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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in IP27 (West Suffolk)

See if solar pays off for you in West Suffolk — 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
12.6 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£970
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£12,042
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 Eastern, the current unit rate is 26.53p/kWh with a 48.25p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 973 kWh/kW — 36 below the regional median (1009).

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 973 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
48.2p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
973 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: £808, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1946 kWh 779 kWh 1168 kWh £207 £117 £323 £4,069 12.6 yrs £2,397
3 kW 2919 kWh 1168 kWh 1752 kWh £310 £175 £485 £6,104 12.6 yrs £3,596
4 kW 3893 kWh 1557 kWh 2336 kWh £413 £234 £647 £8,138 12.6 yrs £4,795
5 kW 4866 kWh 1946 kWh 2919 kWh £516 £292 £808 £10,173 12.6 yrs £5,993
6 kW 5839 kWh 2336 kWh 3503 kWh £620 £350 £970 £12,207 12.6 yrs £7,192
7 kW 6812 kWh 2725 kWh 4087 kWh £723 £409 £1,132 £14,242 12.6 yrs £8,391
8 kW 7785 kWh 3114 kWh 4671 kWh £826 £467 £1,293 £16,276 12.6 yrs £9,589

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: £969, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1946 kWh 1168 kWh 779 kWh £310 £78 £388 £6,169 15.9 yrs £1,584
3 kW 2919 kWh 1752 kWh 1168 kWh £465 £117 £581 £8,204 14.1 yrs £3,426
4 kW 3893 kWh 2336 kWh 1557 kWh £620 £156 £775 £10,238 13.2 yrs £5,269
5 kW 4866 kWh 2919 kWh 1946 kWh £775 £195 £969 £12,273 12.7 yrs £7,111
6 kW 5839 kWh 3503 kWh 2336 kWh £929 £234 £1,163 £14,307 12.3 yrs £8,953
7 kW 6812 kWh 4087 kWh 2725 kWh £1,084 £272 £1,357 £16,342 12.0 yrs £10,795
8 kW 7785 kWh 4671 kWh 3114 kWh £1,239 £311 £1,551 £18,376 11.9 yrs £12,637

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: £1,050, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1946 kWh 1362 kWh 584 kWh £361 £58 £420 £7,569 18.0 yrs £828
3 kW 2919 kWh 2044 kWh 876 kWh £542 £88 £630 £9,604 15.2 yrs £2,992
4 kW 3893 kWh 2725 kWh 1168 kWh £723 £117 £840 £11,638 13.9 yrs £5,155
5 kW 4866 kWh 3406 kWh 1460 kWh £904 £146 £1,050 £13,673 13.0 yrs £7,319
6 kW 5839 kWh 4087 kWh 1752 kWh £1,084 £175 £1,260 £15,707 12.5 yrs £9,483
7 kW 6812 kWh 4768 kWh 2044 kWh £1,265 £204 £1,469 £17,742 12.1 yrs £11,647
8 kW 7785 kWh 5450 kWh 2336 kWh £1,446 £234 £1,679 £19,776 11.8 yrs £13,811

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: £1,074, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1946 kWh 1421 kWh 526 kWh £377 £53 £429 £9,319 21.7 yrs £-729
3 kW 2919 kWh 2131 kWh 788 kWh £565 £79 £644 £11,354 17.6 yrs £1,531
4 kW 3893 kWh 2842 kWh 1051 kWh £754 £105 £859 £13,388 15.6 yrs £3,791
5 kW 4866 kWh 3552 kWh 1314 kWh £942 £131 £1,074 £15,423 14.4 yrs £6,052
6 kW 5839 kWh 4262 kWh 1577 kWh £1,131 £158 £1,288 £17,457 13.5 yrs £8,312
7 kW 6812 kWh 4973 kWh 1839 kWh £1,319 £184 £1,503 £19,492 13.0 yrs £10,573
8 kW 7785 kWh 5683 kWh 2102 kWh £1,508 £210 £1,718 £21,526 12.5 yrs £12,833

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: £1,090, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 15.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1946 kWh 1460 kWh 487 kWh £387 £49 £436 £11,069 25.4 yrs £-2,351
3 kW 2919 kWh 2190 kWh 730 kWh £581 £73 £654 £13,104 20.0 yrs £-26
4 kW 3893 kWh 2919 kWh 973 kWh £775 £97 £872 £15,138 17.4 yrs £2,299
5 kW 4866 kWh 3649 kWh 1216 kWh £968 £122 £1,090 £17,173 15.8 yrs £4,624
6 kW 5839 kWh 4379 kWh 1460 kWh £1,162 £146 £1,308 £19,207 14.7 yrs £6,948
7 kW 6812 kWh 5109 kWh 1703 kWh £1,355 £170 £1,526 £21,242 13.9 yrs £9,273
8 kW 7785 kWh 5839 kWh 1946 kWh £1,549 £195 £1,744 £23,276 13.3 yrs £11,598

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: £1,106, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 17.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1946 kWh 1499 kWh 448 kWh £398 £45 £442 £13,519 30.6 yrs £-4,672
3 kW 2919 kWh 2248 kWh 671 kWh £596 £67 £664 £15,554 23.4 yrs £-2,283
4 kW 3893 kWh 2997 kWh 895 kWh £795 £90 £885 £17,588 19.9 yrs £106
5 kW 4866 kWh 3747 kWh 1119 kWh £994 £112 £1,106 £19,623 17.7 yrs £2,495
6 kW 5839 kWh 4496 kWh 1343 kWh £1,193 £134 £1,327 £21,657 16.3 yrs £4,884
7 kW 6812 kWh 5245 kWh 1567 kWh £1,392 £157 £1,548 £23,692 15.3 yrs £7,273
8 kW 7785 kWh 5995 kWh 1791 kWh £1,590 £179 £1,769 £25,726 14.5 yrs £9,662

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 IP27

Figures below are tailored to IP27 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #368 of 2182
5.8 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~12 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1211 of 2997
11.0 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,115 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #529 of 2997
15.8% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£176 fixed • ~£1,115 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.53p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
48.25p/day
Local Sunshine
973kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~973 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: 51% • Flats: 6% • Bungalows: 41% Based on 5,936 properties

Coverage

West Suffolk (90%)|Breckland (10%)

Areas Covered

Lakenheath, Brandon Central, Brandon West, Brandon East, Forest, Feltwell, The Rows

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 Eastern

IP26 (King's Lynn and West Norfolk)
≈8.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~991 kWh/kWp · +2% vs IP27
IP24 (Breckland)
≈10.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~995 kWh/kWp · +2% vs IP27
IP28 (West Suffolk)
≈13.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,007 kWh/kWp · +3% vs IP27
CB7 (East Cambridgeshire)
≈21.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,010 kWh/kWp · +4% vs IP27
IP25 (Breckland)
≈21.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,002 kWh/kWp · +3% vs IP27
IP32 (West Suffolk)
≈21.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,013 kWh/kWp · +4% vs IP27

Similar sunshine across the UK

CV31 (Warwick)
~973 kWh/kWp · +0% vs IP27
CV32 (Warwick)
~973 kWh/kWp · +0% vs IP27
HU18 (East Riding of Yorkshire)
~973 kWh/kWp · +0% vs IP27