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Solar panel cost in East Ayrshire (KA18)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for KA18 (East Ayrshire) 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
16.1 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£760
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,794
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 22.82p/kWh with a 64.81p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 837 kWh/kW — 12 below 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 837 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 22.8p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
22.8p/kWh
Standing charge
64.8p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
837 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: £633, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 16.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1675 kWh 670 kWh 1005 kWh £153 £100 £253 £4,069 16.1 yrs £998
3 kW 2512 kWh 1005 kWh 1507 kWh £229 £151 £380 £6,104 16.1 yrs £1,497
4 kW 3349 kWh 1340 kWh 2010 kWh £306 £201 £507 £8,138 16.1 yrs £1,996
5 kW 4187 kWh 1675 kWh 2512 kWh £382 £251 £633 £10,173 16.1 yrs £2,495
6 kW 5024 kWh 2010 kWh 3014 kWh £459 £301 £760 £12,207 16.1 yrs £2,993
7 kW 5861 kWh 2345 kWh 3517 kWh £535 £352 £887 £14,242 16.1 yrs £3,492
8 kW 6699 kWh 2679 kWh 4019 kWh £611 £402 £1,013 £16,276 16.1 yrs £3,991

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: £741, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 16.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1675 kWh 1005 kWh 670 kWh £229 £67 £296 £6,169 20.8 yrs £-243
3 kW 2512 kWh 1507 kWh 1005 kWh £344 £100 £444 £8,204 18.5 yrs £685
4 kW 3349 kWh 2010 kWh 1340 kWh £459 £134 £593 £10,238 17.3 yrs £1,613
5 kW 4187 kWh 2512 kWh 1675 kWh £573 £167 £741 £12,273 16.6 yrs £2,541
6 kW 5024 kWh 3014 kWh 2010 kWh £688 £201 £889 £14,307 16.1 yrs £3,470
7 kW 5861 kWh 3517 kWh 2345 kWh £803 £234 £1,037 £16,342 15.8 yrs £4,398
8 kW 6699 kWh 4019 kWh 2679 kWh £917 £268 £1,185 £18,376 15.5 yrs £5,326

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: £794, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 17.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1675 kWh 1172 kWh 502 kWh £268 £50 £318 £7,569 23.8 yrs £-1,214
3 kW 2512 kWh 1758 kWh 754 kWh £401 £75 £477 £9,604 20.1 yrs £-71
4 kW 3349 kWh 2345 kWh 1005 kWh £535 £100 £635 £11,638 18.3 yrs £1,072
5 kW 4187 kWh 2931 kWh 1256 kWh £669 £126 £794 £13,673 17.2 yrs £2,215
6 kW 5024 kWh 3517 kWh 1507 kWh £803 £151 £953 £15,707 16.5 yrs £3,358
7 kW 5861 kWh 4103 kWh 1758 kWh £936 £176 £1,112 £17,742 16.0 yrs £4,501
8 kW 6699 kWh 4689 kWh 2010 kWh £1,070 £201 £1,271 £19,776 15.6 yrs £5,644

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: £810, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 19.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1675 kWh 1223 kWh 452 kWh £279 £45 £324 £9,319 28.7 yrs £-2,835
3 kW 2512 kWh 1834 kWh 678 kWh £418 £68 £486 £11,354 23.3 yrs £-1,628
4 kW 3349 kWh 2445 kWh 904 kWh £558 £90 £648 £13,388 20.6 yrs £-420
5 kW 4187 kWh 3056 kWh 1130 kWh £697 £113 £810 £15,423 19.0 yrs £787
6 kW 5024 kWh 3668 kWh 1356 kWh £837 £136 £973 £17,457 17.9 yrs £1,994
7 kW 5861 kWh 4279 kWh 1583 kWh £976 £158 £1,135 £19,492 17.2 yrs £3,202
8 kW 6699 kWh 4890 kWh 1809 kWh £1,116 £181 £1,297 £21,526 16.6 yrs £4,409

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: £821, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 20.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1675 kWh 1256 kWh 419 kWh £287 £42 £328 £11,069 33.7 yrs £-4,499
3 kW 2512 kWh 1884 kWh 628 kWh £430 £63 £493 £13,104 26.6 yrs £-3,249
4 kW 3349 kWh 2512 kWh 837 kWh £573 £84 £657 £15,138 23.0 yrs £-1,999
5 kW 4187 kWh 3140 kWh 1047 kWh £717 £105 £821 £17,173 20.9 yrs £-748
6 kW 5024 kWh 3768 kWh 1256 kWh £860 £126 £985 £19,207 19.5 yrs £502
7 kW 5861 kWh 4396 kWh 1465 kWh £1,003 £147 £1,150 £21,242 18.5 yrs £1,752
8 kW 6699 kWh 5024 kWh 1675 kWh £1,146 £167 £1,314 £23,276 17.7 yrs £3,003

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: £832, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 23.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1675 kWh 1289 kWh 385 kWh £294 £39 £333 £13,519 40.6 yrs £-6,863
3 kW 2512 kWh 1934 kWh 578 kWh £441 £58 £499 £15,554 31.2 yrs £-5,570
4 kW 3349 kWh 2579 kWh 770 kWh £589 £77 £666 £17,588 26.4 yrs £-4,277
5 kW 4187 kWh 3224 kWh 963 kWh £736 £96 £832 £19,623 23.6 yrs £-2,984
6 kW 5024 kWh 3868 kWh 1156 kWh £883 £116 £998 £21,657 21.7 yrs £-1,690
7 kW 5861 kWh 4513 kWh 1348 kWh £1,030 £135 £1,165 £23,692 20.3 yrs £-397
8 kW 6699 kWh 5158 kWh 1541 kWh £1,177 £154 £1,331 £25,726 19.3 yrs £896

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 KA18

Figures below are tailored to KA18 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2796 of 2997
14.4 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£848 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1831 of 2997
24.8% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£210 fixed • ~£848 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −19.0% West −19.5%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in KA18

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 22 Jan 40 Feb 73 Mar 103 Apr 116 May 107 Jun 106 Jul 95 Aug 73 Sep 51 Oct 33 Nov 19 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 38.7% of an average month (Dec–Feb)

Best / worst month: May / Dec

These figures show output per kilowatt (kW) of panels installed. In winter, a 1 kW system here produces about 27 kWh per month; the average month produces around 70 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 108 kWh in winter, or 279 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
22.82p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
64.81p/day
Local Sunshine
837kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~837 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

East Ayrshire (100%)

Areas Covered

Cumnock and New Cumnock, Ballochmyle, Doon Valley

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 Southern Scotland

KA5 (East Ayrshire)
≈10.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~847 kWh/kWp · +1% vs KA18
KA6 (East Ayrshire)
≈16.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~879 kWh/kWp · +5% vs KA18
KA17 (East Ayrshire)
≈17.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~813 kWh/kWp · -3% vs KA18
KA16 (East Ayrshire)
≈17.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~803 kWh/kWp · -4% vs KA18
KA4 (East Ayrshire)
≈17.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~814 kWh/kWp · -3% vs KA18
KA1 (East Ayrshire)
≈22.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~866 kWh/kWp · +3% vs KA18

Similar sunshine across the UK

BT81 (Derry City and Strabane)
~837 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA18
OL4 (Oldham)
~837 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA18
OL8 (Oldham)
~837 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA18