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Solar Panels in DE2 (Derby)

See if solar pays off for you in Derby — 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
13.1 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£6,104
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£467
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£5,574
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 East Midlands, the current unit rate is 25.55p/kWh with a 49.09p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 960 kWh/kW — 8 below the regional median (968).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 3.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 960 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)
960 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: £778, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1920 kWh 768 kWh 1152 kWh £196 £115 £311 £4,069 13.1 yrs £2,159
3 kW 2880 kWh 1152 kWh 1728 kWh £294 £173 £467 £6,104 13.1 yrs £3,238
4 kW 3840 kWh 1536 kWh 2304 kWh £392 £230 £623 £8,138 13.1 yrs £4,318
5 kW 4800 kWh 1920 kWh 2880 kWh £491 £288 £778 £10,173 13.1 yrs £5,397
6 kW 5759 kWh 2304 kWh 3456 kWh £589 £346 £934 £12,207 13.1 yrs £6,477
7 kW 6719 kWh 2688 kWh 4032 kWh £687 £403 £1,090 £14,242 13.1 yrs £7,556
8 kW 7679 kWh 3072 kWh 4608 kWh £785 £461 £1,246 £16,276 13.1 yrs £8,636

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: £928, 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 1920 kWh 1152 kWh 768 kWh £294 £77 £371 £6,169 16.6 yrs £1,253
3 kW 2880 kWh 1728 kWh 1152 kWh £441 £115 £557 £8,204 14.7 yrs £2,930
4 kW 3840 kWh 2304 kWh 1536 kWh £589 £154 £742 £10,238 13.8 yrs £4,606
5 kW 4800 kWh 2880 kWh 1920 kWh £736 £192 £928 £12,273 13.2 yrs £6,283
6 kW 5759 kWh 3456 kWh 2304 kWh £883 £230 £1,113 £14,307 12.9 yrs £7,959
7 kW 6719 kWh 4032 kWh 2688 kWh £1,030 £269 £1,299 £16,342 12.6 yrs £9,636
8 kW 7679 kWh 4608 kWh 3072 kWh £1,177 £307 £1,484 £18,376 12.4 yrs £11,312

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: £1,002, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1920 kWh 1344 kWh 576 kWh £343 £58 £401 £7,569 18.9 yrs £450
3 kW 2880 kWh 2016 kWh 864 kWh £515 £86 £601 £9,604 16.0 yrs £2,425
4 kW 3840 kWh 2688 kWh 1152 kWh £687 £115 £802 £11,638 14.5 yrs £4,400
5 kW 4800 kWh 3360 kWh 1440 kWh £858 £144 £1,002 £13,673 13.6 yrs £6,375
6 kW 5759 kWh 4032 kWh 1728 kWh £1,030 £173 £1,203 £15,707 13.1 yrs £8,350
7 kW 6719 kWh 4704 kWh 2016 kWh £1,202 £202 £1,403 £17,742 12.6 yrs £10,325
8 kW 7679 kWh 5375 kWh 2304 kWh £1,373 £230 £1,604 £19,776 12.3 yrs £12,300

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: £1,025, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1920 kWh 1401 kWh 518 kWh £358 £52 £410 £9,319 22.7 yrs £-1,121
3 kW 2880 kWh 2102 kWh 778 kWh £537 £78 £615 £11,354 18.5 yrs £944
4 kW 3840 kWh 2803 kWh 1037 kWh £716 £104 £820 £13,388 16.3 yrs £3,008
5 kW 4800 kWh 3504 kWh 1296 kWh £895 £130 £1,025 £15,423 15.0 yrs £5,073
6 kW 5759 kWh 4204 kWh 1555 kWh £1,074 £156 £1,230 £17,457 14.2 yrs £7,138
7 kW 6719 kWh 4905 kWh 1814 kWh £1,253 £181 £1,435 £19,492 13.6 yrs £9,202
8 kW 7679 kWh 5606 kWh 2073 kWh £1,432 £207 £1,640 £21,526 13.1 yrs £11,267

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: £1,040, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1920 kWh 1440 kWh 480 kWh £368 £48 £416 £11,069 26.6 yrs £-2,751
3 kW 2880 kWh 2160 kWh 720 kWh £552 £72 £624 £13,104 21.0 yrs £-627
4 kW 3840 kWh 2880 kWh 960 kWh £736 £96 £832 £15,138 18.2 yrs £1,497
5 kW 4800 kWh 3600 kWh 1200 kWh £920 £120 £1,040 £17,173 16.5 yrs £3,622
6 kW 5759 kWh 4320 kWh 1440 kWh £1,104 £144 £1,248 £19,207 15.4 yrs £5,746
7 kW 6719 kWh 5040 kWh 1680 kWh £1,288 £168 £1,456 £21,242 14.6 yrs £7,870
8 kW 7679 kWh 5759 kWh 1920 kWh £1,472 £192 £1,664 £23,276 14.0 yrs £9,994

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: £1,055, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1920 kWh 1478 kWh 442 kWh £378 £44 £422 £13,519 32.0 yrs £-5,082
3 kW 2880 kWh 2217 kWh 662 kWh £567 £66 £633 £15,554 24.6 yrs £-2,898
4 kW 3840 kWh 2957 kWh 883 kWh £755 £88 £844 £17,588 20.8 yrs £-714
5 kW 4800 kWh 3696 kWh 1104 kWh £944 £110 £1,055 £19,623 18.6 yrs £1,470
6 kW 5759 kWh 4435 kWh 1325 kWh £1,133 £132 £1,266 £21,657 17.1 yrs £3,654
7 kW 6719 kWh 5174 kWh 1545 kWh £1,322 £155 £1,476 £23,692 16.0 yrs £5,838
8 kW 7679 kWh 5913 kWh 1766 kWh £1,511 £177 £1,687 £25,726 15.2 yrs £8,022

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 DE2

Figures below are tailored to DE2 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #1668 of 2997
11.4 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,069 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #672 of 2997
16.8% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£179 fixed • ~£1,069 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.55p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
49.09p/day
Local Sunshine
960kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~960 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
3.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

⚠️ This area is predominantly flats. Many residents require freeholder approval for solar installations. System size shown reflects houses and bungalows only.

Local Property Data

Property Types

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

Derby (94%)|South Derbyshire (3%)|Erewash (3%)|Amber Valley (1%)

Areas Covered

Alvaston North, Spondon, Alvaston South, Sinfin & Osmaston, Oakwood, Chaddesden West, Chaddesden North, Chaddesden East + 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 East Midlands

DE21 (Derby)
≈1.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~952 kWh/kWp · -1% vs DE2
DE99 (Derby)
≈1.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~946 kWh/kWp · -1% vs DE2
DE1 (Derby)
≈1.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~946 kWh/kWp · -1% vs DE2
DE24 (Derby)
≈3.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~960 kWh/kWp · -0% vs DE2
DE22 (Derby)
≈4.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~946 kWh/kWp · -1% vs DE2
DE3 (Derby)
≈4.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~948 kWh/kWp · -1% vs DE2

Similar sunshine across the UK

GL50 (Cheltenham)
~960 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DE2
B96 (Redditch)
~960 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DE2
GL52 (Cheltenham)
~960 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DE2