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Solar panel cost in Highland (IV25)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for IV25 (Highland) in under a minute using official UK data. Start with the calculator, then get a no-obligation quote from an MCS-certified installer. You can also ask the SolarByPostcode assistant to sanity-check your roof, bills and plans.

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
14.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£713
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£7,654
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 28.36p/kWh with a 62.07p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 822 kWh/kW — 7 above 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 822 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 28.4p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
28.4p/kWh
Standing charge
62.1p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
822 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: £713, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 14.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1644 kWh 658 kWh 987 kWh £187 £99 £285 £4,069 14.3 yrs £1,635
3 kW 2467 kWh 987 kWh 1480 kWh £280 £148 £428 £6,104 14.3 yrs £2,453
4 kW 3289 kWh 1316 kWh 1973 kWh £373 £197 £570 £8,138 14.3 yrs £3,271
5 kW 4111 kWh 1644 kWh 2467 kWh £466 £247 £713 £10,173 14.3 yrs £4,088
6 kW 4933 kWh 1973 kWh 2960 kWh £560 £296 £856 £12,207 14.3 yrs £4,906
7 kW 5756 kWh 2302 kWh 3453 kWh £653 £345 £998 £14,242 14.3 yrs £5,724
8 kW 6578 kWh 2631 kWh 3947 kWh £746 £395 £1,141 £16,276 14.3 yrs £6,541

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: £864, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 14.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1644 kWh 987 kWh 658 kWh £280 £66 £346 £6,169 17.8 yrs £743
3 kW 2467 kWh 1480 kWh 987 kWh £420 £99 £518 £8,204 15.8 yrs £2,165
4 kW 3289 kWh 1973 kWh 1316 kWh £560 £132 £691 £10,238 14.8 yrs £3,586
5 kW 4111 kWh 2467 kWh 1644 kWh £700 £164 £864 £12,273 14.2 yrs £5,008
6 kW 4933 kWh 2960 kWh 1973 kWh £839 £197 £1,037 £14,307 13.8 yrs £6,429
7 kW 5756 kWh 3453 kWh 2302 kWh £979 £230 £1,210 £16,342 13.5 yrs £7,851
8 kW 6578 kWh 3947 kWh 2631 kWh £1,119 £263 £1,382 £18,376 13.3 yrs £9,272

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: £939, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1644 kWh 1151 kWh 493 kWh £326 £49 £376 £7,569 20.1 yrs £-53
3 kW 2467 kWh 1727 kWh 740 kWh £490 £74 £564 £9,604 17.0 yrs £1,670
4 kW 3289 kWh 2302 kWh 987 kWh £653 £99 £752 £11,638 15.5 yrs £3,394
5 kW 4111 kWh 2878 kWh 1233 kWh £816 £123 £939 £13,673 14.6 yrs £5,117
6 kW 4933 kWh 3453 kWh 1480 kWh £979 £148 £1,127 £15,707 13.9 yrs £6,841
7 kW 5756 kWh 4029 kWh 1727 kWh £1,143 £173 £1,315 £17,742 13.5 yrs £8,564
8 kW 6578 kWh 4605 kWh 1973 kWh £1,306 £197 £1,503 £19,776 13.2 yrs £10,288

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: £962, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 16.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1644 kWh 1200 kWh 444 kWh £340 £44 £385 £9,319 24.2 yrs £-1,622
3 kW 2467 kWh 1801 kWh 666 kWh £511 £67 £577 £11,354 19.7 yrs £192
4 kW 3289 kWh 2401 kWh 888 kWh £681 £89 £770 £13,388 17.4 yrs £2,006
5 kW 4111 kWh 3001 kWh 1110 kWh £851 £111 £962 £15,423 16.0 yrs £3,820
6 kW 4933 kWh 3601 kWh 1332 kWh £1,021 £133 £1,155 £17,457 15.1 yrs £5,634
7 kW 5756 kWh 4202 kWh 1554 kWh £1,192 £155 £1,347 £19,492 14.5 yrs £7,448
8 kW 6578 kWh 4802 kWh 1776 kWh £1,362 £178 £1,539 £21,526 14.0 yrs £9,262

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: £977, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1644 kWh 1233 kWh 411 kWh £350 £41 £391 £11,069 28.3 yrs £-3,251
3 kW 2467 kWh 1850 kWh 617 kWh £525 £62 £586 £13,104 22.3 yrs £-1,377
4 kW 3289 kWh 2467 kWh 822 kWh £700 £82 £782 £15,138 19.4 yrs £498
5 kW 4111 kWh 3083 kWh 1028 kWh £874 £103 £977 £17,173 17.6 yrs £2,372
6 kW 4933 kWh 3700 kWh 1233 kWh £1,049 £123 £1,173 £19,207 16.4 yrs £4,247
7 kW 5756 kWh 4317 kWh 1439 kWh £1,224 £144 £1,368 £21,242 15.5 yrs £6,121
8 kW 6578 kWh 4933 kWh 1644 kWh £1,399 £164 £1,564 £23,276 14.9 yrs £7,995

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: £992, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1644 kWh 1266 kWh 378 kWh £359 £38 £397 £13,519 34.1 yrs £-5,580
3 kW 2467 kWh 1899 kWh 567 kWh £539 £57 £595 £15,554 26.1 yrs £-3,646
4 kW 3289 kWh 2532 kWh 756 kWh £718 £76 £794 £17,588 22.2 yrs £-1,711
5 kW 4111 kWh 3166 kWh 946 kWh £898 £95 £992 £19,623 19.8 yrs £224
6 kW 4933 kWh 3799 kWh 1135 kWh £1,077 £113 £1,191 £21,657 18.2 yrs £2,159
7 kW 5756 kWh 4432 kWh 1324 kWh £1,257 £132 £1,389 £23,692 17.1 yrs £4,094
8 kW 6578 kWh 5065 kWh 1513 kWh £1,436 £151 £1,588 £25,726 16.2 yrs £6,028

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 IV25

Figures below are tailored to IV25 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2744 of 2997
14.3 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£570 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2851 of 2997
39.7% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£227 fixed • ~£570 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −21.8% West −22.1%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
28.36p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
62.07p/day
Local Sunshine
822kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~822 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

East Sutherland and Edderton

Data Sources & Assumptions

Solar yield: PVGIS (EU Joint Research Centre), January 2025 data

Electricity rates: Ofgem price cap, Q1 2026

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

IV19 (Highland)
≈8.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~860 kWh/kWp · +5% vs IV25
KW10 (Highland)
≈10.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~801 kWh/kWp · -3% vs IV25
IV20 (Highland)
≈13.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~814 kWh/kWp · -1% vs IV25
IV28 (Highland)
≈15.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~802 kWh/kWp · -2% vs IV25
KW9 (Highland)
≈17.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~829 kWh/kWp · +1% vs IV25
IV24 (Highland)
≈18.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~798 kWh/kWp · -3% vs IV25

Similar sunshine across the UK

G65 (North Lanarkshire)
~822 kWh/kWp · +0% vs IV25
OL14 (Calderdale)
~822 kWh/kWp · +0% vs IV25
LL25 (Conwy)
~823 kWh/kWp · +0% vs IV25