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

Solar Panels in FK4 (Falkirk)

See if solar pays off for you in Falkirk — 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
14.7 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£831
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,576
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

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 848 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)
848 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: £693, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1696 kWh 679 kWh 1018 kWh £175 £102 £277 £4,069 14.7 yrs £1,473
3 kW 2544 kWh 1018 kWh 1527 kWh £263 £153 £416 £6,104 14.7 yrs £2,210
4 kW 3393 kWh 1357 kWh 2036 kWh £351 £204 £554 £8,138 14.7 yrs £2,946
5 kW 4241 kWh 1696 kWh 2544 kWh £438 £254 £693 £10,173 14.7 yrs £3,683
6 kW 5089 kWh 2036 kWh 3053 kWh £526 £305 £831 £12,207 14.7 yrs £4,419
7 kW 5937 kWh 2375 kWh 3562 kWh £614 £356 £970 £14,242 14.7 yrs £5,156
8 kW 6785 kWh 2714 kWh 4071 kWh £701 £407 £1,108 £16,276 14.7 yrs £5,892

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: £827, Upfront: £12,273, 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 1696 kWh 1018 kWh 679 kWh £263 £68 £331 £6,169 18.6 yrs £448
3 kW 2544 kWh 1527 kWh 1018 kWh £394 £102 £496 £8,204 16.5 yrs £1,722
4 kW 3393 kWh 2036 kWh 1357 kWh £526 £136 £662 £10,238 15.5 yrs £2,996
5 kW 4241 kWh 2544 kWh 1696 kWh £657 £170 £827 £12,273 14.8 yrs £4,269
6 kW 5089 kWh 3053 kWh 2036 kWh £789 £204 £993 £14,307 14.4 yrs £5,543
7 kW 5937 kWh 3562 kWh 2375 kWh £920 £237 £1,158 £16,342 14.1 yrs £6,817
8 kW 6785 kWh 4071 kWh 2714 kWh £1,052 £271 £1,323 £18,376 13.9 yrs £8,091

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: £894, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 15.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1696 kWh 1187 kWh 509 kWh £307 £51 £358 £7,569 21.2 yrs £-415
3 kW 2544 kWh 1781 kWh 763 kWh £460 £76 £537 £9,604 17.9 yrs £1,128
4 kW 3393 kWh 2375 kWh 1018 kWh £614 £102 £715 £11,638 16.3 yrs £2,670
5 kW 4241 kWh 2968 kWh 1272 kWh £767 £127 £894 £13,673 15.3 yrs £4,213
6 kW 5089 kWh 3562 kWh 1527 kWh £920 £153 £1,073 £15,707 14.6 yrs £5,755
7 kW 5937 kWh 4156 kWh 1781 kWh £1,074 £178 £1,252 £17,742 14.2 yrs £7,298
8 kW 6785 kWh 4750 kWh 2036 kWh £1,227 £204 £1,431 £19,776 13.8 yrs £8,841

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: £914, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 16.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1696 kWh 1238 kWh 458 kWh £320 £46 £366 £9,319 25.5 yrs £-2,004
3 kW 2544 kWh 1857 kWh 687 kWh £480 £69 £549 £11,354 20.7 yrs £-380
4 kW 3393 kWh 2477 kWh 916 kWh £640 £92 £732 £13,388 18.3 yrs £1,243
5 kW 4241 kWh 3096 kWh 1145 kWh £800 £114 £914 £15,423 16.9 yrs £2,866
6 kW 5089 kWh 3715 kWh 1374 kWh £960 £137 £1,097 £17,457 15.9 yrs £4,489
7 kW 5937 kWh 4334 kWh 1603 kWh £1,120 £160 £1,280 £19,492 15.2 yrs £6,112
8 kW 6785 kWh 4953 kWh 1832 kWh £1,280 £183 £1,463 £21,526 14.7 yrs £7,735

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: £928, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 18.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1696 kWh 1272 kWh 424 kWh £329 £42 £371 £11,069 29.8 yrs £-3,646
3 kW 2544 kWh 1908 kWh 636 kWh £493 £64 £557 £13,104 23.5 yrs £-1,969
4 kW 3393 kWh 2544 kWh 848 kWh £657 £85 £742 £15,138 20.4 yrs £-292
5 kW 4241 kWh 3180 kWh 1060 kWh £822 £106 £928 £17,173 18.5 yrs £1,385
6 kW 5089 kWh 3817 kWh 1272 kWh £986 £127 £1,113 £19,207 17.3 yrs £3,061
7 kW 5937 kWh 4453 kWh 1484 kWh £1,151 £148 £1,299 £21,242 16.4 yrs £4,738
8 kW 6785 kWh 5089 kWh 1696 kWh £1,315 £170 £1,485 £23,276 15.7 yrs £6,415

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: £941, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 20.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1696 kWh 1306 kWh 390 kWh £338 £39 £377 £13,519 35.9 yrs £-5,989
3 kW 2544 kWh 1959 kWh 585 kWh £506 £59 £565 £15,554 27.5 yrs £-4,258
4 kW 3393 kWh 2612 kWh 780 kWh £675 £78 £753 £17,588 23.4 yrs £-2,527
5 kW 4241 kWh 3265 kWh 975 kWh £844 £98 £941 £19,623 20.8 yrs £-797
6 kW 5089 kWh 3918 kWh 1170 kWh £1,013 £117 £1,130 £21,657 19.2 yrs £934
7 kW 5937 kWh 4571 kWh 1365 kWh £1,181 £137 £1,318 £23,692 18.0 yrs £2,665
8 kW 6785 kWh 5224 kWh 1561 kWh £1,350 £156 £1,506 £25,726 17.1 yrs £4,395

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
25.84p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
56.55p/day
Local Sunshine
848kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~848 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

Falkirk (99%)|North Lanarkshire (1%)

Areas Covered

Bonnybridge and Larbert, Denny and Banknock, Kilsyth, Cumbernauld North

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.