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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in GL1 (Gloucester)

See if solar pays off for you in Gloucester — 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
12.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£788
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,516
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 Midlands, the current unit rate is 25.64p/kWh with a 53.00p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 969 kWh/kW — 27 above the regional median (942).

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 969 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.6p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.6p/kWh
Standing charge
53.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
969 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: £788, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1938 kWh 775 kWh 1163 kWh £199 £116 £315 £4,069 12.9 yrs £2,231
3 kW 2907 kWh 1163 kWh 1744 kWh £298 £174 £473 £6,104 12.9 yrs £3,347
4 kW 3876 kWh 1550 kWh 2325 kWh £397 £233 £630 £8,138 12.9 yrs £4,462
5 kW 4845 kWh 1938 kWh 2907 kWh £497 £291 £788 £10,173 12.9 yrs £5,578
6 kW 5813 kWh 2325 kWh 3488 kWh £596 £349 £945 £12,207 12.9 yrs £6,694
7 kW 6782 kWh 2713 kWh 4069 kWh £696 £407 £1,103 £14,242 12.9 yrs £7,809
8 kW 7751 kWh 3101 kWh 4651 kWh £795 £465 £1,260 £16,276 12.9 yrs £8,925

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: £939, Upfront: £12,273, 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 1938 kWh 1163 kWh 775 kWh £298 £78 £376 £6,169 16.4 yrs £1,344
3 kW 2907 kWh 1744 kWh 1163 kWh £447 £116 £563 £8,204 14.6 yrs £3,065
4 kW 3876 kWh 2325 kWh 1550 kWh £596 £155 £751 £10,238 13.6 yrs £4,787
5 kW 4845 kWh 2907 kWh 1938 kWh £745 £194 £939 £12,273 13.1 yrs £6,509
6 kW 5813 kWh 3488 kWh 2325 kWh £894 £233 £1,127 £14,307 12.7 yrs £8,231
7 kW 6782 kWh 4069 kWh 2713 kWh £1,043 £271 £1,315 £16,342 12.4 yrs £9,952
8 kW 7751 kWh 4651 kWh 3101 kWh £1,192 £310 £1,503 £18,376 12.2 yrs £11,674

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: £1,015, Upfront: £13,673, 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 1938 kWh 1356 kWh 581 kWh £348 £58 £406 £7,569 18.6 yrs £550
3 kW 2907 kWh 2035 kWh 872 kWh £522 £87 £609 £9,604 15.8 yrs £2,575
4 kW 3876 kWh 2713 kWh 1163 kWh £696 £116 £812 £11,638 14.3 yrs £4,599
5 kW 4845 kWh 3391 kWh 1453 kWh £869 £145 £1,015 £13,673 13.5 yrs £6,624
6 kW 5813 kWh 4069 kWh 1744 kWh £1,043 £174 £1,218 £15,707 12.9 yrs £8,649
7 kW 6782 kWh 4748 kWh 2035 kWh £1,217 £203 £1,421 £17,742 12.5 yrs £10,674
8 kW 7751 kWh 5426 kWh 2325 kWh £1,391 £233 £1,624 £19,776 12.2 yrs £12,699

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: £1,038, Upfront: £15,423, 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 1938 kWh 1415 kWh 523 kWh £363 £52 £415 £9,319 22.5 yrs £-1,018
3 kW 2907 kWh 2122 kWh 785 kWh £544 £78 £623 £11,354 18.2 yrs £1,097
4 kW 3876 kWh 2829 kWh 1046 kWh £725 £105 £830 £13,388 16.1 yrs £3,213
5 kW 4845 kWh 3537 kWh 1308 kWh £907 £131 £1,038 £15,423 14.9 yrs £5,329
6 kW 5813 kWh 4244 kWh 1570 kWh £1,088 £157 £1,245 £17,457 14.0 yrs £7,445
7 kW 6782 kWh 4951 kWh 1831 kWh £1,269 £183 £1,453 £19,492 13.4 yrs £9,560
8 kW 7751 kWh 5658 kWh 2093 kWh £1,451 £209 £1,660 £21,526 13.0 yrs £11,676

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: £1,053, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1938 kWh 1453 kWh 484 kWh £373 £48 £421 £11,069 26.3 yrs £-2,647
3 kW 2907 kWh 2180 kWh 727 kWh £559 £73 £632 £13,104 20.7 yrs £-471
4 kW 3876 kWh 2907 kWh 969 kWh £745 £97 £842 £15,138 18.0 yrs £1,705
5 kW 4845 kWh 3633 kWh 1211 kWh £932 £121 £1,053 £17,173 16.3 yrs £3,882
6 kW 5813 kWh 4360 kWh 1453 kWh £1,118 £145 £1,263 £19,207 15.2 yrs £6,058
7 kW 6782 kWh 5087 kWh 1696 kWh £1,304 £170 £1,474 £21,242 14.4 yrs £8,235
8 kW 7751 kWh 5813 kWh 1938 kWh £1,491 £194 £1,684 £23,276 13.8 yrs £10,411

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: £1,068, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1938 kWh 1492 kWh 446 kWh £383 £45 £427 £13,519 31.6 yrs £-4,976
3 kW 2907 kWh 2238 kWh 669 kWh £574 £67 £641 £15,554 24.3 yrs £-2,739
4 kW 3876 kWh 2984 kWh 891 kWh £765 £89 £854 £17,588 20.6 yrs £-502
5 kW 4845 kWh 3730 kWh 1114 kWh £956 £111 £1,068 £19,623 18.4 yrs £1,735
6 kW 5813 kWh 4476 kWh 1337 kWh £1,148 £134 £1,281 £21,657 16.9 yrs £3,972
7 kW 6782 kWh 5222 kWh 1560 kWh £1,339 £156 £1,495 £23,692 15.8 yrs £6,209
8 kW 7751 kWh 5968 kWh 1783 kWh £1,530 £178 £1,709 £25,726 15.1 yrs £8,446

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 GL1

Figures below are tailored to GL1 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #2093 of 2182
3.9 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~8 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1589 of 2997
11.3 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£901 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1716 of 2997
21.5% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£193 fixed • ~£901 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.64p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
53.00p/day
Local Sunshine
969kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~969 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: 49% • Flats: 47% • Bungalows: 1% Based on 13,845 properties

Coverage

Gloucester (100%)

Areas Covered

Westgate, Barton and Tredworth, Moreland, Quedgeley Fieldcourt, Kingsholm and Wotton, Barnwood, Podsmead, Elmbridge + 4 more

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.

Compare nearby areas

Nearby in Midlands

GL4 (Gloucester)
≈2.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~950 kWh/kWp · -2% vs GL1
GL2 (Gloucester)
≈3.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~969 kWh/kWp · +0% vs GL1
GL3 (Tewkesbury)
≈4.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~969 kWh/kWp · -0% vs GL1
GL51 (Cheltenham)
≈10.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~964 kWh/kWp · -0% vs GL1
GL19 (Forest of Dean)
≈10.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~984 kWh/kWp · +2% vs GL1
GL53 (Cheltenham)
≈12.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~958 kWh/kWp · -1% vs GL1

Similar sunshine across the UK

DN18 (North Lincolnshire)
~969 kWh/kWp · -0% vs GL1
L37 (Sefton)
~969 kWh/kWp · -0% vs GL1
CV34 (Warwick)
~969 kWh/kWp · +0% vs GL1