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

Solar Panels in G33 (Glasgow City)

See if solar pays off for you in Glasgow City — 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
14.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£822
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,331
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 6.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 838 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)
838 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: £685, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 14.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1676 kWh 671 kWh 1006 kWh £173 £101 £274 £4,069 14.9 yrs £1,408
3 kW 2514 kWh 1006 kWh 1509 kWh £260 £151 £411 £6,104 14.9 yrs £2,112
4 kW 3353 kWh 1341 kWh 2012 kWh £347 £201 £548 £8,138 14.9 yrs £2,816
5 kW 4191 kWh 1676 kWh 2514 kWh £433 £251 £685 £10,173 14.9 yrs £3,520
6 kW 5029 kWh 2012 kWh 3017 kWh £520 £302 £822 £12,207 14.9 yrs £4,224
7 kW 5867 kWh 2347 kWh 3520 kWh £606 £352 £958 £14,242 14.9 yrs £4,927
8 kW 6705 kWh 2682 kWh 4023 kWh £693 £402 £1,095 £16,276 14.9 yrs £5,631

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: £817, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 15.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1676 kWh 1006 kWh 671 kWh £260 £67 £327 £6,169 18.9 yrs £370
3 kW 2514 kWh 1509 kWh 1006 kWh £390 £101 £490 £8,204 16.7 yrs £1,605
4 kW 3353 kWh 2012 kWh 1341 kWh £520 £134 £654 £10,238 15.7 yrs £2,840
5 kW 4191 kWh 2514 kWh 1676 kWh £650 £168 £817 £12,273 15.0 yrs £4,075
6 kW 5029 kWh 3017 kWh 2012 kWh £780 £201 £981 £14,307 14.6 yrs £5,310
7 kW 5867 kWh 3520 kWh 2347 kWh £910 £235 £1,144 £16,342 14.3 yrs £6,545
8 kW 6705 kWh 4023 kWh 2682 kWh £1,040 £268 £1,308 £18,376 14.1 yrs £7,780

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: £884, Upfront: £13,673, 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 1676 kWh 1173 kWh 503 kWh £303 £50 £354 £7,569 21.4 yrs £-499
3 kW 2514 kWh 1760 kWh 754 kWh £455 £75 £530 £9,604 18.1 yrs £1,002
4 kW 3353 kWh 2347 kWh 1006 kWh £606 £101 £707 £11,638 16.5 yrs £2,502
5 kW 4191 kWh 2934 kWh 1257 kWh £758 £126 £884 £13,673 15.5 yrs £4,003
6 kW 5029 kWh 3520 kWh 1509 kWh £910 £151 £1,061 £15,707 14.8 yrs £5,503
7 kW 5867 kWh 4107 kWh 1760 kWh £1,061 £176 £1,237 £17,742 14.3 yrs £7,004
8 kW 6705 kWh 4694 kWh 2012 kWh £1,213 £201 £1,414 £19,776 14.0 yrs £8,504

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: £904, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 17.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1676 kWh 1224 kWh 453 kWh £316 £45 £361 £9,319 25.8 yrs £-2,090
3 kW 2514 kWh 1836 kWh 679 kWh £474 £68 £542 £11,354 20.9 yrs £-509
4 kW 3353 kWh 2447 kWh 905 kWh £632 £91 £723 £13,388 18.5 yrs £1,071
5 kW 4191 kWh 3059 kWh 1132 kWh £791 £113 £904 £15,423 17.1 yrs £2,651
6 kW 5029 kWh 3671 kWh 1358 kWh £949 £136 £1,084 £17,457 16.1 yrs £4,231
7 kW 5867 kWh 4283 kWh 1584 kWh £1,107 £158 £1,265 £19,492 15.4 yrs £5,811
8 kW 6705 kWh 4895 kWh 1810 kWh £1,265 £181 £1,446 £21,526 14.9 yrs £7,391

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: £917, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 18.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1676 kWh 1257 kWh 419 kWh £325 £42 £367 £11,069 30.2 yrs £-3,733
3 kW 2514 kWh 1886 kWh 629 kWh £487 £63 £550 £13,104 23.8 yrs £-2,100
4 kW 3353 kWh 2514 kWh 838 kWh £650 £84 £734 £15,138 20.6 yrs £-467
5 kW 4191 kWh 3143 kWh 1048 kWh £812 £105 £917 £17,173 18.7 yrs £1,166
6 kW 5029 kWh 3772 kWh 1257 kWh £975 £126 £1,100 £19,207 17.5 yrs £2,800
7 kW 5867 kWh 4400 kWh 1467 kWh £1,137 £147 £1,284 £21,242 16.5 yrs £4,433
8 kW 6705 kWh 5029 kWh 1676 kWh £1,299 £168 £1,467 £23,276 15.9 yrs £6,066

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: £930, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 21.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1676 kWh 1291 kWh 386 kWh £334 £39 £372 £13,519 36.3 yrs £-6,077
3 kW 2514 kWh 1936 kWh 578 kWh £500 £58 £558 £15,554 27.9 yrs £-4,391
4 kW 3353 kWh 2582 kWh 771 kWh £667 £77 £744 £17,588 23.6 yrs £-2,704
5 kW 4191 kWh 3227 kWh 964 kWh £834 £96 £930 £19,623 21.1 yrs £-1,018
6 kW 5029 kWh 3872 kWh 1157 kWh £1,001 £116 £1,116 £21,657 19.4 yrs £668
7 kW 5867 kWh 4518 kWh 1349 kWh £1,167 £135 £1,302 £23,692 18.2 yrs £2,355
8 kW 6705 kWh 5163 kWh 1542 kWh £1,334 £154 £1,488 £25,726 17.3 yrs £4,041

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
838kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~838 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

Glasgow City (86%)|North Lanarkshire (14%)

Areas Covered

East Centre, North East, Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead, Springburn/Robroyston, Baillieston, Dennistoun, Bishopbriggs South

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.