903 kWh/kWp · +0% vs CW4
S30 (Sheffield)
~903 kWh/kWp · -0% vs CW4