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Solar Panels in IV42 (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
17.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£570
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£4,074
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 677 kWh/kW — 138 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 677 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)
677 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: £570, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 17.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1355 kWh 542 kWh 813 kWh £147 £81 £228 £4,069 17.9 yrs £490
3 kW 2032 kWh 813 kWh 1219 kWh £220 £122 £342 £6,104 17.9 yrs £735
4 kW 2710 kWh 1084 kWh 1626 kWh £293 £163 £456 £8,138 17.9 yrs £980
5 kW 3387 kWh 1355 kWh 2032 kWh £367 £203 £570 £10,173 17.9 yrs £1,225
6 kW 4065 kWh 1626 kWh 2439 kWh £440 £244 £684 £12,207 17.9 yrs £1,470
7 kW 4742 kWh 1897 kWh 2845 kWh £513 £285 £798 £14,242 17.9 yrs £1,715
8 kW 5420 kWh 2168 kWh 3252 kWh £587 £325 £912 £16,276 17.9 yrs £1,960

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: £685, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 17.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1355 kWh 813 kWh 542 kWh £220 £54 £274 £6,169 22.5 yrs £-685
3 kW 2032 kWh 1219 kWh 813 kWh £330 £81 £411 £8,204 19.9 yrs £22
4 kW 2710 kWh 1626 kWh 1084 kWh £440 £108 £548 £10,238 18.7 yrs £729
5 kW 3387 kWh 2032 kWh 1355 kWh £550 £135 £685 £12,273 17.9 yrs £1,436
6 kW 4065 kWh 2439 kWh 1626 kWh £660 £163 £823 £14,307 17.4 yrs £2,144
7 kW 4742 kWh 2845 kWh 1897 kWh £770 £190 £960 £16,342 17.0 yrs £2,851
8 kW 5420 kWh 3252 kWh 2168 kWh £880 £217 £1,097 £18,376 16.8 yrs £3,558

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: £743, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 18.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1355 kWh 948 kWh 406 kWh £257 £41 £297 £7,569 25.5 yrs £-1,623
3 kW 2032 kWh 1423 kWh 610 kWh £385 £61 £446 £9,604 21.5 yrs £-685
4 kW 2710 kWh 1897 kWh 813 kWh £513 £81 £595 £11,638 19.6 yrs £254
5 kW 3387 kWh 2371 kWh 1016 kWh £642 £102 £743 £13,673 18.4 yrs £1,192
6 kW 4065 kWh 2845 kWh 1219 kWh £770 £122 £892 £15,707 17.6 yrs £2,130
7 kW 4742 kWh 3320 kWh 1423 kWh £898 £142 £1,041 £17,742 17.1 yrs £3,069
8 kW 5420 kWh 3794 kWh 1626 kWh £1,027 £163 £1,189 £19,776 16.6 yrs £4,007

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: £761, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 20.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1355 kWh 989 kWh 366 kWh £268 £37 £304 £9,319 30.6 yrs £-3,234
3 kW 2032 kWh 1484 kWh 549 kWh £401 £55 £456 £11,354 24.9 yrs £-2,227
4 kW 2710 kWh 1978 kWh 732 kWh £535 £73 £608 £13,388 22.0 yrs £-1,219
5 kW 3387 kWh 2473 kWh 915 kWh £669 £91 £761 £15,423 20.3 yrs £-211
6 kW 4065 kWh 2967 kWh 1097 kWh £803 £110 £913 £17,457 19.1 yrs £797
7 kW 4742 kWh 3462 kWh 1280 kWh £937 £128 £1,065 £19,492 18.3 yrs £1,804
8 kW 5420 kWh 3956 kWh 1463 kWh £1,071 £146 £1,217 £21,526 17.7 yrs £2,812

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: £772, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 22.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1355 kWh 1016 kWh 339 kWh £275 £34 £309 £11,069 35.8 yrs £-4,892
3 kW 2032 kWh 1524 kWh 508 kWh £412 £51 £463 £13,104 28.3 yrs £-3,838
4 kW 2710 kWh 2032 kWh 677 kWh £550 £68 £618 £15,138 24.5 yrs £-2,784
5 kW 3387 kWh 2540 kWh 847 kWh £687 £85 £772 £17,173 22.2 yrs £-1,730
6 kW 4065 kWh 3049 kWh 1016 kWh £825 £102 £927 £19,207 20.7 yrs £-676
7 kW 4742 kWh 3557 kWh 1186 kWh £962 £119 £1,081 £21,242 19.7 yrs £378
8 kW 5420 kWh 4065 kWh 1355 kWh £1,100 £135 £1,235 £23,276 18.8 yrs £1,432

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: £784, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 25.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1355 kWh 1043 kWh 312 kWh £282 £31 £313 £13,519 43.1 yrs £-7,250
3 kW 2032 kWh 1565 kWh 467 kWh £423 £47 £470 £15,554 33.1 yrs £-6,149
4 kW 2710 kWh 2087 kWh 623 kWh £565 £62 £627 £17,588 28.1 yrs £-5,049
5 kW 3387 kWh 2608 kWh 779 kWh £706 £78 £784 £19,623 25.0 yrs £-3,949
6 kW 4065 kWh 3130 kWh 935 kWh £847 £93 £940 £21,657 23.0 yrs £-2,849
7 kW 4742 kWh 3651 kWh 1091 kWh £988 £109 £1,097 £23,692 21.6 yrs £-1,749
8 kW 5420 kWh 4173 kWh 1247 kWh £1,129 £125 £1,254 £25,726 20.5 yrs £-648

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 IV42

Figures below are tailored to IV42 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2990 of 2997
15.5 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£525 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2991 of 2997
42.4% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£223 fixed • ~£525 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.06p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
61.00p/day
Local Sunshine
677kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~677 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

Eilean á Chèo

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

IV49 (Highland)
≈3.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~786 kWh/kWp · +16% vs IV42
IV41 (Highland)
≈7.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~712 kWh/kWp · +5% vs IV42
IV40 (Highland)
≈9.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~717 kWh/kWp · +6% vs IV42
IV43 (Highland)
≈10.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~742 kWh/kWp · +10% vs IV42
IV44 (Highland)
≈16.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~753 kWh/kWp · +11% vs IV42
IV52 (Highland)
≈16.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~702 kWh/kWp · +4% vs IV42

Similar sunshine across the UK

IV53 (Highland)
~678 kWh/kWp · +0% vs IV42
PA26 (Argyll and Bute)
~684 kWh/kWp · +1% vs IV42
PH35 (Highland)
~687 kWh/kWp · +1% vs IV42