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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in DL4 (County Durham)

See if solar pays off for you in County Durham — 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
13.7 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,138
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£592
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,661
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 915 kWh/kW — 11 below the regional median (926).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 4.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 915 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)
915 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: £740, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1830 kWh 732 kWh 1098 kWh £186 £110 £296 £4,069 13.7 yrs £1,851
3 kW 2745 kWh 1098 kWh 1647 kWh £279 £165 £444 £6,104 13.7 yrs £2,776
4 kW 3660 kWh 1464 kWh 2196 kWh £372 £220 £592 £8,138 13.7 yrs £3,701
5 kW 4576 kWh 1830 kWh 2745 kWh £465 £275 £740 £10,173 13.7 yrs £4,626
6 kW 5491 kWh 2196 kWh 3294 kWh £559 £329 £888 £12,207 13.7 yrs £5,552
7 kW 6406 kWh 2562 kWh 3843 kWh £652 £384 £1,036 £14,242 13.7 yrs £6,477
8 kW 7321 kWh 2928 kWh 4392 kWh £745 £439 £1,184 £16,276 13.7 yrs £7,402

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: £881, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1830 kWh 1098 kWh 732 kWh £279 £73 £352 £6,169 17.5 yrs £880
3 kW 2745 kWh 1647 kWh 1098 kWh £419 £110 £529 £8,204 15.5 yrs £2,370
4 kW 3660 kWh 2196 kWh 1464 kWh £559 £146 £705 £10,238 14.5 yrs £3,860
5 kW 4576 kWh 2745 kWh 1830 kWh £698 £183 £881 £12,273 13.9 yrs £5,350
6 kW 5491 kWh 3294 kWh 2196 kWh £838 £220 £1,057 £14,307 13.5 yrs £6,841
7 kW 6406 kWh 3843 kWh 2562 kWh £977 £256 £1,234 £16,342 13.2 yrs £8,331
8 kW 7321 kWh 4392 kWh 2928 kWh £1,117 £293 £1,410 £18,376 13.0 yrs £9,821

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: £952, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1830 kWh 1281 kWh 549 kWh £326 £55 £381 £7,569 19.9 yrs £45
3 kW 2745 kWh 1922 kWh 824 kWh £489 £82 £571 £9,604 16.8 yrs £1,817
4 kW 3660 kWh 2562 kWh 1098 kWh £652 £110 £761 £11,638 15.3 yrs £3,590
5 kW 4576 kWh 3203 kWh 1373 kWh £814 £137 £952 £13,673 14.4 yrs £5,362
6 kW 5491 kWh 3843 kWh 1647 kWh £977 £165 £1,142 £15,707 13.8 yrs £7,135
7 kW 6406 kWh 4484 kWh 1922 kWh £1,140 £192 £1,332 £17,742 13.3 yrs £8,907
8 kW 7321 kWh 5125 kWh 2196 kWh £1,303 £220 £1,523 £19,776 13.0 yrs £10,680

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: £973, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1830 kWh 1336 kWh 494 kWh £340 £49 £389 £9,319 23.9 yrs £-1,536
3 kW 2745 kWh 2004 kWh 741 kWh £510 £74 £584 £11,354 19.4 yrs £322
4 kW 3660 kWh 2672 kWh 988 kWh £680 £99 £778 £13,388 17.2 yrs £2,179
5 kW 4576 kWh 3340 kWh 1235 kWh £849 £124 £973 £15,423 15.9 yrs £4,036
6 kW 5491 kWh 4008 kWh 1482 kWh £1,019 £148 £1,168 £17,457 15.0 yrs £5,893
7 kW 6406 kWh 4676 kWh 1730 kWh £1,189 £173 £1,362 £19,492 14.3 yrs £7,750
8 kW 7321 kWh 5344 kWh 1977 kWh £1,359 £198 £1,557 £21,526 13.8 yrs £9,608

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: £987, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1830 kWh 1373 kWh 458 kWh £349 £46 £395 £11,069 28.0 yrs £-3,173
3 kW 2745 kWh 2059 kWh 686 kWh £524 £69 £592 £13,104 22.1 yrs £-1,259
4 kW 3660 kWh 2745 kWh 915 kWh £698 £92 £790 £15,138 19.2 yrs £655
5 kW 4576 kWh 3432 kWh 1144 kWh £873 £114 £987 £17,173 17.4 yrs £2,568
6 kW 5491 kWh 4118 kWh 1373 kWh £1,047 £137 £1,184 £19,207 16.2 yrs £4,482
7 kW 6406 kWh 4804 kWh 1601 kWh £1,222 £160 £1,382 £21,242 15.4 yrs £6,396
8 kW 7321 kWh 5491 kWh 1830 kWh £1,396 £183 £1,579 £23,276 14.7 yrs £8,310

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: £1,001, Upfront: £19,623, 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 1830 kWh 1409 kWh 421 kWh £358 £42 £400 £13,519 33.8 yrs £-5,510
3 kW 2745 kWh 2114 kWh 631 kWh £538 £63 £601 £15,554 25.9 yrs £-3,539
4 kW 3660 kWh 2819 kWh 842 kWh £717 £84 £801 £17,588 22.0 yrs £-1,569
5 kW 4576 kWh 3523 kWh 1052 kWh £896 £105 £1,001 £19,623 19.6 yrs £401
6 kW 5491 kWh 4228 kWh 1263 kWh £1,075 £126 £1,201 £21,657 18.0 yrs £2,371
7 kW 6406 kWh 4932 kWh 1473 kWh £1,254 £147 £1,402 £23,692 16.9 yrs £4,341
8 kW 7321 kWh 5637 kWh 1684 kWh £1,433 £168 £1,602 £25,726 16.1 yrs £6,311

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 DL4

Figures below are tailored to DL4 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1276 of 2182
4.8 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2302 of 2997
12.0 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£677 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2741 of 2997
32.3% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£218 fixed • ~£677 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.43p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
59.86p/day
Local Sunshine
915kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~915 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
4.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 82% • Flats: 6% • Bungalows: 12% Based on 3,576 properties

Coverage

County Durham (99%)|Darlington (1%)

Areas Covered

Shildon & Dene Valley, Bishop Auckland, Heighington & Coniscliffe, Chilton, Evenwood

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

DL14 (County Durham)
≈3.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~916 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DL4
DL5 (County Durham)
≈4.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~923 kWh/kWp · +1% vs DL4
DL16 (County Durham)
≈8.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~923 kWh/kWp · +1% vs DL4
DL17 (County Durham)
≈8.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~931 kWh/kWp · +2% vs DL4
DL15 (County Durham)
≈10.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~918 kWh/kWp · +0% vs DL4
DL3 (Darlington)
≈12.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~924 kWh/kWp · +1% vs DL4

Similar sunshine across the UK

CH32 (Wirral)
~915 kWh/kWp · -0% vs DL4
L73 (Liverpool)
~915 kWh/kWp · -0% vs DL4
LS5 (Leeds)
~915 kWh/kWp · -0% vs DL4