Solar Payback Index

We ranked UK postcodes by how quickly a typical home breaks even on solar. BN26 (Wealden) leads with ~8.5 years.

At the other end, PA39 (Highland) needs about 16.9 years. Open your postcode page for personalised numbers.

Fastest paybacks across the UK

Based on a 5 kW system size, PVGIS sunshine, and your Ofgem region’s unit rate. Inputs: PVGIS January 2025, Ofgem Q3 2026, and MCS March 2026 (TIC).

# Postcode Place Payback (years) Annual benefit (≈) Upfront cost (≈) Region
1 BN26 Wealden 8.5 £962 £8,139 South East
2 BN20 Eastbourne 8.6 £951 £8,139 South East
3 TN28 Folkestone and Hythe 8.6 £949 £8,139 South East
4 BN22 Eastbourne 8.6 £948 £8,139 South East
5 BN9 Lewes 8.6 £948 £8,139 South East
6 BN24 Wealden 8.6 £948 £8,139 South East
7 BN51 Brighton and Hove 8.6 £948 £8,139 South East
8 BN21 Eastbourne 8.6 £946 £8,139 South East
9 BN27 Wealden 8.6 £945 £8,139 South East
10 PO19 Chichester 8.6 £943 £8,139 Southern
11 BN25 Lewes 8.6 £942 £8,139 South East
12 BN16 Arun 8.7 £940 £8,139 South East
13 PO10 Havant 8.7 £939 £8,139 Southern
14 PO30 Isle of Wight 8.7 £939 £8,139 Southern
15 BN17 Arun 8.7 £938 £8,139 South East
16 BN23 Eastbourne 8.7 £938 £8,139 South East
17 BN7 Lewes 8.7 £938 £8,139 South East
18 TN34 Hastings 8.7 £938 £8,139 South East
19 TN37 Hastings 8.7 £938 £8,139 South East
20 TN35 Hastings 8.7 £937 £8,139 South East
21 TN38 Hastings 8.7 £937 £8,139 South East
22 BN10 Lewes 8.7 £936 £8,139 South East
23 BN12 Worthing 8.7 £936 £8,139 South East
24 TN29 Folkestone and Hythe 8.7 £936 £8,139 South East
25 PO22 Arun 8.7 £934 £8,139 Southern
26 BN88 Brighton and Hove 8.7 £933 £8,139 South East
27 BN13 Worthing 8.7 £933 £8,139 South East
28 BN2 Brighton and Hove 8.7 £933 £8,139 South East
29 BN11 Worthing 8.7 £932 £8,139 South East
30 BN14 Worthing 8.7 £932 £8,139 South East
31 BN99 Adur 8.7 £932 £8,139 South East
32 BN1 Brighton and Hove 8.7 £932 £8,139 South East
33 BN50 Brighton and Hove 8.7 £932 £8,139 South East
34 PO38 Isle of Wight 8.7 £932 £8,139 Southern
35 TN39 Rother 8.8 £930 £8,139 South East
36 TQ7 South Hams 8.8 £930 £8,139 Southern Western
37 PO20 Chichester 8.8 £929 £8,139 Southern
38 TN40 Rother 8.8 £929 £8,139 South East
39 BN3 Brighton and Hove 8.8 £928 £8,139 South East
40 BN52 Brighton and Hove 8.8 £928 £8,139 South East
41 BN15 Adur 8.8 £927 £8,139 South East
42 BN95 Adur 8.8 £927 £8,139 South East
43 CT19 Folkestone and Hythe 8.8 £926 £8,139 South East
44 CT20 Folkestone and Hythe 8.8 £926 £8,139 South East
45 CT50 Folkestone and Hythe 8.8 £926 £8,139 South East
46 BN4 Adur 8.8 £925 £8,139 South East
47 BN41 Brighton and Hove 8.8 £925 £8,139 South East
48 BN42 Adur 8.8 £925 £8,139 South East
49 CT15 Dover 8.8 £925 £8,139 South East
50 BN43 Adur 8.8 £924 £8,139 South East
51 TQ8 South Hams 8.8 £923 £8,139 Southern Western
52 CT3 Dover 8.8 £922 £8,139 South East
53 PO39 Isle of Wight 8.8 £922 £8,139 Southern
54 PO40 Isle of Wight 8.8 £922 £8,139 Southern
55 DT3 Dorset 8.8 £920 £8,139 Southern
56 DT4 Dorset 8.8 £920 £8,139 Southern
57 PO21 Arun 8.8 £920 £8,139 Southern
58 PO35 Isle of Wight 8.8 £920 £8,139 Southern
59 TN31 Rother 8.8 £920 £8,139 South East
60 PO36 Isle of Wight 8.9 £919 £8,139 Southern
61 TN36 Rother 8.9 £919 £8,139 South East
62 DT5 Dorset 8.9 £919 £8,139 Southern
63 PO18 Chichester 8.9 £918 £8,139 Southern
64 PO37 Isle of Wight 8.9 £918 £8,139 Southern
65 CT13 Dover 8.9 £917 £8,139 South East
66 SO4 New Forest 8.9 £917 £8,139 Southern
67 BN18 Arun 8.9 £916 £8,139 Southern
68 BH25 New Forest 8.9 £916 £8,139 Southern
69 SO41 New Forest 8.9 £916 £8,139 Southern
70 BH20 Dorset 8.9 £913 £8,139 Southern
71 CT12 Thanet 8.9 £912 £8,139 South East
72 PO41 Isle of Wight 8.9 £912 £8,139 Southern
73 TN30 Ashford 8.9 £912 £8,139 South East
74 TR23 Isles of Scilly 8.9 £912 £8,139 Southern Western
75 TN24 Ashford 8.9 £911 £8,139 South East
76 CO16 Tendring 8.9 £911 £8,139 Eastern
77 TN33 Rother 8.9 £911 £8,139 South East
78 CM0 Maldon 8.9 £910 £8,139 Eastern
79 CT8 Thanet 8.9 £910 £8,139 South East
80 TR22 Isles of Scilly 8.9 £910 £8,139 Southern Western
81 CT7 Thanet 9.0 £909 £8,139 South East
82 BH19 Dorset 9.0 £908 £8,139 Southern
83 CT21 Folkestone and Hythe 9.0 £908 £8,139 South East
84 PO11 Havant 9.0 £908 £8,139 Southern
85 TR12 Cornwall 9.0 £908 £8,139 Southern Western
86 CT16 Dover 9.0 £908 £8,139 South East
87 PO2 Portsmouth 9.0 £908 £8,139 Southern
88 PO3 Portsmouth 9.0 £908 £8,139 Southern
89 PO9 Havant 9.0 £908 £8,139 Southern
90 CT17 Dover 9.0 £908 £8,139 South East
91 TN23 Ashford 9.0 £907 £8,139 South East
92 TR24 Isles of Scilly 9.0 £907 £8,139 Southern Western
93 CT18 Folkestone and Hythe 9.0 £907 £8,139 South East
94 TN26 Ashford 9.0 £907 £8,139 South East
95 CT2 Canterbury 9.0 £906 £8,139 South East
96 CT4 Canterbury 9.0 £906 £8,139 South East
97 BH8 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 9.0 £905 £8,139 Southern
98 BN44 Horsham 9.0 £905 £8,139 South East
99 CO13 Tendring 9.0 £905 £8,139 Eastern
100 CO7 Tendring 9.0 £905 £8,139 Eastern

Where payback is slowest (bottom 10)

# Postcode Place Payback (years) Annual benefit (≈) Upfront cost (≈) Region
2987 PH35 Highland 14.3 £569 £8,139 Northern Scotland
2988 PA26 Argyll and Bute 14.4 £566 £8,139 Northern Scotland
2989 IV42 Highland 14.5 £561 £8,139 Northern Scotland
2990 IV53 Highland 14.5 £561 £8,139 Northern Scotland
2991 PH33 Highland 14.7 £554 £8,139 Northern Scotland
2992 PH50 Highland 15.0 £541 £8,139 Northern Scotland
2993 PH38 Highland 15.2 £536 £8,139 Northern Scotland
2994 PA40 Highland 15.5 £525 £8,139 Northern Scotland
2995 PH49 Highland 15.7 £520 £8,139 Northern Scotland
2996 PA39 Highland 16.9 £482 £8,139 Northern Scotland
How we calculated this

What: Payback time (years) for a typical home solar system per postcode.

How: System size = 5 kW (fixed for comparison). Annual generation = size × PVGIS (south-facing). Value = self-consumed share × unit rate + exported share × SEG rate. Payback = upfront cost ÷ annual value.

Data: Ofgem Q3 2026 regional tariffs, PVGIS January 2025 solar yields, EPC presets (where available), and MCS March 2026 capacity-banded mean installation costs on a TIC basis.