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Solar panel cost in East Renfrewshire (G78)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for G78 (East Renfrewshire) 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
11.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£9,767
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£823
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£10,809
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: The official cost per kW is lower above 4 kW, so a 5–6 kW system can pay back a little faster than a 3–4 kW system on otherwise identical assumptions.
  • 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

Panel costs: Uses March 2026 TIC mean installation costs: £1,827/kW up to 4 kW and £1,628/kW above 4 kW.

Other costs: Battery prices are modelled at £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 25.85p/kWh with a 64.17p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 839 kWh/kW — 10 below 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 839 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.9p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.9p/kWh
Standing charge
64.2p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
839 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: £686, Upfront: £8,139, 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 1679 kWh 672 kWh 1007 kWh £174 £101 £274 £3,256 11.9 yrs £2,231
3 kW 2518 kWh 1007 kWh 1511 kWh £260 £151 £412 £4,883 11.9 yrs £3,347
4 kW 3358 kWh 1343 kWh 2015 kWh £347 £201 £549 £6,511 11.9 yrs £4,463
5 kW 4197 kWh 1679 kWh 2518 kWh £434 £252 £686 £8,139 11.9 yrs £5,578
6 kW 5037 kWh 2015 kWh 3022 kWh £521 £302 £823 £9,767 11.9 yrs £6,694
7 kW 5876 kWh 2351 kWh 3526 kWh £608 £353 £960 £11,394 11.9 yrs £7,809
8 kW 6716 kWh 2686 kWh 4029 kWh £694 £403 £1,097 £13,022 11.9 yrs £8,925

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

3 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £819, Upfront: £10,239, Break-even: 12.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1679 kWh 1007 kWh 672 kWh £260 £67 £328 £5,356 16.3 yrs £1,196
3 kW 2518 kWh 1511 kWh 1007 kWh £391 £101 £491 £6,983 14.2 yrs £2,844
4 kW 3358 kWh 2015 kWh 1343 kWh £521 £134 £655 £8,611 13.1 yrs £4,491
5 kW 4197 kWh 2518 kWh 1679 kWh £651 £168 £819 £10,239 12.5 yrs £6,139
6 kW 5037 kWh 3022 kWh 2015 kWh £781 £201 £983 £11,867 12.1 yrs £7,787
7 kW 5876 kWh 3526 kWh 2351 kWh £911 £235 £1,146 £13,494 11.8 yrs £9,435
8 kW 6716 kWh 4029 kWh 2686 kWh £1,042 £269 £1,310 £15,122 11.5 yrs £11,083

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £885, Upfront: £11,639, Break-even: 13.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1679 kWh 1175 kWh 504 kWh £304 £50 £354 £6,756 19.1 yrs £328
3 kW 2518 kWh 1763 kWh 756 kWh £456 £76 £531 £8,383 15.8 yrs £2,242
4 kW 3358 kWh 2351 kWh 1007 kWh £608 £101 £708 £10,011 14.1 yrs £4,156
5 kW 4197 kWh 2938 kWh 1259 kWh £760 £126 £885 £11,639 13.1 yrs £6,070
6 kW 5037 kWh 3526 kWh 1511 kWh £911 £151 £1,063 £13,267 12.5 yrs £7,984
7 kW 5876 kWh 4113 kWh 1763 kWh £1,063 £176 £1,240 £14,894 12.0 yrs £9,898
8 kW 6716 kWh 4701 kWh 2015 kWh £1,215 £201 £1,417 £16,522 11.7 yrs £11,812

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

7.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £905, Upfront: £13,389, 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 1679 kWh 1226 kWh 453 kWh £317 £45 £362 £8,506 23.5 yrs £-1,262
3 kW 2518 kWh 1838 kWh 680 kWh £475 £68 £543 £10,133 18.7 yrs £731
4 kW 3358 kWh 2451 kWh 907 kWh £634 £91 £724 £11,761 16.2 yrs £2,725
5 kW 4197 kWh 3064 kWh 1133 kWh £792 £113 £905 £13,389 14.8 yrs £4,719
6 kW 5037 kWh 3677 kWh 1360 kWh £950 £136 £1,086 £15,017 13.8 yrs £6,713
7 kW 5876 kWh 4290 kWh 1587 kWh £1,109 £159 £1,268 £16,644 13.1 yrs £8,707
8 kW 6716 kWh 4903 kWh 1813 kWh £1,267 £181 £1,449 £18,272 12.6 yrs £10,700

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

10 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £919, Upfront: £15,139, Break-even: 16.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1679 kWh 1259 kWh 420 kWh £326 £42 £367 £10,256 27.9 yrs £-2,906
3 kW 2518 kWh 1889 kWh 630 kWh £488 £63 £551 £11,883 21.6 yrs £-859
4 kW 3358 kWh 2518 kWh 839 kWh £651 £84 £735 £13,511 18.4 yrs £1,188
5 kW 4197 kWh 3148 kWh 1049 kWh £814 £105 £919 £15,139 16.5 yrs £3,235
6 kW 5037 kWh 3778 kWh 1259 kWh £977 £126 £1,102 £16,767 15.2 yrs £5,282
7 kW 5876 kWh 4407 kWh 1469 kWh £1,139 £147 £1,286 £18,394 14.3 yrs £7,329
8 kW 6716 kWh 5037 kWh 1679 kWh £1,302 £168 £1,470 £20,022 13.6 yrs £9,376

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

13.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £932, Upfront: £17,589, Break-even: 18.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1679 kWh 1293 kWh 386 kWh £334 £39 £373 £12,706 34.1 yrs £-5,250
3 kW 2518 kWh 1939 kWh 579 kWh £501 £58 £559 £14,333 25.6 yrs £-3,149
4 kW 3358 kWh 2586 kWh 772 kWh £668 £77 £746 £15,961 21.4 yrs £-1,049
5 kW 4197 kWh 3232 kWh 965 kWh £835 £97 £932 £17,589 18.9 yrs £1,051
6 kW 5037 kWh 3878 kWh 1158 kWh £1,003 £116 £1,118 £19,217 17.2 yrs £3,151
7 kW 5876 kWh 4525 kWh 1352 kWh £1,170 £135 £1,305 £20,844 16.0 yrs £5,252
8 kW 6716 kWh 5171 kWh 1545 kWh £1,337 £154 £1,491 £22,472 15.1 yrs £7,352

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, 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.

Before you request quotes in East Renfrewshire

Use the numbers above to sanity-check installer quotes. The main things to compare are system size, battery assumptions, payback claims, MCS certification, DNO paperwork and export assumptions.

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Insights for G78

Figures below are tailored to G78 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2465 of 2996
11.9 years (UK avg 10.8 years)
~£823 /yr • £9,767 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1925 of 2996
28.4% (UK avg 26.6%) drag on savings
£234 fixed • ~£823 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −19.6% West −20.9%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in G78

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 23 Jan 40 Feb 70 Mar 102 Apr 114 May 109 Jun 109 Jul 96 Aug 74 Sep 51 Oct 33 Nov 19 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 39.3% 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 28 kWh per month; the average month produces around 70 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 110 kWh in winter, or 280 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.85p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
64.17p/day
Local Sunshine
839kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~839 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 Renfrewshire (99%)|East Ayrshire (1%)

Areas Covered

Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor, Newton Mearns North and Neilston, Annick, Greater Pollok, Garnock Valley, Paisley Southeast

Data Sources & Assumptions

Solar yield: PVGIS (EU Joint Research Centre), January 2025 data

Electricity rates: Ofgem price cap, Q3 2026

Installation costs: DESNZ/MCS data, March 2026 (TIC)

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

G53 (Glasgow City)
≈4.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~837 kWh/kWp · -0% vs G78
PA2 (Renfrewshire)
≈4.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~825 kWh/kWp · -2% vs G78
G77 (East Renfrewshire)
≈4.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~818 kWh/kWp · -3% vs G78
PA1 (Renfrewshire)
≈5.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~838 kWh/kWp · -0% vs G78
G46 (East Renfrewshire)
≈6.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~833 kWh/kWp · -1% vs G78
G52 (Glasgow City)
≈6.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~837 kWh/kWp · -0% vs G78

Similar sunshine across the UK

PH4 (Perth and Kinross)
~839 kWh/kWp · -0% vs G78
NE48 (Northumberland)
~840 kWh/kWp · +0% vs G78
SK10 (Cheshire East)
~839 kWh/kWp · -0% vs G78