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Solar panel cost in East Lothian (EH21)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for EH21 (East Lothian) 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
£8,051
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 £1,333
3 kW 2678 kWh 1071 kWh 1607 kWh £244 £161 £405 £6,104 15.1 yrs £2,000
4 kW 3571 kWh 1428 kWh 2143 kWh £326 £214 £540 £8,138 15.1 yrs £2,666
5 kW 4464 kWh 1785 kWh 2678 kWh £407 £268 £675 £10,173 15.1 yrs £3,333
6 kW 5356 kWh 2143 kWh 3214 kWh £489 £321 £810 £12,207 15.1 yrs £3,999
7 kW 6249 kWh 2500 kWh 3749 kWh £570 £375 £945 £14,242 15.1 yrs £4,666
8 kW 7142 kWh 2857 kWh 4285 kWh £652 £429 £1,080 £16,276 15.1 yrs £5,332

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 £149
3 kW 2678 kWh 1607 kWh 1071 kWh £367 £107 £474 £8,204 17.3 yrs £1,273
4 kW 3571 kWh 2143 kWh 1428 kWh £489 £143 £632 £10,238 16.2 yrs £2,397
5 kW 4464 kWh 2678 kWh 1785 kWh £611 £179 £790 £12,273 15.5 yrs £3,522
6 kW 5356 kWh 3214 kWh 2143 kWh £733 £214 £948 £14,307 15.1 yrs £4,646
7 kW 6249 kWh 3749 kWh 2500 kWh £856 £250 £1,106 £16,342 14.8 yrs £5,770
8 kW 7142 kWh 4285 kWh 2857 kWh £978 £286 £1,264 £18,376 14.5 yrs £6,895

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 £-794
3 kW 2678 kWh 1875 kWh 803 kWh £428 £80 £508 £9,604 18.9 yrs £560
4 kW 3571 kWh 2500 kWh 1071 kWh £570 £107 £678 £11,638 17.2 yrs £1,913
5 kW 4464 kWh 3125 kWh 1339 kWh £713 £134 £847 £13,673 16.1 yrs £3,266
6 kW 5356 kWh 3749 kWh 1607 kWh £856 £161 £1,016 £15,707 15.5 yrs £4,619
7 kW 6249 kWh 4374 kWh 1875 kWh £998 £187 £1,186 £17,742 15.0 yrs £5,973
8 kW 7142 kWh 4999 kWh 2143 kWh £1,141 £214 £1,355 £19,776 14.6 yrs £7,326

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: 17.8 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 £-2,406
3 kW 2678 kWh 1955 kWh 723 kWh £446 £72 £518 £11,354 21.9 yrs £-984
4 kW 3571 kWh 2607 kWh 964 kWh £595 £96 £691 £13,388 19.4 yrs £438
5 kW 4464 kWh 3258 kWh 1205 kWh £744 £121 £864 £15,423 17.8 yrs £1,859
6 kW 5356 kWh 3910 kWh 1446 kWh £892 £145 £1,037 £17,457 16.8 yrs £3,281
7 kW 6249 kWh 4562 kWh 1687 kWh £1,041 £169 £1,210 £19,492 16.1 yrs £4,703
8 kW 7142 kWh 5214 kWh 1928 kWh £1,190 £193 £1,383 £21,526 15.6 yrs £6,125

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: £876, 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 £-4,065
3 kW 2678 kWh 2009 kWh 670 kWh £458 £67 £525 £13,104 24.9 yrs £-2,597
4 kW 3571 kWh 2678 kWh 893 kWh £611 £89 £700 £15,138 21.6 yrs £-1,129
5 kW 4464 kWh 3348 kWh 1116 kWh £764 £112 £876 £17,173 19.6 yrs £338
6 kW 5356 kWh 4017 kWh 1339 kWh £917 £134 £1,051 £19,207 18.3 yrs £1,806
7 kW 6249 kWh 4687 kWh 1562 kWh £1,070 £156 £1,226 £21,242 17.3 yrs £3,274
8 kW 7142 kWh 5356 kWh 1785 kWh £1,222 £179 £1,401 £23,276 16.6 yrs £4,741

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 1375 kWh 411 kWh £314 £41 £355 £13,519 38.1 yrs £-6,423
3 kW 2678 kWh 2062 kWh 616 kWh £471 £62 £532 £15,554 29.2 yrs £-4,910
4 kW 3571 kWh 2750 kWh 821 kWh £627 £82 £710 £17,588 24.8 yrs £-3,396
5 kW 4464 kWh 3437 kWh 1027 kWh £784 £103 £887 £19,623 22.1 yrs £-1,883
6 kW 5356 kWh 4124 kWh 1232 kWh £941 £123 £1,064 £21,657 20.3 yrs £-369
7 kW 6249 kWh 4812 kWh 1437 kWh £1,098 £144 £1,242 £23,692 19.1 yrs £1,144
8 kW 7142 kWh 5499 kWh 1643 kWh £1,255 £164 £1,419 £25,726 18.1 yrs £2,658

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 EH21

Figures below are tailored to EH21 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2449 of 2997
13.5 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£904 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1515 of 2997
23.3% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£210 fixed • ~£904 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −21.8% West −21.3%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in EH21

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 29 Jan 46 Feb 77 Mar 105 Apr 118 May 110 Jun 112 Jul 101 Aug 81 Sep 56 Oct 37 Nov 22 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 43.1% 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 128 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

East Lothian (96%)|City of Edinburgh (4%)

Areas Covered

Musselburgh, Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry, Portobello/Craigmillar, Preston, Seton and Gosford, Dalkeith

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

EH15 (City of Edinburgh)
≈4.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~869 kWh/kWp · -3% vs EH21
EH32 (East Lothian)
≈5.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~897 kWh/kWp · +1% vs EH21
EH22 (Midlothian)
≈5.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~881 kWh/kWp · -1% vs EH21
EH33 (East Lothian)
≈6.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~912 kWh/kWp · +2% vs EH21
EH16 (City of Edinburgh)
≈6.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · -1% vs EH21
EH17 (City of Edinburgh)
≈7.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~884 kWh/kWp · -1% vs EH21

Similar sunshine across the UK

S32 (Derbyshire Dales)
~893 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH21
BT9 (Belfast)
~893 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH21
BT12 (Belfast)
~893 kWh/kWp · -0% vs EH21