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Solar Panels in KA12 (North Ayrshire)

See if solar pays off for you in North Ayrshire — 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
13.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£879
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,767
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 Southern Scotland, the current unit rate is 25.84p/kWh with a 56.55p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 897 kWh/kW — 47 above the regional median (850).

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 897 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.8p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.8p/kWh
Standing charge
56.5p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
897 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: £732, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1794 kWh 717 kWh 1076 kWh £185 £108 £293 £4,069 13.9 yrs £1,791
3 kW 2690 kWh 1076 kWh 1614 kWh £278 £161 £439 £6,104 13.9 yrs £2,686
4 kW 3587 kWh 1435 kWh 2152 kWh £371 £215 £586 £8,138 13.9 yrs £3,581
5 kW 4484 kWh 1794 kWh 2690 kWh £463 £269 £732 £10,173 13.9 yrs £4,477
6 kW 5380 kWh 2152 kWh 3228 kWh £556 £323 £879 £12,207 13.9 yrs £5,372
7 kW 6277 kWh 2511 kWh 3766 kWh £649 £377 £1,025 £14,242 13.9 yrs £6,267
8 kW 7174 kWh 2870 kWh 4304 kWh £742 £430 £1,172 £16,276 13.9 yrs £7,163

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: £875, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 14.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1794 kWh 1076 kWh 717 kWh £278 £72 £350 £6,169 17.6 yrs £827
3 kW 2690 kWh 1614 kWh 1076 kWh £417 £108 £525 £8,204 15.6 yrs £2,291
4 kW 3587 kWh 2152 kWh 1435 kWh £556 £143 £700 £10,238 14.6 yrs £3,754
5 kW 4484 kWh 2690 kWh 1794 kWh £695 £179 £875 £12,273 14.0 yrs £5,218
6 kW 5380 kWh 3228 kWh 2152 kWh £834 £215 £1,049 £14,307 13.6 yrs £6,681
7 kW 6277 kWh 3766 kWh 2511 kWh £973 £251 £1,224 £16,342 13.3 yrs £8,145
8 kW 7174 kWh 4304 kWh 2870 kWh £1,112 £287 £1,399 £18,376 13.1 yrs £9,608

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: £946, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1794 kWh 1255 kWh 538 kWh £324 £54 £378 £7,569 20.0 yrs £-5
3 kW 2690 kWh 1883 kWh 807 kWh £487 £81 £567 £9,604 16.9 yrs £1,743
4 kW 3587 kWh 2511 kWh 1076 kWh £649 £108 £756 £11,638 15.4 yrs £3,490
5 kW 4484 kWh 3139 kWh 1345 kWh £811 £135 £946 £13,673 14.5 yrs £5,238
6 kW 5380 kWh 3766 kWh 1614 kWh £973 £161 £1,135 £15,707 13.8 yrs £6,986
7 kW 6277 kWh 4394 kWh 1883 kWh £1,135 £188 £1,324 £17,742 13.4 yrs £8,733
8 kW 7174 kWh 5022 kWh 2152 kWh £1,298 £215 £1,513 £19,776 13.1 yrs £10,481

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: £967, 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 1794 kWh 1309 kWh 484 kWh £338 £48 £387 £9,319 24.1 yrs £-1,584
3 kW 2690 kWh 1964 kWh 726 kWh £507 £73 £580 £11,354 19.6 yrs £249
4 kW 3587 kWh 2619 kWh 968 kWh £677 £97 £773 £13,388 17.3 yrs £2,081
5 kW 4484 kWh 3273 kWh 1211 kWh £846 £121 £967 £15,423 16.0 yrs £3,914
6 kW 5380 kWh 3928 kWh 1453 kWh £1,015 £145 £1,160 £17,457 15.0 yrs £5,747
7 kW 6277 kWh 4582 kWh 1695 kWh £1,184 £169 £1,354 £19,492 14.4 yrs £7,580
8 kW 7174 kWh 5237 kWh 1937 kWh £1,353 £194 £1,547 £21,526 13.9 yrs £9,413

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: £981, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1794 kWh 1345 kWh 448 kWh £348 £45 £392 £11,069 28.2 yrs £-3,221
3 kW 2690 kWh 2018 kWh 673 kWh £521 £67 £589 £13,104 22.3 yrs £-1,331
4 kW 3587 kWh 2690 kWh 897 kWh £695 £90 £785 £15,138 19.3 yrs £559
5 kW 4484 kWh 3363 kWh 1121 kWh £869 £112 £981 £17,173 17.5 yrs £2,448
6 kW 5380 kWh 4035 kWh 1345 kWh £1,043 £135 £1,177 £19,207 16.3 yrs £4,338
7 kW 6277 kWh 4708 kWh 1569 kWh £1,217 £157 £1,373 £21,242 15.5 yrs £6,228
8 kW 7174 kWh 5380 kWh 1794 kWh £1,390 £179 £1,570 £23,276 14.8 yrs £8,117

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: £995, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1794 kWh 1381 kWh 413 kWh £357 £41 £398 £13,519 34.0 yrs £-5,557
3 kW 2690 kWh 2071 kWh 619 kWh £535 £62 £597 £15,554 26.0 yrs £-3,611
4 kW 3587 kWh 2762 kWh 825 kWh £714 £83 £796 £17,588 22.1 yrs £-1,664
5 kW 4484 kWh 3452 kWh 1031 kWh £892 £103 £995 £19,623 19.7 yrs £282
6 kW 5380 kWh 4143 kWh 1238 kWh £1,071 £124 £1,194 £21,657 18.1 yrs £2,229
7 kW 6277 kWh 4833 kWh 1444 kWh £1,249 £144 £1,393 £23,692 17.0 yrs £4,175
8 kW 7174 kWh 5524 kWh 1650 kWh £1,427 £165 £1,592 £25,726 16.2 yrs £6,122

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 KA12

Figures below are tailored to KA12 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2396 of 2997
12.1 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,007 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1511 of 2997
20.5% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£206 fixed • ~£1,007 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.84p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
56.55p/day
Local Sunshine
897kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~897 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

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

North Ayrshire (100%)

Areas Covered

Irvine West, Irvine South, Irvine East, Kilwinning, Saltcoats and Stevenston

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 Southern Scotland

KA11 (North Ayrshire)
≈2.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~890 kWh/kWp · -1% vs KA12
KA13 (North Ayrshire)
≈4.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~880 kWh/kWp · -2% vs KA12
KA20 (North Ayrshire)
≈6.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~868 kWh/kWp · -3% vs KA12
KA2 (East Ayrshire)
≈7.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~865 kWh/kWp · -4% vs KA12
KA10 (South Ayrshire)
≈7.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · -2% vs KA12
KA21 (North Ayrshire)
≈7.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~866 kWh/kWp · -3% vs KA12

Similar sunshine across the UK

BT38 (Mid and East Antrim)
~896 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA12
LA7 (Westmorland and Furness)
~896 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA12
LL51 (Gwynedd)
~896 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA12