Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever
Home Regions
Insights
Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in KA8 (South Ayrshire)

See if solar pays off for you in South 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
14.1 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£869
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,506
After paying itself off, you're this much ahead

Ready to Get Started?

Get your free quote from Blue Ape Renewables. They'll connect you with MCS-certified installers in your area and handle all the paperwork.

Get Solar Quote →
4.8★ Trustpilot • Octopus Energy trusted partner • MCS certified • No obligation
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 886 kWh/kW — 36 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 886 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)
886 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: £724, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 14.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1772 kWh 709 kWh 1063 kWh £183 £106 £290 £4,069 14.1 yrs £1,721
3 kW 2658 kWh 1063 kWh 1595 kWh £275 £159 £434 £6,104 14.1 yrs £2,582
4 kW 3544 kWh 1418 kWh 2127 kWh £366 £213 £579 £8,138 14.1 yrs £3,442
5 kW 4430 kWh 1772 kWh 2658 kWh £458 £266 £724 £10,173 14.1 yrs £4,303
6 kW 5317 kWh 2127 kWh 3190 kWh £550 £319 £869 £12,207 14.1 yrs £5,163
7 kW 6203 kWh 2481 kWh 3722 kWh £641 £372 £1,013 £14,242 14.1 yrs £6,024
8 kW 7089 kWh 2836 kWh 4253 kWh £733 £425 £1,158 £16,276 14.1 yrs £6,884

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 1772 kWh 1063 kWh 709 kWh £275 £71 £346 £6,169 17.8 yrs £744
3 kW 2658 kWh 1595 kWh 1063 kWh £412 £106 £518 £8,204 15.8 yrs £2,166
4 kW 3544 kWh 2127 kWh 1418 kWh £550 £142 £691 £10,238 14.8 yrs £3,588
5 kW 4430 kWh 2658 kWh 1772 kWh £687 £177 £864 £12,273 14.2 yrs £5,010
6 kW 5317 kWh 3190 kWh 2127 kWh £824 £213 £1,037 £14,307 13.8 yrs £6,432
7 kW 6203 kWh 3722 kWh 2481 kWh £962 £248 £1,210 £16,342 13.5 yrs £7,854
8 kW 7089 kWh 4253 kWh 2836 kWh £1,099 £284 £1,383 £18,376 13.3 yrs £9,276

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: £934, 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 1772 kWh 1241 kWh 532 kWh £321 £53 £374 £7,569 20.3 yrs £-95
3 kW 2658 kWh 1861 kWh 797 kWh £481 £80 £561 £9,604 17.1 yrs £1,608
4 kW 3544 kWh 2481 kWh 1063 kWh £641 £106 £747 £11,638 15.6 yrs £3,311
5 kW 4430 kWh 3101 kWh 1329 kWh £801 £133 £934 £13,673 14.6 yrs £5,014
6 kW 5317 kWh 3722 kWh 1595 kWh £962 £159 £1,121 £15,707 14.0 yrs £6,716
7 kW 6203 kWh 4342 kWh 1861 kWh £1,122 £186 £1,308 £17,742 13.6 yrs £8,419
8 kW 7089 kWh 4962 kWh 2127 kWh £1,282 £213 £1,495 £19,776 13.2 yrs £10,122

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: £955, Upfront: £15,423, 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 1772 kWh 1294 kWh 478 kWh £334 £48 £382 £9,319 24.4 yrs £-1,676
3 kW 2658 kWh 1941 kWh 718 kWh £501 £72 £573 £11,354 19.8 yrs £111
4 kW 3544 kWh 2587 kWh 957 kWh £669 £96 £764 £13,388 17.5 yrs £1,898
5 kW 4430 kWh 3234 kWh 1196 kWh £836 £120 £955 £15,423 16.1 yrs £3,685
6 kW 5317 kWh 3881 kWh 1435 kWh £1,003 £144 £1,146 £17,457 15.2 yrs £5,472
7 kW 6203 kWh 4528 kWh 1675 kWh £1,170 £167 £1,338 £19,492 14.6 yrs £7,258
8 kW 7089 kWh 5175 kWh 1914 kWh £1,337 £191 £1,529 £21,526 14.1 yrs £9,045

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: £969, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1772 kWh 1329 kWh 443 kWh £343 £44 £388 £11,069 28.5 yrs £-3,314
3 kW 2658 kWh 1994 kWh 665 kWh £515 £66 £582 £13,104 22.5 yrs £-1,471
4 kW 3544 kWh 2658 kWh 886 kWh £687 £89 £776 £15,138 19.5 yrs £372
5 kW 4430 kWh 3323 kWh 1108 kWh £859 £111 £969 £17,173 17.7 yrs £2,215
6 kW 5317 kWh 3987 kWh 1329 kWh £1,030 £133 £1,163 £19,207 16.5 yrs £4,058
7 kW 6203 kWh 4652 kWh 1551 kWh £1,202 £155 £1,357 £21,242 15.7 yrs £5,901
8 kW 7089 kWh 5317 kWh 1772 kWh £1,374 £177 £1,551 £23,276 15.0 yrs £7,745

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: £983, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 20.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1772 kWh 1365 kWh 408 kWh £353 £41 £393 £13,519 34.4 yrs £-5,652
3 kW 2658 kWh 2047 kWh 611 kWh £529 £61 £590 £15,554 26.4 yrs £-3,752
4 kW 3544 kWh 2729 kWh 815 kWh £705 £82 £787 £17,588 22.4 yrs £-1,853
5 kW 4430 kWh 3411 kWh 1019 kWh £882 £102 £983 £19,623 20.0 yrs £46
6 kW 5317 kWh 4094 kWh 1223 kWh £1,058 £122 £1,180 £21,657 18.4 yrs £1,945
7 kW 6203 kWh 4776 kWh 1427 kWh £1,234 £143 £1,377 £23,692 17.2 yrs £3,844
8 kW 7089 kWh 5458 kWh 1630 kWh £1,410 £163 £1,573 £25,726 16.3 yrs £5,744

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 KA8

Figures below are tailored to KA8 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2562 of 2997
12.3 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£995 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1538 of 2997
20.7% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£206 fixed • ~£995 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.84p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
56.55p/day
Local Sunshine
886kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~886 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

South Ayrshire (100%)

Areas Covered

Ayr North, Ayr West, Prestwick

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

KA7 (South Ayrshire)
≈2.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~885 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA8
KA9 (South Ayrshire)
≈3.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~889 kWh/kWp · +0% vs KA8
KA6 (East Ayrshire)
≈7.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~879 kWh/kWp · -1% vs KA8
KA10 (South Ayrshire)
≈8.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA8
KA19 (South Ayrshire)
≈13.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~877 kWh/kWp · -1% vs KA8
KA2 (East Ayrshire)
≈14.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~865 kWh/kWp · -2% vs KA8

Similar sunshine across the UK

SA40 (Carmarthenshire)
~886 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA8
LL33 (Conwy)
~886 kWh/kWp · +0% vs KA8
PH13 (Perth and Kinross)
~886 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KA8