Independent solar numbers for your postcode using official UK data
Home Regions Guides Get quote
Insights
Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag Roof Direction Penalty Winter Solar Reality Seasonal Solar Output

Solar panel cost in Orkney Islands (KW15)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for KW15 (Orkney Islands) 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
15.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£641
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£5,840
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 Northern Scotland, the current unit rate is 23.40p/kWh with a 58.28p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 834 kWh/kW — 19 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 834 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 23.4p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
23.4p/kWh
Standing charge
58.3p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
834 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: £641, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 15.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1668 kWh 667 kWh 1001 kWh £156 £100 £256 £4,069 15.9 yrs £1,055
3 kW 2502 kWh 1001 kWh 1501 kWh £234 £150 £384 £6,104 15.9 yrs £1,583
4 kW 3336 kWh 1334 kWh 2002 kWh £312 £200 £512 £8,138 15.9 yrs £2,110
5 kW 4170 kWh 1668 kWh 2502 kWh £390 £250 £641 £10,173 15.9 yrs £2,638
6 kW 5004 kWh 2002 kWh 3002 kWh £468 £300 £769 £12,207 15.9 yrs £3,165
7 kW 5838 kWh 2335 kWh 3503 kWh £546 £350 £897 £14,242 15.9 yrs £3,693
8 kW 6672 kWh 2669 kWh 4003 kWh £625 £400 £1,025 £16,276 15.9 yrs £4,221

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: £752, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 16.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1668 kWh 1001 kWh 667 kWh £234 £67 £301 £6,169 20.5 yrs £-151
3 kW 2502 kWh 1501 kWh 1001 kWh £351 £100 £451 £8,204 18.2 yrs £824
4 kW 3336 kWh 2002 kWh 1334 kWh £468 £133 £602 £10,238 17.0 yrs £1,798
5 kW 4170 kWh 2502 kWh 1668 kWh £585 £167 £752 £12,273 16.3 yrs £2,773
6 kW 5004 kWh 3002 kWh 2002 kWh £703 £200 £903 £14,307 15.8 yrs £3,748
7 kW 5838 kWh 3503 kWh 2335 kWh £820 £234 £1,053 £16,342 15.5 yrs £4,722
8 kW 6672 kWh 4003 kWh 2669 kWh £937 £267 £1,204 £18,376 15.3 yrs £5,697

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: £808, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 16.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1668 kWh 1168 kWh 500 kWh £273 £50 £323 £7,569 23.4 yrs £-1,104
3 kW 2502 kWh 1751 kWh 751 kWh £410 £75 £485 £9,604 19.8 yrs £94
4 kW 3336 kWh 2335 kWh 1001 kWh £546 £100 £647 £11,638 18.0 yrs £1,292
5 kW 4170 kWh 2919 kWh 1251 kWh £683 £125 £808 £13,673 16.9 yrs £2,491
6 kW 5004 kWh 3503 kWh 1501 kWh £820 £150 £970 £15,707 16.2 yrs £3,689
7 kW 5838 kWh 4087 kWh 1751 kWh £956 £175 £1,131 £17,742 15.7 yrs £4,887
8 kW 6672 kWh 4670 kWh 2002 kWh £1,093 £200 £1,293 £19,776 15.3 yrs £6,085

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: £825, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 18.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1668 kWh 1218 kWh 450 kWh £285 £45 £330 £9,319 28.2 yrs £-2,720
3 kW 2502 kWh 1826 kWh 676 kWh £427 £68 £495 £11,354 22.9 yrs £-1,454
4 kW 3336 kWh 2435 kWh 901 kWh £570 £90 £660 £13,388 20.3 yrs £-189
5 kW 4170 kWh 3044 kWh 1126 kWh £712 £113 £825 £15,423 18.7 yrs £1,076
6 kW 5004 kWh 3653 kWh 1351 kWh £855 £135 £990 £17,457 17.6 yrs £2,341
7 kW 5838 kWh 4262 kWh 1576 kWh £997 £158 £1,155 £19,492 16.9 yrs £3,606
8 kW 6672 kWh 4871 kWh 1801 kWh £1,140 £180 £1,320 £21,526 16.3 yrs £4,871

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: £836, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 20.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1668 kWh 1251 kWh 417 kWh £293 £42 £334 £11,069 33.1 yrs £-4,380
3 kW 2502 kWh 1877 kWh 626 kWh £439 £63 £502 £13,104 26.1 yrs £-3,070
4 kW 3336 kWh 2502 kWh 834 kWh £585 £83 £669 £15,138 22.6 yrs £-1,761
5 kW 4170 kWh 3128 kWh 1043 kWh £732 £104 £836 £17,173 20.5 yrs £-451
6 kW 5004 kWh 3753 kWh 1251 kWh £878 £125 £1,003 £19,207 19.1 yrs £859
7 kW 5838 kWh 4379 kWh 1460 kWh £1,025 £146 £1,171 £21,242 18.1 yrs £2,169
8 kW 6672 kWh 5004 kWh 1668 kWh £1,171 £167 £1,338 £23,276 17.4 yrs £3,479

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: £847, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 23.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1668 kWh 1284 kWh 384 kWh £301 £38 £339 £13,519 39.9 yrs £-6,741
3 kW 2502 kWh 1927 kWh 575 kWh £451 £58 £508 £15,554 30.6 yrs £-5,386
4 kW 3336 kWh 2569 kWh 767 kWh £601 £77 £678 £17,588 25.9 yrs £-4,032
5 kW 4170 kWh 3211 kWh 959 kWh £751 £96 £847 £19,623 23.2 yrs £-2,677
6 kW 5004 kWh 3853 kWh 1151 kWh £902 £115 £1,017 £21,657 21.3 yrs £-1,323
7 kW 5838 kWh 4495 kWh 1343 kWh £1,052 £134 £1,186 £23,692 20.0 yrs £32
8 kW 6672 kWh 5138 kWh 1535 kWh £1,202 £153 £1,356 £25,726 19.0 yrs £1,387

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 KW15

Figures below are tailored to KW15 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2692 of 2997
14.1 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£579 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2812 of 2997
39.1% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£227 fixed • ~£579 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −20.2% West −22.4%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in KW15

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 14 Jan 36 Feb 71 Mar 104 Apr 123 May 118 Jun 114 Jul 100 Aug 74 Sep 46 Oct 22 Nov 11 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 29.6% 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 21 kWh per month; the average month produces around 70 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 82 kWh in winter, or 278 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
23.40p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
58.28p/day
Local Sunshine
834kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~834 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

Orkney Islands (100%)

Areas Covered

Kirkwall West and Orphir, Kirkwall East, West Mainland

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

KW17 (Orkney Islands)
≈6.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~789 kWh/kWp · -5% vs KW15
KW16 (Orkney Islands)
≈19.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~806 kWh/kWp · -3% vs KW15
KW14 (Highland)
≈54.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~813 kWh/kWp · -2% vs KW15
KW1 (Highland)
≈60.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~815 kWh/kWp · -2% vs KW15
KW12 (Highland)
≈60.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~828 kWh/kWp · -1% vs KW15
KW2 (Highland)
≈71.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~832 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KW15

Similar sunshine across the UK

G40 (Glasgow City)
~834 kWh/kWp · -0% vs KW15
G31 (Glasgow City)
~834 kWh/kWp · +0% vs KW15
OL15 (Rochdale)
~834 kWh/kWp · +0% vs KW15