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

Solar Panels in GU51 (Hart)

See if solar pays off for you in Hart — 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
12.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£991
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£12,568
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 995 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.5p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.5p/kWh
Standing charge
44.6p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
995 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: £826, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1991 kWh 796 kWh 1195 kWh £211 £119 £330 £4,069 12.3 yrs £2,538
3 kW 2986 kWh 1195 kWh 1792 kWh £316 £179 £495 £6,104 12.3 yrs £3,806
4 kW 3982 kWh 1593 kWh 2389 kWh £422 £239 £661 £8,138 12.3 yrs £5,075
5 kW 4977 kWh 1991 kWh 2986 kWh £527 £299 £826 £10,173 12.3 yrs £6,344
6 kW 5973 kWh 2389 kWh 3584 kWh £633 £358 £991 £12,207 12.3 yrs £7,613
7 kW 6968 kWh 2787 kWh 4181 kWh £738 £418 £1,156 £14,242 12.3 yrs £8,882
8 kW 7964 kWh 3185 kWh 4778 kWh £844 £478 £1,321 £16,276 12.3 yrs £10,150

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: £990, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1991 kWh 1195 kWh 796 kWh £316 £80 £396 £6,169 15.6 yrs £1,750
3 kW 2986 kWh 1792 kWh 1195 kWh £474 £119 £594 £8,204 13.8 yrs £3,675
4 kW 3982 kWh 2389 kWh 1593 kWh £633 £159 £792 £10,238 12.9 yrs £5,600
5 kW 4977 kWh 2986 kWh 1991 kWh £791 £199 £990 £12,273 12.4 yrs £7,525
6 kW 5973 kWh 3584 kWh 2389 kWh £949 £239 £1,188 £14,307 12.0 yrs £9,450
7 kW 6968 kWh 4181 kWh 2787 kWh £1,107 £279 £1,386 £16,342 11.8 yrs £11,375
8 kW 7964 kWh 4778 kWh 3185 kWh £1,265 £319 £1,584 £18,376 11.6 yrs £13,300

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: £1,072, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 12.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1991 kWh 1394 kWh 597 kWh £369 £60 £429 £7,569 17.7 yrs £1,006
3 kW 2986 kWh 2090 kWh 896 kWh £554 £90 £643 £9,604 14.9 yrs £3,259
4 kW 3982 kWh 2787 kWh 1195 kWh £738 £119 £858 £11,638 13.6 yrs £5,512
5 kW 4977 kWh 3484 kWh 1493 kWh £923 £149 £1,072 £13,673 12.8 yrs £7,765
6 kW 5973 kWh 4181 kWh 1792 kWh £1,107 £179 £1,286 £15,707 12.2 yrs £10,019
7 kW 6968 kWh 4878 kWh 2090 kWh £1,292 £209 £1,501 £17,742 11.8 yrs £12,272
8 kW 7964 kWh 5575 kWh 2389 kWh £1,476 £239 £1,715 £19,776 11.5 yrs £14,525

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: £1,097, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1991 kWh 1453 kWh 538 kWh £385 £54 £439 £9,319 21.2 yrs £-547
3 kW 2986 kWh 2180 kWh 806 kWh £577 £81 £658 £11,354 17.3 yrs £1,805
4 kW 3982 kWh 2907 kWh 1075 kWh £770 £108 £877 £13,388 15.3 yrs £4,156
5 kW 4977 kWh 3633 kWh 1344 kWh £962 £134 £1,097 £15,423 14.1 yrs £6,508
6 kW 5973 kWh 4360 kWh 1613 kWh £1,155 £161 £1,316 £17,457 13.3 yrs £8,859
7 kW 6968 kWh 5087 kWh 1881 kWh £1,347 £188 £1,535 £19,492 12.7 yrs £11,211
8 kW 7964 kWh 5813 kWh 2150 kWh £1,539 £215 £1,754 £21,526 12.3 yrs £13,562

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: £1,113, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 15.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1991 kWh 1493 kWh 498 kWh £395 £50 £445 £11,069 24.9 yrs £-2,166
3 kW 2986 kWh 2240 kWh 747 kWh £593 £75 £668 £13,104 19.6 yrs £251
4 kW 3982 kWh 2986 kWh 995 kWh £791 £100 £890 £15,138 17.0 yrs £2,669
5 kW 4977 kWh 3733 kWh 1244 kWh £988 £124 £1,113 £17,173 15.4 yrs £5,086
6 kW 5973 kWh 4480 kWh 1493 kWh £1,186 £149 £1,335 £19,207 14.4 yrs £7,503
7 kW 6968 kWh 5226 kWh 1742 kWh £1,384 £174 £1,558 £21,242 13.6 yrs £9,920
8 kW 7964 kWh 5973 kWh 1991 kWh £1,582 £199 £1,781 £23,276 13.1 yrs £12,337

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: £1,129, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 17.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1991 kWh 1533 kWh 458 kWh £406 £46 £452 £13,519 29.9 yrs £-4,484
3 kW 2986 kWh 2299 kWh 687 kWh £609 £69 £678 £15,554 23.0 yrs £-2,002
4 kW 3982 kWh 3066 kWh 916 kWh £812 £92 £903 £17,588 19.5 yrs £481
5 kW 4977 kWh 3832 kWh 1145 kWh £1,015 £114 £1,129 £19,623 17.4 yrs £2,964
6 kW 5973 kWh 4599 kWh 1374 kWh £1,218 £137 £1,355 £21,657 16.0 yrs £5,447
7 kW 6968 kWh 5365 kWh 1603 kWh £1,421 £160 £1,581 £23,692 15.0 yrs £7,929
8 kW 7964 kWh 6132 kWh 1832 kWh £1,624 £183 £1,807 £25,726 14.2 yrs £10,412

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
26.48p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
44.62p/day
Local Sunshine
995kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~995 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

Houses: 59% • Flats: 34% • Bungalows: 4% Based on 7,135 properties

Coverage

Hart (100%)

Areas Covered

Fleet East, Fleet Central, Fleet West, Crookham West and Ewshot, Hartley Wintney, Blackwater and Hawley

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.