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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in M24 (Rochdale)

See if solar pays off for you in Rochdale — 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
14.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,138
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£570
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,113
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 North West, the current unit rate is 27.11p/kWh with a 51.16p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 846 kWh/kW — 24 below the regional median (870).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 4.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 846 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 27.1p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
27.1p/kWh
Standing charge
51.2p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
846 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: £713, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 14.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1692 kWh 677 kWh 1015 kWh £183 £102 £285 £4,069 14.3 yrs £1,631
3 kW 2538 kWh 1015 kWh 1523 kWh £275 £152 £428 £6,104 14.3 yrs £2,447
4 kW 3384 kWh 1354 kWh 2031 kWh £367 £203 £570 £8,138 14.3 yrs £3,263
5 kW 4230 kWh 1692 kWh 2538 kWh £459 £254 £713 £10,173 14.3 yrs £4,079
6 kW 5076 kWh 2031 kWh 3046 kWh £550 £305 £855 £12,207 14.3 yrs £4,894
7 kW 5922 kWh 2369 kWh 3553 kWh £642 £355 £998 £14,242 14.3 yrs £5,710
8 kW 6769 kWh 2707 kWh 4061 kWh £734 £406 £1,140 £16,276 14.3 yrs £6,526

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: £857, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 14.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1692 kWh 1015 kWh 677 kWh £275 £68 £343 £6,169 18.0 yrs £690
3 kW 2538 kWh 1523 kWh 1015 kWh £413 £102 £514 £8,204 15.9 yrs £2,084
4 kW 3384 kWh 2031 kWh 1354 kWh £550 £135 £686 £10,238 14.9 yrs £3,479
5 kW 4230 kWh 2538 kWh 1692 kWh £688 £169 £857 £12,273 14.3 yrs £4,874
6 kW 5076 kWh 3046 kWh 2031 kWh £826 £203 £1,029 £14,307 13.9 yrs £6,269
7 kW 5922 kWh 3553 kWh 2369 kWh £963 £237 £1,200 £16,342 13.6 yrs £7,663
8 kW 6769 kWh 4061 kWh 2707 kWh £1,101 £271 £1,372 £18,376 13.4 yrs £9,058

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: £930, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1692 kWh 1184 kWh 508 kWh £321 £51 £372 £7,569 20.4 yrs £-131
3 kW 2538 kWh 1777 kWh 761 kWh £482 £76 £558 £9,604 17.2 yrs £1,553
4 kW 3384 kWh 2369 kWh 1015 kWh £642 £102 £744 £11,638 15.6 yrs £3,237
5 kW 4230 kWh 2961 kWh 1269 kWh £803 £127 £930 £13,673 14.7 yrs £4,922
6 kW 5076 kWh 3553 kWh 1523 kWh £963 £152 £1,116 £15,707 14.1 yrs £6,606
7 kW 5922 kWh 4146 kWh 1777 kWh £1,124 £178 £1,302 £17,742 13.6 yrs £8,290
8 kW 6769 kWh 4738 kWh 2031 kWh £1,284 £203 £1,488 £19,776 13.3 yrs £9,974

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: £951, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 16.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1692 kWh 1235 kWh 457 kWh £335 £46 £381 £9,319 24.5 yrs £-1,708
3 kW 2538 kWh 1853 kWh 685 kWh £502 £69 £571 £11,354 19.9 yrs £63
4 kW 3384 kWh 2471 kWh 914 kWh £670 £91 £761 £13,388 17.6 yrs £1,835
5 kW 4230 kWh 3088 kWh 1142 kWh £837 £114 £951 £15,423 16.2 yrs £3,606
6 kW 5076 kWh 3706 kWh 1371 kWh £1,005 £137 £1,142 £17,457 15.3 yrs £5,377
7 kW 5922 kWh 4323 kWh 1599 kWh £1,172 £160 £1,332 £19,492 14.6 yrs £7,148
8 kW 6769 kWh 4941 kWh 1828 kWh £1,340 £183 £1,522 £21,526 14.1 yrs £8,919

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: £966, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1692 kWh 1269 kWh 423 kWh £344 £42 £386 £11,069 28.6 yrs £-3,342
3 kW 2538 kWh 1904 kWh 635 kWh £516 £63 £580 £13,104 22.6 yrs £-1,513
4 kW 3384 kWh 2538 kWh 846 kWh £688 £85 £773 £15,138 19.6 yrs £316
5 kW 4230 kWh 3173 kWh 1058 kWh £860 £106 £966 £17,173 17.8 yrs £2,145
6 kW 5076 kWh 3807 kWh 1269 kWh £1,032 £127 £1,159 £19,207 16.6 yrs £3,974
7 kW 5922 kWh 4442 kWh 1481 kWh £1,204 £148 £1,352 £21,242 15.7 yrs £5,803
8 kW 6769 kWh 5076 kWh 1692 kWh £1,376 £169 £1,545 £23,276 15.1 yrs £7,633

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: £980, 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 1692 kWh 1303 kWh 389 kWh £353 £39 £392 £13,519 34.5 yrs £-5,676
3 kW 2538 kWh 1954 kWh 584 kWh £530 £58 £588 £15,554 26.4 yrs £-3,789
4 kW 3384 kWh 2606 kWh 778 kWh £706 £78 £784 £17,588 22.4 yrs £-1,902
5 kW 4230 kWh 3257 kWh 973 kWh £883 £97 £980 £19,623 20.0 yrs £-15
6 kW 5076 kWh 3909 kWh 1168 kWh £1,060 £117 £1,176 £21,657 18.4 yrs £1,872
7 kW 5922 kWh 4560 kWh 1362 kWh £1,236 £136 £1,373 £23,692 17.3 yrs £3,759
8 kW 6769 kWh 5212 kWh 1557 kWh £1,413 £156 £1,569 £25,726 16.4 yrs £5,646

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 M24

Figures below are tailored to M24 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1772 of 2182
4.4 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~9 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2616 of 2997
12.4 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£657 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2594 of 2997
28.4% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£187 fixed • ~£657 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.11p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
51.16p/day
Local Sunshine
846kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~846 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
4.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 74% • Flats: 19% • Bungalows: 6% Based on 13,676 properties

Coverage

Rochdale (96%)|Oldham (3%)|Bury (1%)

Areas Covered

South Middleton, North Middleton, West Middleton, East Middleton, Hopwood Hall, Chadderton South, Holyrood, Castleton + 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 North West

M9 (Manchester)
≈3.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~856 kWh/kWp · +1% vs M24
OL9 (Oldham)
≈4.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~831 kWh/kWp · -2% vs M24
OL10 (Rochdale)
≈4.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~851 kWh/kWp · +1% vs M24
M8 (Manchester)
≈5.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~853 kWh/kWp · +1% vs M24
M25 (Bury)
≈5.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~862 kWh/kWp · +2% vs M24
M10 (Manchester)
≈5.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~848 kWh/kWp · +0% vs M24

Similar sunshine across the UK

PA81 (Na h-Eileanan Siar)
~846 kWh/kWp · -0% vs M24
BT49 (Causeway Coast and Glens)
~846 kWh/kWp · -0% vs M24
LL38 (Gwynedd)
~846 kWh/kWp · -0% vs M24