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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in DH4 (Sunderland)

See if solar pays off for you in Sunderland — 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
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£771
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,098
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 Northern, the current unit rate is 25.43p/kWh with a 59.86p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 953 kWh/kW — 28 above the regional median (926).

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 953 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.4p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.4p/kWh
Standing charge
59.9p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
953 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 1907 kWh 763 kWh 1144 kWh £194 £114 £308 £4,069 13.2 yrs £2,098
3 kW 2860 kWh 1144 kWh 1716 kWh £291 £172 £463 £6,104 13.2 yrs £3,147
4 kW 3813 kWh 1525 kWh 2288 kWh £388 £229 £617 £8,138 13.2 yrs £4,195
5 kW 4766 kWh 1907 kWh 2860 kWh £485 £286 £771 £10,173 13.2 yrs £5,244
6 kW 5720 kWh 2288 kWh 3432 kWh £582 £343 £925 £12,207 13.2 yrs £6,293
7 kW 6673 kWh 2669 kWh 4004 kWh £679 £400 £1,079 £14,242 13.2 yrs £7,342
8 kW 7626 kWh 3051 kWh 4576 kWh £776 £458 £1,233 £16,276 13.2 yrs £8,391

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: £918, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1907 kWh 1144 kWh 763 kWh £291 £76 £367 £6,169 16.8 yrs £1,174
3 kW 2860 kWh 1716 kWh 1144 kWh £436 £114 £551 £8,204 14.9 yrs £2,812
4 kW 3813 kWh 2288 kWh 1525 kWh £582 £153 £734 £10,238 13.9 yrs £4,449
5 kW 4766 kWh 2860 kWh 1907 kWh £727 £191 £918 £12,273 13.4 yrs £6,086
6 kW 5720 kWh 3432 kWh 2288 kWh £873 £229 £1,102 £14,307 13.0 yrs £7,723
7 kW 6673 kWh 4004 kWh 2669 kWh £1,018 £267 £1,285 £16,342 12.7 yrs £9,361
8 kW 7626 kWh 4576 kWh 3051 kWh £1,164 £305 £1,469 £18,376 12.5 yrs £10,998

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: £991, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1907 kWh 1335 kWh 572 kWh £339 £57 £397 £7,569 19.1 yrs £363
3 kW 2860 kWh 2002 kWh 858 kWh £509 £86 £595 £9,604 16.1 yrs £2,294
4 kW 3813 kWh 2669 kWh 1144 kWh £679 £114 £793 £11,638 14.7 yrs £4,226
5 kW 4766 kWh 3337 kWh 1430 kWh £848 £143 £991 £13,673 13.8 yrs £6,157
6 kW 5720 kWh 4004 kWh 1716 kWh £1,018 £172 £1,190 £15,707 13.2 yrs £8,088
7 kW 6673 kWh 4671 kWh 2002 kWh £1,188 £200 £1,388 £17,742 12.8 yrs £10,020
8 kW 7626 kWh 5338 kWh 2288 kWh £1,358 £229 £1,586 £19,776 12.5 yrs £11,951

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: £1,014, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1907 kWh 1392 kWh 515 kWh £354 £51 £405 £9,319 23.0 yrs £-1,211
3 kW 2860 kWh 2088 kWh 772 kWh £531 £77 £608 £11,354 18.7 yrs £809
4 kW 3813 kWh 2784 kWh 1030 kWh £708 £103 £811 £13,388 16.5 yrs £2,829
5 kW 4766 kWh 3480 kWh 1287 kWh £885 £129 £1,014 £15,423 15.2 yrs £4,848
6 kW 5720 kWh 4175 kWh 1544 kWh £1,062 £154 £1,216 £17,457 14.4 yrs £6,868
7 kW 6673 kWh 4871 kWh 1802 kWh £1,239 £180 £1,419 £19,492 13.7 yrs £8,888
8 kW 7626 kWh 5567 kWh 2059 kWh £1,416 £206 £1,622 £21,526 13.3 yrs £10,907

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: £1,028, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1907 kWh 1430 kWh 477 kWh £364 £48 £411 £11,069 26.9 yrs £-2,843
3 kW 2860 kWh 2145 kWh 715 kWh £545 £71 £617 £13,104 21.2 yrs £-764
4 kW 3813 kWh 2860 kWh 953 kWh £727 £95 £823 £15,138 18.4 yrs £1,314
5 kW 4766 kWh 3575 kWh 1192 kWh £909 £119 £1,028 £17,173 16.7 yrs £3,393
6 kW 5720 kWh 4290 kWh 1430 kWh £1,091 £143 £1,234 £19,207 15.6 yrs £5,471
7 kW 6673 kWh 5005 kWh 1668 kWh £1,273 £167 £1,440 £21,242 14.8 yrs £7,550
8 kW 7626 kWh 5720 kWh 1907 kWh £1,455 £191 £1,645 £23,276 14.1 yrs £9,628

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: £1,043, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1907 kWh 1468 kWh 439 kWh £373 £44 £417 £13,519 32.4 yrs £-5,175
3 kW 2860 kWh 2202 kWh 658 kWh £560 £66 £626 £15,554 24.9 yrs £-3,038
4 kW 3813 kWh 2936 kWh 877 kWh £747 £88 £834 £17,588 21.1 yrs £-901
5 kW 4766 kWh 3670 kWh 1096 kWh £933 £110 £1,043 £19,623 18.8 yrs £1,237
6 kW 5720 kWh 4404 kWh 1316 kWh £1,120 £132 £1,252 £21,657 17.3 yrs £3,374
7 kW 6673 kWh 5138 kWh 1535 kWh £1,307 £153 £1,460 £23,692 16.2 yrs £5,511
8 kW 7626 kWh 5872 kWh 1754 kWh £1,493 £175 £1,669 £25,726 15.4 yrs £7,649

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 DH4

Figures below are tailored to DH4 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1057 of 2182
5.0 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1751 of 2997
11.5 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£881 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2196 of 2997
24.8% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£218 fixed • ~£881 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.43p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
59.86p/day
Local Sunshine
953kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~953 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: 79% • Flats: 6% • Bungalows: 14% Based on 11,574 properties

Coverage

Sunderland (84%)|County Durham (16%)

Areas Covered

Houghton, Shiney Row, Lumley & West Rainton, Copt Hill, Washington East, Hetton, Framwellgate & Newton Hall

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 Northern

DH5 (Sunderland)
≈3.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~957 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DH4
SR3 (Sunderland)
≈5.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~907 kWh/kWp · -5% vs DH4
DH3 (County Durham)
≈5.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~927 kWh/kWp · -3% vs DH4
NE38 (Sunderland)
≈5.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~929 kWh/kWp · -3% vs DH4
NE89 (Sunderland)
≈6.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~940 kWh/kWp · -1% vs DH4
DH2 (County Durham)
≈7.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~929 kWh/kWp · -3% vs DH4

Similar sunshine across the UK

DE23 (Derby)
~953 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DH4
BS29 (North Somerset)
~953 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DH4
DN8 (Doncaster)
~953 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DH4