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Solar panel cost in County Durham (DH8)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for DH8 (County Durham) in under a minute using official UK data. Start with the calculator, then get a no-obligation quote from an MCS-certified installer. You can also ask the SolarByPostcode assistant to sanity-check your roof, bills and plans.

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
14.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£681
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,842
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 22.31p/kWh with a 63.50p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 912 kWh/kW — 14 below 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 912 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 22.3p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
22.3p/kWh
Standing charge
63.5p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
912 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: £681, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1824 kWh 730 kWh 1094 kWh £163 £109 £272 £4,069 14.9 yrs £1,376
3 kW 2736 kWh 1094 kWh 1642 kWh £244 £164 £408 £6,104 14.9 yrs £2,064
4 kW 3648 kWh 1459 kWh 2189 kWh £326 £219 £544 £8,138 14.9 yrs £2,751
5 kW 4560 kWh 1824 kWh 2736 kWh £407 £274 £681 £10,173 14.9 yrs £3,439
6 kW 5472 kWh 2189 kWh 3283 kWh £488 £328 £817 £12,207 14.9 yrs £4,127
7 kW 6385 kWh 2554 kWh 3831 kWh £570 £383 £953 £14,242 14.9 yrs £4,815
8 kW 7297 kWh 2919 kWh 4378 kWh £651 £438 £1,089 £16,276 14.9 yrs £5,503

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: £793, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 15.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1824 kWh 1094 kWh 730 kWh £244 £73 £317 £6,169 19.5 yrs £174
3 kW 2736 kWh 1642 kWh 1094 kWh £366 £109 £476 £8,204 17.2 yrs £1,311
4 kW 3648 kWh 2189 kWh 1459 kWh £488 £146 £634 £10,238 16.1 yrs £2,448
5 kW 4560 kWh 2736 kWh 1824 kWh £610 £182 £793 £12,273 15.5 yrs £3,585
6 kW 5472 kWh 3283 kWh 2189 kWh £733 £219 £951 £14,307 15.0 yrs £4,722
7 kW 6385 kWh 3831 kWh 2554 kWh £855 £255 £1,110 £16,342 14.7 yrs £5,859
8 kW 7297 kWh 4378 kWh 2919 kWh £977 £292 £1,269 £18,376 14.5 yrs £6,996

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: £849, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 16.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1824 kWh 1277 kWh 547 kWh £285 £55 £340 £7,569 22.3 yrs £-777
3 kW 2736 kWh 1915 kWh 821 kWh £427 £82 £509 £9,604 18.9 yrs £585
4 kW 3648 kWh 2554 kWh 1094 kWh £570 £109 £679 £11,638 17.1 yrs £1,946
5 kW 4560 kWh 3192 kWh 1368 kWh £712 £137 £849 £13,673 16.1 yrs £3,308
6 kW 5472 kWh 3831 kWh 1642 kWh £855 £164 £1,019 £15,707 15.4 yrs £4,669
7 kW 6385 kWh 4469 kWh 1915 kWh £997 £192 £1,189 £17,742 14.9 yrs £6,031
8 kW 7297 kWh 5108 kWh 2189 kWh £1,140 £219 £1,358 £19,776 14.6 yrs £7,392

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: £866, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 17.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1824 kWh 1332 kWh 493 kWh £297 £49 £346 £9,319 26.9 yrs £-2,392
3 kW 2736 kWh 1997 kWh 739 kWh £446 £74 £520 £11,354 21.9 yrs £-963
4 kW 3648 kWh 2663 kWh 985 kWh £594 £99 £693 £13,388 19.3 yrs £466
5 kW 4560 kWh 3329 kWh 1231 kWh £743 £123 £866 £15,423 17.8 yrs £1,894
6 kW 5472 kWh 3995 kWh 1478 kWh £891 £148 £1,039 £17,457 16.8 yrs £3,323
7 kW 6385 kWh 4661 kWh 1724 kWh £1,040 £172 £1,212 £19,492 16.1 yrs £4,752
8 kW 7297 kWh 5327 kWh 1970 kWh £1,188 £197 £1,385 £21,526 15.5 yrs £6,181

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: £877, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 19.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1824 kWh 1368 kWh 456 kWh £305 £46 £351 £11,069 31.6 yrs £-4,052
3 kW 2736 kWh 2052 kWh 684 kWh £458 £68 £526 £13,104 24.9 yrs £-2,579
4 kW 3648 kWh 2736 kWh 912 kWh £610 £91 £702 £15,138 21.6 yrs £-1,105
5 kW 4560 kWh 3420 kWh 1140 kWh £763 £114 £877 £17,173 19.6 yrs £369
6 kW 5472 kWh 4104 kWh 1368 kWh £916 £137 £1,052 £19,207 18.2 yrs £1,843
7 kW 6385 kWh 4788 kWh 1596 kWh £1,068 £160 £1,228 £21,242 17.3 yrs £3,317
8 kW 7297 kWh 5472 kWh 1824 kWh £1,221 £182 £1,403 £23,276 16.6 yrs £4,790

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: £888, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 22.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1824 kWh 1405 kWh 420 kWh £313 £42 £355 £13,519 38.0 yrs £-6,413
3 kW 2736 kWh 2107 kWh 629 kWh £470 £63 £533 £15,554 29.2 yrs £-4,894
4 kW 3648 kWh 2809 kWh 839 kWh £627 £84 £711 £17,588 24.7 yrs £-3,375
5 kW 4560 kWh 3512 kWh 1049 kWh £783 £105 £888 £19,623 22.1 yrs £-1,856
6 kW 5472 kWh 4214 kWh 1259 kWh £940 £126 £1,066 £21,657 20.3 yrs £-338
7 kW 6385 kWh 4916 kWh 1468 kWh £1,097 £147 £1,244 £23,692 19.1 yrs £1,181
8 kW 7297 kWh 5618 kWh 1678 kWh £1,253 £168 £1,421 £25,726 18.1 yrs £2,700

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 DH8

Figures below are tailored to DH8 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #903 of 2182
5.2 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~11 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2375 of 2997
13.4 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£762 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2372 of 2997
29.2% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£222 fixed • ~£762 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −22.0% West −20.9%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in DH8

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 32 Jan 49 Feb 81 Mar 104 Apr 117 May 109 Jun 113 Jul 102 Aug 84 Sep 56 Oct 39 Nov 26 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 46.9% of an average month (Dec–Feb)

Best / worst month: May / Dec

These figures show output per kilowatt (kW) of panels installed. In winter, a 1 kW system here produces about 36 kWh per month; the average month produces around 76 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 143 kWh in winter, or 304 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
22.31p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
63.50p/day
Local Sunshine
912kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~912 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: 78% • Flats: 6% • Bungalows: 15% Based on 9,980 properties

Coverage

County Durham (94%)|Northumberland (6%)

Areas Covered

Benfieldside, Derwent & Pont Valley, Consett North, Delves Lane, Consett South, South Tynedale, Weardale, Belmont + 4 more

Data Sources & Assumptions

Solar yield: PVGIS (EU Joint Research Centre), January 2025 data

Electricity rates: Ofgem price cap, Q1 2026

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

NE17 (Gateshead)
≈6.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~911 kWh/kWp · -0% vs DH8
DH9 (County Durham)
≈8.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~927 kWh/kWp · +2% vs DH8
NE39 (Gateshead)
≈9.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~925 kWh/kWp · +1% vs DH8
NE43 (Northumberland)
≈11.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~909 kWh/kWp · -0% vs DH8
NE42 (Northumberland)
≈11.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~907 kWh/kWp · -1% vs DH8
NE40 (Gateshead)
≈13.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~918 kWh/kWp · +1% vs DH8

Similar sunshine across the UK

LA20 (Westmorland and Furness)
~912 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DH8
WA88 (Halton)
~912 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DH8
WA8 (Halton)
~912 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DH8