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Solar panel cost in City of Edinburgh (EH9)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for EH9 (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
£807
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£7,958
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 889 kWh/kW — 39 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 889 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)
889 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: £672, 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 1777 kWh 711 kWh 1066 kWh £162 £107 £269 £4,069 15.1 yrs £1,308
3 kW 2666 kWh 1066 kWh 1600 kWh £243 £160 £403 £6,104 15.1 yrs £1,962
4 kW 3555 kWh 1422 kWh 2133 kWh £324 £213 £538 £8,138 15.1 yrs £2,617
5 kW 4443 kWh 1777 kWh 2666 kWh £406 £267 £672 £10,173 15.1 yrs £3,271
6 kW 5332 kWh 2133 kWh 3199 kWh £487 £320 £807 £12,207 15.1 yrs £3,925
7 kW 6220 kWh 2488 kWh 3732 kWh £568 £373 £941 £14,242 15.1 yrs £4,579
8 kW 7109 kWh 2844 kWh 4265 kWh £649 £427 £1,075 £16,276 15.1 yrs £5,233

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: £786, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 15.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1777 kWh 1066 kWh 711 kWh £243 £71 £314 £6,169 19.6 yrs £120
3 kW 2666 kWh 1600 kWh 1066 kWh £365 £107 £472 £8,204 17.4 yrs £1,229
4 kW 3555 kWh 2133 kWh 1422 kWh £487 £142 £629 £10,238 16.3 yrs £2,339
5 kW 4443 kWh 2666 kWh 1777 kWh £608 £178 £786 £12,273 15.6 yrs £3,449
6 kW 5332 kWh 3199 kWh 2133 kWh £730 £213 £943 £14,307 15.2 yrs £4,559
7 kW 6220 kWh 3732 kWh 2488 kWh £852 £249 £1,101 £16,342 14.8 yrs £5,669
8 kW 7109 kWh 4265 kWh 2844 kWh £973 £284 £1,258 £18,376 14.6 yrs £6,779

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: £843, Upfront: £13,673, 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 1777 kWh 1244 kWh 533 kWh £284 £53 £337 £7,569 22.4 yrs £-825
3 kW 2666 kWh 1866 kWh 800 kWh £426 £80 £506 £9,604 19.0 yrs £513
4 kW 3555 kWh 2488 kWh 1066 kWh £568 £107 £674 £11,638 17.3 yrs £1,851
5 kW 4443 kWh 3110 kWh 1333 kWh £710 £133 £843 £13,673 16.2 yrs £3,188
6 kW 5332 kWh 3732 kWh 1600 kWh £852 £160 £1,012 £15,707 15.5 yrs £4,526
7 kW 6220 kWh 4354 kWh 1866 kWh £994 £187 £1,180 £17,742 15.0 yrs £5,864
8 kW 7109 kWh 4976 kWh 2133 kWh £1,136 £213 £1,349 £19,776 14.7 yrs £7,201

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: £860, 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 1777 kWh 1297 kWh 480 kWh £296 £48 £344 £9,319 27.1 yrs £-2,438
3 kW 2666 kWh 1946 kWh 720 kWh £444 £72 £516 £11,354 22.0 yrs £-1,032
4 kW 3555 kWh 2595 kWh 960 kWh £592 £96 £688 £13,388 19.5 yrs £374
5 kW 4443 kWh 3243 kWh 1200 kWh £740 £120 £860 £15,423 17.9 yrs £1,780
6 kW 5332 kWh 3892 kWh 1440 kWh £888 £144 £1,032 £17,457 16.9 yrs £3,186
7 kW 6220 kWh 4541 kWh 1680 kWh £1,036 £168 £1,204 £19,492 16.2 yrs £4,592
8 kW 7109 kWh 5190 kWh 1919 kWh £1,184 £192 £1,376 £21,526 15.6 yrs £5,998

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: £872, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 19.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1777 kWh 1333 kWh 444 kWh £304 £44 £349 £11,069 31.8 yrs £-4,097
3 kW 2666 kWh 1999 kWh 666 kWh £456 £67 £523 £13,104 25.1 yrs £-2,645
4 kW 3555 kWh 2666 kWh 889 kWh £608 £89 £697 £15,138 21.7 yrs £-1,194
5 kW 4443 kWh 3332 kWh 1111 kWh £760 £111 £872 £17,173 19.7 yrs £258
6 kW 5332 kWh 3999 kWh 1333 kWh £913 £133 £1,046 £19,207 18.4 yrs £1,710
7 kW 6220 kWh 4665 kWh 1555 kWh £1,065 £156 £1,220 £21,242 17.4 yrs £3,161
8 kW 7109 kWh 5332 kWh 1777 kWh £1,217 £178 £1,394 £23,276 16.7 yrs £4,613

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: £883, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 22.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1777 kWh 1368 kWh 409 kWh £312 £41 £353 £13,519 38.3 yrs £-6,456
3 kW 2666 kWh 2053 kWh 613 kWh £468 £61 £530 £15,554 29.4 yrs £-4,959
4 kW 3555 kWh 2737 kWh 818 kWh £625 £82 £706 £17,588 24.9 yrs £-3,461
5 kW 4443 kWh 3421 kWh 1022 kWh £781 £102 £883 £19,623 22.2 yrs £-1,964
6 kW 5332 kWh 4105 kWh 1226 kWh £937 £123 £1,059 £21,657 20.4 yrs £-467
7 kW 6220 kWh 4790 kWh 1431 kWh £1,093 £143 £1,236 £23,692 19.2 yrs £1,030
8 kW 7109 kWh 5474 kWh 1635 kWh £1,249 £164 £1,413 £25,726 18.2 yrs £2,527

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 EH9

Figures below are tailored to EH9 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2503 of 2997
13.6 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£900 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1545 of 2997
23.4% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£210 fixed • ~£900 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −21.9% West −21.6%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in EH9

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 29 Jan 46 Feb 77 Mar 104 Apr 117 May 109 Jun 111 Jul 100 Aug 81 Sep 55 Oct 38 Nov 22 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 43.7% 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 130 kWh in winter, or 296 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
22.82p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
64.81p/day
Local Sunshine
889kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~889 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

Southside/Newington, Morningside, Leith Walk, Liberton/Gilmerton

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)
≈1.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~894 kWh/kWp · +1% vs EH9
EH1 (City of Edinburgh)
≈1.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~878 kWh/kWp · -1% vs EH9
EH8 (City of Edinburgh)
≈1.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~870 kWh/kWp · -2% vs EH9
EH99 (City of Edinburgh)
≈2.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~851 kWh/kWp · -4% vs EH9
EH3 (City of Edinburgh)
≈2.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~892 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH9
EH16 (City of Edinburgh)
≈2.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · -1% vs EH9

Similar sunshine across the UK

BT32 (Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon)
~889 kWh/kWp · -0% vs EH9
AB39 (Aberdeenshire)
~888 kWh/kWp · -0% vs EH9
BT26 (Lisburn and Castlereagh)
~889 kWh/kWp · +0% vs EH9