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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in LE11 (Charnwood)

See if solar pays off for you in Charnwood — 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
13.0 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£781
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,345
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 East Midlands, the current unit rate is 25.55p/kWh with a 49.09p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 963 kWh/kW — 6 below the regional median (968).

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 963 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.6p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.6p/kWh
Standing charge
49.1p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
963 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: £781, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1925 kWh 770 kWh 1155 kWh £197 £116 £312 £4,069 13.0 yrs £2,176
3 kW 2888 kWh 1155 kWh 1733 kWh £295 £173 £468 £6,104 13.0 yrs £3,265
4 kW 3850 kWh 1540 kWh 2310 kWh £394 £231 £625 £8,138 13.0 yrs £4,353
5 kW 4813 kWh 1925 kWh 2888 kWh £492 £289 £781 £10,173 13.0 yrs £5,441
6 kW 5776 kWh 2310 kWh 3465 kWh £590 £347 £937 £12,207 13.0 yrs £6,529
7 kW 6738 kWh 2695 kWh 4043 kWh £689 £404 £1,093 £14,242 13.0 yrs £7,618
8 kW 7701 kWh 3080 kWh 4621 kWh £787 £462 £1,249 £16,276 13.0 yrs £8,706

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: £930, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1925 kWh 1155 kWh 770 kWh £295 £77 £372 £6,169 16.6 yrs £1,274
3 kW 2888 kWh 1733 kWh 1155 kWh £443 £116 £558 £8,204 14.7 yrs £2,961
4 kW 3850 kWh 2310 kWh 1540 kWh £590 £154 £744 £10,238 13.8 yrs £4,648
5 kW 4813 kWh 2888 kWh 1925 kWh £738 £193 £930 £12,273 13.2 yrs £6,335
6 kW 5776 kWh 3465 kWh 2310 kWh £885 £231 £1,116 £14,307 12.8 yrs £8,022
7 kW 6738 kWh 4043 kWh 2695 kWh £1,033 £270 £1,303 £16,342 12.5 yrs £9,709
8 kW 7701 kWh 4621 kWh 3080 kWh £1,181 £308 £1,489 £18,376 12.3 yrs £11,396

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: £1,005, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1925 kWh 1348 kWh 578 kWh £344 £58 £402 £7,569 18.8 yrs £473
3 kW 2888 kWh 2022 kWh 866 kWh £516 £87 £603 £9,604 15.9 yrs £2,459
4 kW 3850 kWh 2695 kWh 1155 kWh £689 £116 £804 £11,638 14.5 yrs £4,445
5 kW 4813 kWh 3369 kWh 1444 kWh £861 £144 £1,005 £13,673 13.6 yrs £6,432
6 kW 5776 kWh 4043 kWh 1733 kWh £1,033 £173 £1,206 £15,707 13.0 yrs £8,418
7 kW 6738 kWh 4717 kWh 2022 kWh £1,205 £202 £1,407 £17,742 12.6 yrs £10,404
8 kW 7701 kWh 5391 kWh 2310 kWh £1,377 £231 £1,608 £19,776 12.3 yrs £12,391

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: £1,028, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1925 kWh 1405 kWh 520 kWh £359 £52 £411 £9,319 22.7 yrs £-1,098
3 kW 2888 kWh 2108 kWh 780 kWh £539 £78 £617 £11,354 18.4 yrs £978
4 kW 3850 kWh 2811 kWh 1040 kWh £718 £104 £822 £13,388 16.3 yrs £3,055
5 kW 4813 kWh 3514 kWh 1300 kWh £898 £130 £1,028 £15,423 15.0 yrs £5,131
6 kW 5776 kWh 4216 kWh 1559 kWh £1,077 £156 £1,233 £17,457 14.2 yrs £7,207
7 kW 6738 kWh 4919 kWh 1819 kWh £1,257 £182 £1,439 £19,492 13.5 yrs £9,283
8 kW 7701 kWh 5622 kWh 2079 kWh £1,436 £208 £1,644 £21,526 13.1 yrs £11,359

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: £1,043, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1925 kWh 1444 kWh 481 kWh £369 £48 £417 £11,069 26.5 yrs £-2,728
3 kW 2888 kWh 2166 kWh 722 kWh £553 £72 £626 £13,104 20.9 yrs £-592
4 kW 3850 kWh 2888 kWh 963 kWh £738 £96 £834 £15,138 18.1 yrs £1,544
5 kW 4813 kWh 3610 kWh 1203 kWh £922 £120 £1,043 £17,173 16.5 yrs £3,680
6 kW 5776 kWh 4332 kWh 1444 kWh £1,107 £144 £1,251 £19,207 15.4 yrs £5,816
7 kW 6738 kWh 5054 kWh 1685 kWh £1,291 £168 £1,460 £21,242 14.6 yrs £7,952
8 kW 7701 kWh 5776 kWh 1925 kWh £1,476 £193 £1,668 £23,276 14.0 yrs £10,088

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: £1,058, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1925 kWh 1482 kWh 443 kWh £379 £44 £423 £13,519 32.0 yrs £-5,058
3 kW 2888 kWh 2224 kWh 664 kWh £568 £66 £635 £15,554 24.5 yrs £-2,862
4 kW 3850 kWh 2965 kWh 886 kWh £758 £89 £846 £17,588 20.8 yrs £-666
5 kW 4813 kWh 3706 kWh 1107 kWh £947 £111 £1,058 £19,623 18.6 yrs £1,530
6 kW 5776 kWh 4447 kWh 1328 kWh £1,136 £133 £1,269 £21,657 17.1 yrs £3,725
7 kW 6738 kWh 5189 kWh 1550 kWh £1,326 £155 £1,481 £23,692 16.0 yrs £5,921
8 kW 7701 kWh 5930 kWh 1771 kWh £1,515 £177 £1,692 £25,726 15.2 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.

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 LE11

Figures below are tailored to LE11 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1595 of 2182
4.6 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1697 of 2997
11.4 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£893 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1421 of 2997
20.1% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£179 fixed • ~£893 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.55p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
49.09p/day
Local Sunshine
963kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~963 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

Houses: 64% • Flats: 28% • Bungalows: 6% Based on 17,833 properties

Coverage

Charnwood (100%)

Areas Covered

Loughborough East, Loughborough Storer, Loughborough Southfields, Dishley, Hathern & Thorpe Acre, Loughborough Ashby, Loughborough Outwoods & Shelthorpe, Shepshed West + 3 more

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 East Midlands

LE12 (Charnwood)
≈2.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~959 kWh/kWp · -0% vs LE11
DE74 (North West Leicestershire)
≈11.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~962 kWh/kWp · -0% vs LE11
LE6 (North West Leicestershire)
≈11.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~957 kWh/kWp · -1% vs LE11
LE67 (North West Leicestershire)
≈11.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~953 kWh/kWp · -1% vs LE11
LE7 (Charnwood)
≈13.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~957 kWh/kWp · -1% vs LE11
LE4 (Leicester)
≈14.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~952 kWh/kWp · -1% vs LE11

Similar sunshine across the UK

WR11 (Wychavon)
~963 kWh/kWp · -0% vs LE11
EX21 (Torridge)
~962 kWh/kWp · -0% vs LE11
B93 (Solihull)
~962 kWh/kWp · -0% vs LE11