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Solar panel cost in City of Edinburgh (EH13)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for EH13 (City of Edinburgh) 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
15.1 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£810
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,046
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 Southern Scotland, the current unit rate is 22.82p/kWh with a 64.81p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 893 kWh/kW — 43 above the regional median (850).

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 893 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 22.8p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
22.8p/kWh
Standing charge
64.8p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
893 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: £675, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 15.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1785 kWh 714 kWh 1071 kWh £163 £107 £270 £4,069 15.1 yrs £1,332
3 kW 2678 kWh 1071 kWh 1607 kWh £244 £161 £405 £6,104 15.1 yrs £1,998
4 kW 3570 kWh 1428 kWh 2142 kWh £326 £214 £540 £8,138 15.1 yrs £2,664
5 kW 4463 kWh 1785 kWh 2678 kWh £407 £268 £675 £10,173 15.1 yrs £3,330
6 kW 5355 kWh 2142 kWh 3213 kWh £489 £321 £810 £12,207 15.1 yrs £3,996
7 kW 6248 kWh 2499 kWh 3749 kWh £570 £375 £945 £14,242 15.1 yrs £4,662
8 kW 7140 kWh 2856 kWh 4284 kWh £652 £428 £1,080 £16,276 15.1 yrs £5,327

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: £790, 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 1785 kWh 1071 kWh 714 kWh £244 £71 £316 £6,169 19.5 yrs £147
3 kW 2678 kWh 1607 kWh 1071 kWh £367 £107 £474 £8,204 17.3 yrs £1,271
4 kW 3570 kWh 2142 kWh 1428 kWh £489 £143 £632 £10,238 16.2 yrs £2,394
5 kW 4463 kWh 2678 kWh 1785 kWh £611 £179 £790 £12,273 15.5 yrs £3,518
6 kW 5355 kWh 3213 kWh 2142 kWh £733 £214 £947 £14,307 15.1 yrs £4,642
7 kW 6248 kWh 3749 kWh 2499 kWh £855 £250 £1,105 £16,342 14.8 yrs £5,765
8 kW 7140 kWh 4284 kWh 2856 kWh £978 £286 £1,263 £18,376 14.5 yrs £6,889

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: £847, 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 1785 kWh 1250 kWh 536 kWh £285 £54 £339 £7,569 22.3 yrs £-795
3 kW 2678 kWh 1874 kWh 803 kWh £428 £80 £508 £9,604 18.9 yrs £557
4 kW 3570 kWh 2499 kWh 1071 kWh £570 £107 £677 £11,638 17.2 yrs £1,910
5 kW 4463 kWh 3124 kWh 1339 kWh £713 £134 £847 £13,673 16.1 yrs £3,262
6 kW 5355 kWh 3749 kWh 1607 kWh £855 £161 £1,016 £15,707 15.5 yrs £4,615
7 kW 6248 kWh 4373 kWh 1874 kWh £998 £187 £1,185 £17,742 15.0 yrs £5,967
8 kW 7140 kWh 4998 kWh 2142 kWh £1,141 £214 £1,355 £19,776 14.6 yrs £7,320

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: £864, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 17.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1785 kWh 1303 kWh 482 kWh £297 £48 £346 £9,319 27.0 yrs £-2,408
3 kW 2678 kWh 1955 kWh 723 kWh £446 £72 £518 £11,354 21.9 yrs £-987
4 kW 3570 kWh 2606 kWh 964 kWh £595 £96 £691 £13,388 19.4 yrs £434
5 kW 4463 kWh 3258 kWh 1205 kWh £743 £120 £864 £15,423 17.9 yrs £1,856
6 kW 5355 kWh 3909 kWh 1446 kWh £892 £145 £1,037 £17,457 16.8 yrs £3,277
7 kW 6248 kWh 4561 kWh 1687 kWh £1,041 £169 £1,209 £19,492 16.1 yrs £4,698
8 kW 7140 kWh 5212 kWh 1928 kWh £1,189 £193 £1,382 £21,526 15.6 yrs £6,119

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: £875, 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 1785 kWh 1339 kWh 446 kWh £306 £45 £350 £11,069 31.6 yrs £-4,066
3 kW 2678 kWh 2008 kWh 669 kWh £458 £67 £525 £13,104 24.9 yrs £-2,599
4 kW 3570 kWh 2678 kWh 893 kWh £611 £89 £700 £15,138 21.6 yrs £-1,132
5 kW 4463 kWh 3347 kWh 1116 kWh £764 £112 £875 £17,173 19.6 yrs £334
6 kW 5355 kWh 4016 kWh 1339 kWh £917 £134 £1,050 £19,207 18.3 yrs £1,801
7 kW 6248 kWh 4686 kWh 1562 kWh £1,069 £156 £1,225 £21,242 17.3 yrs £3,268
8 kW 7140 kWh 5355 kWh 1785 kWh £1,222 £179 £1,401 £23,276 16.6 yrs £4,735

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: £887, 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 1785 kWh 1374 kWh 411 kWh £314 £41 £355 £13,519 38.1 yrs £-6,425
3 kW 2678 kWh 2062 kWh 616 kWh £470 £62 £532 £15,554 29.2 yrs £-4,912
4 kW 3570 kWh 2749 kWh 821 kWh £627 £82 £709 £17,588 24.8 yrs £-3,399
5 kW 4463 kWh 3436 kWh 1026 kWh £784 £103 £887 £19,623 22.1 yrs £-1,887
6 kW 5355 kWh 4123 kWh 1232 kWh £941 £123 £1,064 £21,657 20.4 yrs £-374
7 kW 6248 kWh 4811 kWh 1437 kWh £1,098 £144 £1,242 £23,692 19.1 yrs £1,139
8 kW 7140 kWh 5498 kWh 1642 kWh £1,255 £164 £1,419 £25,726 18.1 yrs £2,651

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 EH13

Figures below are tailored to EH13 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2447 of 2997
13.5 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£904 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1520 of 2997
23.3% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£210 fixed • ~£904 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −22.1% West −21.8%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in EH13

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 29 Jan 47 Feb 78 Mar 104 Apr 117 May 109 Jun 111 Jul 100 Aug 81 Sep 56 Oct 38 Nov 22 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 43.4% 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 32 kWh per month; the average month produces around 74 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 129 kWh in winter, or 298 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
22.82p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
64.81p/day
Local Sunshine
893kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~893 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

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

City of Edinburgh (100%)

Areas Covered

Colinton/Fairmilehead, Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart

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 Southern Scotland

EH10 (City of Edinburgh)
≈2.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~894 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH13
EH14 (City of Edinburgh)
≈2.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~894 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH13
EH11 (City of Edinburgh)
≈3.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~894 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH13
EH9 (City of Edinburgh)
≈4.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~889 kWh/kWp · -0% vs EH13
EH91 (City of Edinburgh)
≈4.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~882 kWh/kWp · -1% vs EH13
EH12 (City of Edinburgh)
≈4.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · -1% vs EH13

Similar sunshine across the UK

BT4 (Belfast)
~892 kWh/kWp · -0% vs EH13
BT5 (Belfast)
~892 kWh/kWp · -0% vs EH13
AB13 (Aberdeen City)
~893 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH13