Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever

Solar Panels in EX7 (Teignbridge)

See if solar pays off for you in Teignbridge — 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
11.8 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£859
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£11,293
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

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 5.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1027 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.8p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.8p/kWh
Standing charge
54.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
1027 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: £859, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 11.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2053 kWh 821 kWh 1232 kWh £220 £123 £343 £4,069 11.8 yrs £2,800
3 kW 3080 kWh 1232 kWh 1848 kWh £330 £185 £515 £6,104 11.8 yrs £4,200
4 kW 4106 kWh 1642 kWh 2464 kWh £441 £246 £687 £8,138 11.8 yrs £5,600
5 kW 5133 kWh 2053 kWh 3080 kWh £551 £308 £859 £10,173 11.8 yrs £7,000
6 kW 6159 kWh 2464 kWh 3696 kWh £661 £370 £1,030 £12,207 11.8 yrs £8,400
7 kW 7186 kWh 2874 kWh 4312 kWh £771 £431 £1,202 £14,242 11.8 yrs £9,800
8 kW 8212 kWh 3285 kWh 4927 kWh £881 £493 £1,374 £16,276 11.8 yrs £11,200

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: £1,031, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 11.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2053 kWh 1232 kWh 821 kWh £330 £82 £413 £6,169 15.0 yrs £2,081
3 kW 3080 kWh 1848 kWh 1232 kWh £496 £123 £619 £8,204 13.3 yrs £4,172
4 kW 4106 kWh 2464 kWh 1642 kWh £661 £164 £825 £10,238 12.4 yrs £6,262
5 kW 5133 kWh 3080 kWh 2053 kWh £826 £205 £1,031 £12,273 11.9 yrs £8,353
6 kW 6159 kWh 3696 kWh 2464 kWh £991 £246 £1,238 £14,307 11.6 yrs £10,444
7 kW 7186 kWh 4312 kWh 2874 kWh £1,156 £287 £1,444 £16,342 11.3 yrs £12,534
8 kW 8212 kWh 4927 kWh 3285 kWh £1,322 £328 £1,650 £18,376 11.1 yrs £14,625

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: £1,118, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 12.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2053 kWh 1437 kWh 616 kWh £385 £62 £447 £7,569 16.9 yrs £1,372
3 kW 3080 kWh 2156 kWh 924 kWh £578 £92 £671 £9,604 14.3 yrs £3,808
4 kW 4106 kWh 2874 kWh 1232 kWh £771 £123 £894 £11,638 13.0 yrs £6,244
5 kW 5133 kWh 3593 kWh 1540 kWh £964 £154 £1,118 £13,673 12.2 yrs £8,680
6 kW 6159 kWh 4312 kWh 1848 kWh £1,156 £185 £1,341 £15,707 11.7 yrs £11,116
7 kW 7186 kWh 5030 kWh 2156 kWh £1,349 £216 £1,565 £17,742 11.3 yrs £13,552
8 kW 8212 kWh 5749 kWh 2464 kWh £1,542 £246 £1,788 £19,776 11.1 yrs £15,988

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: £1,144, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 13.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2053 kWh 1499 kWh 554 kWh £402 £55 £457 £9,319 20.4 yrs £-171
3 kW 3080 kWh 2248 kWh 832 kWh £603 £83 £686 £11,354 16.5 yrs £2,369
4 kW 4106 kWh 2998 kWh 1109 kWh £804 £111 £915 £13,388 14.6 yrs £4,908
5 kW 5133 kWh 3747 kWh 1386 kWh £1,005 £139 £1,144 £15,423 13.5 yrs £7,448
6 kW 6159 kWh 4496 kWh 1663 kWh £1,206 £166 £1,372 £17,457 12.7 yrs £9,987
7 kW 7186 kWh 5246 kWh 1940 kWh £1,407 £194 £1,601 £19,492 12.2 yrs £12,527
8 kW 8212 kWh 5995 kWh 2217 kWh £1,608 £222 £1,830 £21,526 11.8 yrs £15,066

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: £1,161, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 14.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2053 kWh 1540 kWh 513 kWh £413 £51 £464 £11,069 23.8 yrs £-1,783
3 kW 3080 kWh 2310 kWh 770 kWh £619 £77 £696 £13,104 18.8 yrs £826
4 kW 4106 kWh 3080 kWh 1027 kWh £826 £103 £929 £15,138 16.3 yrs £3,434
5 kW 5133 kWh 3850 kWh 1283 kWh £1,032 £128 £1,161 £17,173 14.8 yrs £6,043
6 kW 6159 kWh 4620 kWh 1540 kWh £1,239 £154 £1,393 £19,207 13.8 yrs £8,652
7 kW 7186 kWh 5389 kWh 1796 kWh £1,445 £180 £1,625 £21,242 13.1 yrs £11,260
8 kW 8212 kWh 6159 kWh 2053 kWh £1,652 £205 £1,857 £23,276 12.5 yrs £13,869

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: £1,178, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 16.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2053 kWh 1581 kWh 472 kWh £424 £47 £471 £13,519 28.7 yrs £-4,095
3 kW 3080 kWh 2371 kWh 708 kWh £636 £71 £707 £15,554 22.0 yrs £-1,417
4 kW 4106 kWh 3162 kWh 944 kWh £848 £94 £942 £17,588 18.7 yrs £1,261
5 kW 5133 kWh 3952 kWh 1181 kWh £1,060 £118 £1,178 £19,623 16.7 yrs £3,938
6 kW 6159 kWh 4743 kWh 1417 kWh £1,272 £142 £1,414 £21,657 15.3 yrs £6,616
7 kW 7186 kWh 5533 kWh 1653 kWh £1,484 £165 £1,649 £23,692 14.4 yrs £9,294
8 kW 8212 kWh 6324 kWh 1889 kWh £1,696 £189 £1,885 £25,726 13.6 yrs £11,972

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.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.82p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
54.03p/day
Local Sunshine
1027kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1027 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
5.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 61% • Flats: 24% • Bungalows: 10% Based on 4,674 properties

Coverage

Teignbridge (99%)|Exeter (1%)

Areas Covered

Dawlish South West, Dawlish North East, St David's, Teignmouth East, Kenton & Starcross

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.