Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever
Home Regions
Insights
Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in EH17 (City of Edinburgh)

See if solar pays off for you in City of Edinburgh — 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
14.1 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£866
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,444
After paying itself off, you're this much ahead

Ready to Get Started?

Get your free quote from Blue Ape Renewables. They'll connect you with MCS-certified installers in your area and handle all the paperwork.

Get Solar Quote →
4.8★ Trustpilot • Octopus Energy trusted partner • MCS certified • No obligation
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 25.84p/kWh with a 56.55p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 884 kWh/kW — 34 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 884 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.8p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.8p/kWh
Standing charge
56.5p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
884 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: £722, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 14.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1767 kWh 707 kWh 1060 kWh £183 £106 £289 £4,069 14.1 yrs £1,705
3 kW 2651 kWh 1060 kWh 1590 kWh £274 £159 £433 £6,104 14.1 yrs £2,557
4 kW 3534 kWh 1414 kWh 2121 kWh £365 £212 £577 £8,138 14.1 yrs £3,409
5 kW 4418 kWh 1767 kWh 2651 kWh £457 £265 £722 £10,173 14.1 yrs £4,261
6 kW 5301 kWh 2121 kWh 3181 kWh £548 £318 £866 £12,207 14.1 yrs £5,114
7 kW 6185 kWh 2474 kWh 3711 kWh £639 £371 £1,010 £14,242 14.1 yrs £5,966
8 kW 7069 kWh 2827 kWh 4241 kWh £731 £424 £1,155 £16,276 14.1 yrs £6,818

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: £862, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 14.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1767 kWh 1060 kWh 707 kWh £274 £71 £345 £6,169 17.9 yrs £724
3 kW 2651 kWh 1590 kWh 1060 kWh £411 £106 £517 £8,204 15.9 yrs £2,136
4 kW 3534 kWh 2121 kWh 1414 kWh £548 £141 £689 £10,238 14.9 yrs £3,548
5 kW 4418 kWh 2651 kWh 1767 kWh £685 £177 £862 £12,273 14.2 yrs £4,961
6 kW 5301 kWh 3181 kWh 2121 kWh £822 £212 £1,034 £14,307 13.8 yrs £6,373
7 kW 6185 kWh 3711 kWh 2474 kWh £959 £247 £1,206 £16,342 13.5 yrs £7,785
8 kW 7069 kWh 4241 kWh 2827 kWh £1,096 £283 £1,379 £18,376 13.3 yrs £9,197

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: £932, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1767 kWh 1237 kWh 530 kWh £320 £53 £373 £7,569 20.3 yrs £-116
3 kW 2651 kWh 1855 kWh 795 kWh £479 £80 £559 £9,604 17.2 yrs £1,576
4 kW 3534 kWh 2474 kWh 1060 kWh £639 £106 £745 £11,638 15.6 yrs £3,268
5 kW 4418 kWh 3092 kWh 1325 kWh £799 £133 £932 £13,673 14.7 yrs £4,960
6 kW 5301 kWh 3711 kWh 1590 kWh £959 £159 £1,118 £15,707 14.0 yrs £6,652
7 kW 6185 kWh 4329 kWh 1855 kWh £1,119 £186 £1,304 £17,742 13.6 yrs £8,344
8 kW 7069 kWh 4948 kWh 2121 kWh £1,279 £212 £1,491 £19,776 13.3 yrs £10,036

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: £953, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 16.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1767 kWh 1290 kWh 477 kWh £333 £48 £381 £9,319 24.5 yrs £-1,698
3 kW 2651 kWh 1935 kWh 716 kWh £500 £72 £572 £11,354 19.9 yrs £78
4 kW 3534 kWh 2580 kWh 954 kWh £667 £95 £762 £13,388 17.6 yrs £1,854
5 kW 4418 kWh 3225 kWh 1193 kWh £833 £119 £953 £15,423 16.2 yrs £3,630
6 kW 5301 kWh 3870 kWh 1431 kWh £1,000 £143 £1,143 £17,457 15.3 yrs £5,406
7 kW 6185 kWh 4515 kWh 1670 kWh £1,167 £167 £1,334 £19,492 14.6 yrs £7,182
8 kW 7069 kWh 5160 kWh 1909 kWh £1,333 £191 £1,524 £21,526 14.1 yrs £8,958

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: £967, Upfront: £17,173, 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 1767 kWh 1325 kWh 442 kWh £342 £44 £387 £11,069 28.6 yrs £-3,336
3 kW 2651 kWh 1988 kWh 663 kWh £514 £66 £580 £13,104 22.6 yrs £-1,504
4 kW 3534 kWh 2651 kWh 884 kWh £685 £88 £773 £15,138 19.6 yrs £328
5 kW 4418 kWh 3313 kWh 1104 kWh £856 £110 £967 £17,173 17.8 yrs £2,160
6 kW 5301 kWh 3976 kWh 1325 kWh £1,027 £133 £1,160 £19,207 16.6 yrs £3,992
7 kW 6185 kWh 4639 kWh 1546 kWh £1,199 £155 £1,353 £21,242 15.7 yrs £5,824
8 kW 7069 kWh 5301 kWh 1767 kWh £1,370 £177 £1,547 £23,276 15.0 yrs £7,656

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: £981, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 20.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1767 kWh 1361 kWh 406 kWh £352 £41 £392 £13,519 34.5 yrs £-5,674
3 kW 2651 kWh 2041 kWh 610 kWh £527 £61 £588 £15,554 26.4 yrs £-3,786
4 kW 3534 kWh 2721 kWh 813 kWh £703 £81 £784 £17,588 22.4 yrs £-1,898
5 kW 4418 kWh 3402 kWh 1016 kWh £879 £102 £981 £19,623 20.0 yrs £-10
6 kW 5301 kWh 4082 kWh 1219 kWh £1,055 £122 £1,177 £21,657 18.4 yrs £1,878
7 kW 6185 kWh 4762 kWh 1423 kWh £1,231 £142 £1,373 £23,692 17.3 yrs £3,766
8 kW 7069 kWh 5443 kWh 1626 kWh £1,406 £163 £1,569 £25,726 16.4 yrs £5,654

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 EH17

Figures below are tailored to EH17 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2551 of 2997
12.3 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£992 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1581 of 2997
20.8% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£206 fixed • ~£992 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.84p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
56.55p/day
Local Sunshine
884kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~884 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

Liberton/Gilmerton, Southside/Newington, Midlothian West, Midlothian East

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 Southern Scotland

EH16 (City of Edinburgh)
≈2.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · -0% vs EH17
EH20 (Midlothian)
≈3.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · -0% vs EH17
EH18 (Midlothian)
≈3.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~862 kWh/kWp · -2% vs EH17
EH19 (Midlothian)
≈4.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · -0% vs EH17
EH9 (City of Edinburgh)
≈4.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~889 kWh/kWp · +1% vs EH17
EH10 (City of Edinburgh)
≈4.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~894 kWh/kWp · +1% vs EH17

Similar sunshine across the UK

BT10 (Belfast)
~884 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH17
M33 (Trafford)
~884 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH17
CF42 (Rhondda Cynon Taf)
~884 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH17