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Solar Panels in IV2 (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
16.4 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£620
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£5,315
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 736 kWh/kW — 79 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 736 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)
736 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: £620, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 16.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1473 kWh 589 kWh 884 kWh £159 £88 £248 £4,069 16.4 yrs £887
3 kW 2209 kWh 884 kWh 1326 kWh £239 £133 £372 £6,104 16.4 yrs £1,331
4 kW 2946 kWh 1178 kWh 1768 kWh £319 £177 £496 £8,138 16.4 yrs £1,774
5 kW 3682 kWh 1473 kWh 2209 kWh £399 £221 £620 £10,173 16.4 yrs £2,218
6 kW 4419 kWh 1768 kWh 2651 kWh £478 £265 £743 £12,207 16.4 yrs £2,661
7 kW 5155 kWh 2062 kWh 3093 kWh £558 £309 £867 £14,242 16.4 yrs £3,105
8 kW 5892 kWh 2357 kWh 3535 kWh £638 £354 £991 £16,276 16.4 yrs £3,549

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: £745, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 16.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1473 kWh 884 kWh 589 kWh £239 £59 £298 £6,169 20.7 yrs £-208
3 kW 2209 kWh 1326 kWh 884 kWh £359 £88 £447 £8,204 18.3 yrs £738
4 kW 2946 kWh 1768 kWh 1178 kWh £478 £118 £596 £10,238 17.2 yrs £1,685
5 kW 3682 kWh 2209 kWh 1473 kWh £598 £147 £745 £12,273 16.5 yrs £2,631
6 kW 4419 kWh 2651 kWh 1768 kWh £717 £177 £894 £14,307 16.0 yrs £3,577
7 kW 5155 kWh 3093 kWh 2062 kWh £837 £206 £1,043 £16,342 15.7 yrs £4,523
8 kW 5892 kWh 3535 kWh 2357 kWh £957 £236 £1,192 £18,376 15.4 yrs £5,469

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: £808, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 16.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1473 kWh 1031 kWh 442 kWh £279 £44 £323 £7,569 23.4 yrs £-1,105
3 kW 2209 kWh 1547 kWh 663 kWh £419 £66 £485 £9,604 19.8 yrs £92
4 kW 2946 kWh 2062 kWh 884 kWh £558 £88 £646 £11,638 18.0 yrs £1,290
5 kW 3682 kWh 2578 kWh 1105 kWh £698 £110 £808 £13,673 16.9 yrs £2,487
6 kW 4419 kWh 3093 kWh 1326 kWh £837 £133 £970 £15,707 16.2 yrs £3,684
7 kW 5155 kWh 3609 kWh 1547 kWh £977 £155 £1,131 £17,742 15.7 yrs £4,882
8 kW 5892 kWh 4124 kWh 1768 kWh £1,116 £177 £1,293 £19,776 15.3 yrs £6,079

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: £827, Upfront: £15,423, 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 1473 kWh 1075 kWh 398 kWh £291 £40 £331 £9,319 28.2 yrs £-2,704
3 kW 2209 kWh 1613 kWh 597 kWh £436 £60 £496 £11,354 22.9 yrs £-1,432
4 kW 2946 kWh 2150 kWh 795 kWh £582 £80 £661 £13,388 20.2 yrs £-159
5 kW 3682 kWh 2688 kWh 994 kWh £727 £99 £827 £15,423 18.7 yrs £1,114
6 kW 4419 kWh 3226 kWh 1193 kWh £873 £119 £992 £17,457 17.6 yrs £2,387
7 kW 5155 kWh 3763 kWh 1392 kWh £1,018 £139 £1,158 £19,492 16.8 yrs £3,660
8 kW 5892 kWh 4301 kWh 1591 kWh £1,164 £159 £1,323 £21,526 16.3 yrs £4,932

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: £839, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 20.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1473 kWh 1105 kWh 368 kWh £299 £37 £336 £11,069 33.0 yrs £-4,354
3 kW 2209 kWh 1657 kWh 552 kWh £448 £55 £504 £13,104 26.0 yrs £-3,031
4 kW 2946 kWh 2209 kWh 736 kWh £598 £74 £672 £15,138 22.5 yrs £-1,708
5 kW 3682 kWh 2762 kWh 921 kWh £747 £92 £839 £17,173 20.5 yrs £-385
6 kW 4419 kWh 3314 kWh 1105 kWh £897 £110 £1,007 £19,207 19.1 yrs £938
7 kW 5155 kWh 3866 kWh 1289 kWh £1,046 £129 £1,175 £21,242 18.1 yrs £2,261
8 kW 5892 kWh 4419 kWh 1473 kWh £1,196 £147 £1,343 £23,276 17.3 yrs £3,584

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: £852, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 23.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1473 kWh 1134 kWh 339 kWh £307 £34 £341 £13,519 39.7 yrs £-6,703
3 kW 2209 kWh 1701 kWh 508 kWh £460 £51 £511 £15,554 30.4 yrs £-5,330
4 kW 2946 kWh 2268 kWh 678 kWh £614 £68 £682 £17,588 25.8 yrs £-3,957
5 kW 3682 kWh 2835 kWh 847 kWh £767 £85 £852 £19,623 23.0 yrs £-2,583
6 kW 4419 kWh 3402 kWh 1016 kWh £921 £102 £1,022 £21,657 21.2 yrs £-1,210
7 kW 5155 kWh 3970 kWh 1186 kWh £1,074 £119 £1,193 £23,692 19.9 yrs £163
8 kW 5892 kWh 4537 kWh 1355 kWh £1,228 £136 £1,363 £25,726 18.9 yrs £1,537

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 IV2

Figures below are tailored to IV2 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2959 of 2997
14.3 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£571 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2957 of 2997
39.0% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£223 fixed • ~£571 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.06p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
61.00p/day
Local Sunshine
736kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~736 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

Inverness South, Culloden and Ardersier, Inverness Ness-side, Inverness Millburn, Inverness Central, Aird and Loch Ness, Nairn and Cawdor

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

IV1 (Highland)
≈1.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~789 kWh/kWp · +7% vs IV2
IV99 (Highland)
≈1.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~789 kWh/kWp · +7% vs IV2
IV3 (Highland)
≈2.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~789 kWh/kWp · +7% vs IV2
IV8 (Highland)
≈9.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~822 kWh/kWp · +12% vs IV2
IV9 (Highland)
≈10.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~810 kWh/kWp · +10% vs IV2
IV5 (Highland)
≈12.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~793 kWh/kWp · +8% vs IV2

Similar sunshine across the UK

PA19 (Inverclyde)
~756 kWh/kWp · +3% vs IV2
DL11 (North Yorkshire)
~765 kWh/kWp · +4% vs IV2
G84 (Argyll and Bute)
~766 kWh/kWp · +4% vs IV2