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Solar Panels in IV15 (Highland)

See if solar pays off for you in Highland — 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
15.0 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£679
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,804
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 Northern Scotland, the current unit rate is 27.06p/kWh with a 61.00p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 807 kWh/kW — 8 below the regional median (815).

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 807 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 27.1p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
27.1p/kWh
Standing charge
61.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
807 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: £679, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 15.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1614 kWh 646 kWh 969 kWh £175 £97 £272 £4,069 15.0 yrs £1,363
3 kW 2422 kWh 969 kWh 1453 kWh £262 £145 £407 £6,104 15.0 yrs £2,045
4 kW 3229 kWh 1292 kWh 1937 kWh £350 £194 £543 £8,138 15.0 yrs £2,727
5 kW 4036 kWh 1614 kWh 2422 kWh £437 £242 £679 £10,173 15.0 yrs £3,409
6 kW 4844 kWh 1937 kWh 2906 kWh £524 £291 £815 £12,207 15.0 yrs £4,090
7 kW 5651 kWh 2260 kWh 3390 kWh £612 £339 £951 £14,242 15.0 yrs £4,772
8 kW 6458 kWh 2583 kWh 3875 kWh £699 £387 £1,086 £16,276 15.0 yrs £5,454

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: £817, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 15.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1614 kWh 969 kWh 646 kWh £262 £65 £327 £6,169 18.9 yrs £365
3 kW 2422 kWh 1453 kWh 969 kWh £393 £97 £490 £8,204 16.7 yrs £1,598
4 kW 3229 kWh 1937 kWh 1292 kWh £524 £129 £653 £10,238 15.7 yrs £2,830
5 kW 4036 kWh 2422 kWh 1614 kWh £655 £161 £817 £12,273 15.0 yrs £4,063
6 kW 4844 kWh 2906 kWh 1937 kWh £786 £194 £980 £14,307 14.6 yrs £5,296
7 kW 5651 kWh 3390 kWh 2260 kWh £917 £226 £1,143 £16,342 14.3 yrs £6,528
8 kW 6458 kWh 3875 kWh 2583 kWh £1,049 £258 £1,307 £18,376 14.1 yrs £7,761

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: £886, Upfront: £13,673, 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 1614 kWh 1130 kWh 484 kWh £306 £48 £354 £7,569 21.4 yrs £-484
3 kW 2422 kWh 1695 kWh 727 kWh £459 £73 £531 £9,604 18.1 yrs £1,024
4 kW 3229 kWh 2260 kWh 969 kWh £612 £97 £709 £11,638 16.4 yrs £2,532
5 kW 4036 kWh 2825 kWh 1211 kWh £765 £121 £886 £13,673 15.4 yrs £4,040
6 kW 4844 kWh 3390 kWh 1453 kWh £917 £145 £1,063 £15,707 14.8 yrs £5,548
7 kW 5651 kWh 3956 kWh 1695 kWh £1,070 £170 £1,240 £17,742 14.3 yrs £7,056
8 kW 6458 kWh 4521 kWh 1937 kWh £1,223 £194 £1,417 £19,776 14.0 yrs £8,564

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: £906, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 17.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1614 kWh 1179 kWh 436 kWh £319 £44 £363 £9,319 25.7 yrs £-2,069
3 kW 2422 kWh 1768 kWh 654 kWh £478 £65 £544 £11,354 20.9 yrs £-478
4 kW 3229 kWh 2357 kWh 872 kWh £638 £87 £725 £13,388 18.5 yrs £1,113
5 kW 4036 kWh 2946 kWh 1090 kWh £797 £109 £906 £15,423 17.0 yrs £2,703
6 kW 4844 kWh 3536 kWh 1308 kWh £957 £131 £1,088 £17,457 16.1 yrs £4,294
7 kW 5651 kWh 4125 kWh 1526 kWh £1,116 £153 £1,269 £19,492 15.4 yrs £5,885
8 kW 6458 kWh 4714 kWh 1744 kWh £1,276 £174 £1,450 £21,526 14.8 yrs £7,475

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: £920, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 18.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1614 kWh 1211 kWh 404 kWh £328 £40 £368 £11,069 30.1 yrs £-3,709
3 kW 2422 kWh 1816 kWh 605 kWh £491 £61 £552 £13,104 23.7 yrs £-2,063
4 kW 3229 kWh 2422 kWh 807 kWh £655 £81 £736 £15,138 20.6 yrs £-417
5 kW 4036 kWh 3027 kWh 1009 kWh £819 £101 £920 £17,173 18.7 yrs £1,229
6 kW 4844 kWh 3633 kWh 1211 kWh £983 £121 £1,104 £19,207 17.4 yrs £2,874
7 kW 5651 kWh 4238 kWh 1413 kWh £1,147 £141 £1,288 £21,242 16.5 yrs £4,520
8 kW 6458 kWh 4844 kWh 1614 kWh £1,311 £161 £1,472 £23,276 15.8 yrs £6,166

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: £934, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 21.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1614 kWh 1243 kWh 371 kWh £336 £37 £374 £13,519 36.2 yrs £-6,048
3 kW 2422 kWh 1865 kWh 557 kWh £505 £56 £560 £15,554 27.8 yrs £-4,348
4 kW 3229 kWh 2486 kWh 743 kWh £673 £74 £747 £17,588 23.5 yrs £-2,647
5 kW 4036 kWh 3108 kWh 928 kWh £841 £93 £934 £19,623 21.0 yrs £-946
6 kW 4844 kWh 3729 kWh 1114 kWh £1,009 £111 £1,121 £21,657 19.3 yrs £755
7 kW 5651 kWh 4351 kWh 1300 kWh £1,177 £130 £1,307 £23,692 18.1 yrs £2,456
8 kW 6458 kWh 4973 kWh 1485 kWh £1,346 £149 £1,494 £25,726 17.2 yrs £4,157

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 IV15

Figures below are tailored to IV15 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2811 of 2997
13.0 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£626 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2884 of 2997
35.6% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£223 fixed • ~£626 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.06p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
61.00p/day
Local Sunshine
807kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~807 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

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

Highland (100%)

Areas Covered

Dingwall and Seaforth, Cromarty Firth, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh

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 Northern Scotland

IV7 (Highland)
≈2.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~817 kWh/kWp · +1% vs IV15
IV14 (Highland)
≈6.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~825 kWh/kWp · +2% vs IV15
IV6 (Highland)
≈8.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~798 kWh/kWp · -1% vs IV15
IV16 (Highland)
≈9.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~836 kWh/kWp · +4% vs IV15
IV8 (Highland)
≈11.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~822 kWh/kWp · +2% vs IV15
IV5 (Highland)
≈13.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~793 kWh/kWp · -2% vs IV15

Similar sunshine across the UK

LL41 (Gwynedd)
~808 kWh/kWp · +0% vs IV15
BT47 (Derry City and Strabane)
~806 kWh/kWp · -0% vs IV15
PA16 (Inverclyde)
~808 kWh/kWp · +0% vs IV15